![Making Louisville famous for doughnuts [Food & Dining]](/sites/default/files/u5081/Doughnut.jpg "Making Louisville famous for doughnuts [Food & Dining]")
According to a recent New York Times article, Louisville is considered a stop on the Kentucky Doughnut Trail. Anticipating the obvious question, here goes: Kentucky has a doughnut trail? While there is a certain romance when the Krispy Kreme “hot” sign glows red, the proposition of a doughnut trail needs a bit of exploration.
Author Williams Grimes argues that, while Kentucky doesn’t belong to the Midwest, he considers it the muffin top of the Bakery Belt. To illustrate, he describes his experience at Nord’s Bakery at 2118 S. Preston Street in Germantown, near the University of Louisville.
His description of the neighborhood as “slackerish” is a stretch. I think the native would think of it more as a hipster part of town on the edge of campus. With Sunergos Coffee a few steps away, Grimes missed the obvious extended coffee and doughnut analogy. Perhaps that’s by design since coffee doesn’t play into the story in any way.
As with most Times articles, it’s long on history in order to give perspective, but that history reads like a love story as well. The maple bacon doughnut gets singled out for particular attention, noting that this confection isn’t available anywhere else in the Bakery Belt. Here is what Grimes wrote:
The maple bacon doughnut, a local favorite that sells out fast, is alarmingly literal. It is not a doughnut with a few flavorings added, or crumbled bacon on top.
No. This is a long, rectangular yeast doughnut smeared thickly with maple icing and then topped with a hefty strip of fried bacon — one of those what-the-hell taste experiences not for the faint of heart.
That’s a foodie love song.
Grimes then leaves the Ville for Danville, Berea and other points in the state. For an inexplicable reason, he spends an inordinate amount of time looking at places in Lexington. With his love of “fried sweet dough,” perhaps on his next visit he could think about other Louisville signature doughnut spots like:
- Plehn’s Bakery in Saint Matthews
- Sugar & Spice Doughnut Shop in Fern Creek
- Heitzman Bakery in various locations
There are more, of course. Where is your favorite Louisville doughnut place? Make your comments below.
Illustration: Sebastian Kaulitzki/Shutterstock.com
