CMH Gourmand – Eating in Columbus & Ohio

Exploring the Ohio Donut trail took me reluctantly to….Hilliard. Longtime readers may be puzzled by my reluctance to travel such a relative short distance. The conundrum is created by my long-established willingness to travel hours through the state to other destinations or the many occasions to roam around the state in search of donuts and more. I’ve never connected with Hilliard for a series of gray reasons – it makes me think of urban sprawl, most of it feels like an extended strip mall and getting there always seems to be inconvenient to me. So I have outed one of my many old man biased thoughts.

However my desire to cap off the Columbus zone of the Ohio Donut Trail drove me to drive out of my comfort zone and into this suburb but still with some dread. Over the years I made two attempts to visit the Lil Donut Factory but both were busts, once the place was closed unexpectedly and the other time the donuts were decimated.

As I approached my gut told me I would be disappointed. The Lil Donut Factory is an unlikely business, in an inconvenient place near a slightly off kilter three-way intersection that ends in a mini mall Sunoco gas station complex that also features a bar called Nasty’s and a Goodwill drop off site. The sign of the factory was nearly faded away by the sun. You would have to know this place existed to find it. My donut-y heart continued to droop.

Within moments of arrival, my reservations were cancelled before I even tasted a donut. In the Lil Donut Factory I found a thinking man’s donutery. The walls have a hodgepodge of comic book art including a framed 1941 Super Man Sunday comic. Other elements that struck my fancy: Star Trek art, a Four String Brewing howler, framed classic vinyl records, a nice selection of books for customers to read and a guy at the counter that offers suggestions on books by lesser known German authors. Last but very much not least, the front window sports a Bernie 2016 sign….pretty daring in this section of Hilliard. At this point, I did not even care if I liked the donuts.

I tried blueberry, stick, cinnamon twist, maple, maple-bacon, and apple fritter and a few others. The price was $9.50 for a baker’s dozen (a real deal). However my latent aversion to Hilliard must had caused a unconsious desire to get rid of the evidence because I accidentally deleted all the photos I took on site. The only visual I have to offer is a face made out of my remaining donuts. Insider tip for the Lil Donut Factory – go as early as you can while the selection is large and the donuts are fresh. If you have time, hang around for some coffee and good conversation.

Update: Special thanks to my blogger-pal Joe, from 614ortyNiner for sending me this photo of the Lil Donut Factory.