When I booked my tickets to go back to Kentucky, one of the things I most looked forward to doing is a review of the donuts back home. I had previously done a donut crawl with Vernon, Otis, Charles and their significant others in Boston, trying out the various local donut varietals, and quickly discovered that man was not meant to eat more than two donuts in one day. As such, I did a more conservative donut crawl by trying out the two premier donuttiers in Lexington, KY – Magee’s and Spalding’s Bakery.

My first day was spent cycling to Magee’s (which is pretty close to where I live), where I got a chocolate donut and a cup of coffee. After taking my first bite into the 5 mm thick fudge coating, I was glad that I decided not to do a donut crawl. While Magee’s is a much tastier donut than any that I had on the donut crawl (Verna’s compares favorably however), it is also considerably heavier and sweeter. It is so heavy that I wasn’t hungry for lunch for another four hours (and this was after bicycling around downtown Lexington for two hours to run errands). Magee’s has such a pleasant atmosphere that one could easily chat with a friend for hours over a cup of coffee and a donut, which actually may be the time required to digest a meal there. Magee’s also serves sandwiches (which is a recent invention), though the only vegetable option is a pimento cheese sandwich. This finding was the first reminder that Kentuckians don’t care about vegetarians (more on that in upcoming posts!). I’ll give Magee’s three and a half cheese sandwiches, as their donuts are fantastic, though really heavy. Boston eating has made my stomach very fragile and sensitive to high levels of butter and flour.

The next day I decided to bicycle to Spalding’s Bakery, which is technically only 10-15 blocks further away than Magee’s. Unfortunately, five of those blocks are highway roads, where cars whizz past you at 40-50 mph. I had never actually had a Spalding donut before, though had heard great things about it. One thing I did not hear was that Spalding’s bakery was literally just that. A bakery and nothing else. So my grand plans of sitting down enjoying a cup of coffee and a donut were foiled when I discovered a small entrance and a guy covered in flour walking up and taking my order. The Spalding’s donut was what I was hoping for in donut perfection – slightly crispy from being fried, sweet and very chocolaty. It was still pretty heavy, though considerably lighter than the Magee’s donut. I felt like I could eat another one, which is a good sign for any great donut.

I have always felt that great food comes out of Lexington, KY and Magee’s and Spalding’s Bakeries flies the bakery banner proudly for the city. I give Magee’s three and a half cheese sandwiches (would be four if it wasn’t so heavy), and Spalding’s four and a half cheese sandwiches (would be five if they had Magee’s dining area, see below).

Magee’s Bakery
726 East Main Street
Lexington, KY 40502-1602 
(859) 255-9482

Spalding’s Bakery
760 Winchester Road
Lexington, KY 40505 
(859) 252-3737

Magee’s Bakery