CT’s Best Doughnut Found Here: New Ranking

WALLINGFORD, CT — The doughnut has been part of American culture since Dutch settlers introduced “olykoeks” — oily cakes — in the 17th century, but not all are created equally in Connecticut.

For the best doughnut in the state, you’ll want to head to Neil’s Donuts in Wallingford. That’s according to the digital food and drink news site TastingTable, which put together a list that highlights The Best Donut Shop In Each State.

To arrive at its choices, TastingTable said it reviewed Reddit posts, local and national publications discussing doughnuts, and first-hand reviews regarding the taste of different pastries.

Neil’s Donuts is a longtime Wallingford institution that also opened a second location in Middletown. It first opened in 2001 at 83 North Turnpike Rd. in Wallingford after owner Neil Bukowski found inspiration for the shop while he was working as a sales associate.

“For him, the donuts at meetings were always supposed to be the best part of the job, but he eventually became fed up with the quality of them,” reads a post on the Neil’s Donuts website. “Every week, as soon as he got to the sales meeting, he'd open up the box, but rather than finding the glazed donut he was looking for, he found an undersized piece of dough with virtually no glaze on it at all.

“After experiencing this disappointment week after week, Neil decided something had to be done about it. So, shortly after his 40th birthday, Neil quit the only job he had ever known and set out to make sure that those inadequate donuts would never find their way into a sales meeting again.”

See also: Wallingford’s Neil’s Donuts Gets Shout Out On Kelce Brothers' Podcast

Doughnuts have come a long way since olykoeks, which were essentially solid balls of fried dough, often filled with nuts or fruit. Captain Hanson Gregory is credited with introducing the iconic ring shape after punching a hole in the center of the dough, which made for even cooking.

The mass production of doughnuts began in the 1920s after Adolph Levi, an enterprising Russian immigrant, invented the “Wonderful Almost Human Automatic Donut Machine,” which churned out the treats at an impressive rate.

The “Doughnut Girls” — Salvation Army volunteers who served frontline troops in World War I and World War II — solidified the popularity of doughnuts as a comfort food.

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