Which Columbus doughnut shop is tops: Golden Donut or Veri Best? Here’s our taste test
The food story of the summer has been the return of two Columbus doughnut juggernauts.
In one corner is Veri Best Donuts. Closed since 2016, the shop reopened on Broadway in downtown Columbus last month. Lines have extended down the block even in the hottest summer heat.
In the other, sits Golden Donut. The shop temporarily closed back in January, citing conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. They reopened earlier this month at their newly-renovated Manchester Expressway location.
Columbus residents rejoiced at the developments. The two businesses have been supportive and friendly on social media. This city is big enough for the both of them.
Yet the question lingers — which place reigns supreme? Perhaps you’ve already sworn your allegiances. But I missed the heyday of Veri Best and did not have the pleasure of sampling Golden’s glazed goodness.
I rectified that situation earlier this week when Ledger-Enquirer video superstar Mike Haskey and I sampled an assortment of six doughnuts from each business to determine the best dessert.
What we ordered
Haskey was tasked with picking up the goods at Veri Best while I motored over to Golden Donuts in the early morning.
I told the workers at Golden that I wanted an original glazed and a cinnamon twist before asking them to fill the rest of the box with their favorites.
The lineup from Golden ultimately included:
Glazed twist
Ugly doughnut
Apple fritter
Cinnamon twist
Cinnamon roll
Strawberry filled
At Veri Best, our lineup differed just slightly:
Glazed doughnut
Chocolate glazed
Cinnamon twist
Jelly filled
Plain cake
Girl Scout
The takeaways
After sampling the full dozen, a few trends emerge. Your preference is likely going to come down to which type of doughnut you prefer — cake or yeast.
Veri Best serves primarily cake doughnuts. They are a little heftier and filling than their yeast counterparts. It holds true for even their original glazed. Their plain cake doughnut is a thing of beauty. Fried golden brown, the doughnut has a little crisp to it, giving way to a soft interior and hints of vanilla at the end of bites.
While Golden does serve cake doughnuts, most of its offerings are the lighter, yeastier doughnuts with a heavy glaze that melts in your mouth. You could pick sheets of glaze off the twisted doughnut we ordered.
In my book, that’s a good sign.
The verdict
Because of my preference for yeast doughnuts, Golden claims the top spot. The “ugly” doughnut, in particular, stands out as my favorite.
It’s a massive dessert with plenty of surface area to hold puddles of glaze. It tastes similar to your standard glazed doughnut. Cinnamon is present, adding a little warmth to the sweet. But it is not overwhelming.
The cinnamon twist at Golden was the one that caught me most by surprise. I thought it would be my least favorite. However, the warm dough and just the right combination of spices reminded me of a soft churro. If you’re on the fence about it, get it.
The rectangular jelly doughnuts at Veri Best give customers a better jelly-to-dough ratio than Golden, but Golden’s strawberry jelly beats Veri Best’s filling. If the two were combined, it would be the perfect doughnut.
Veri Best is likely your destination for specialties. The Girl Scout doughnut we ordered took its inspiration from one of my favorite desserts, the Samoa cookie.
The chocolate glaze, coconut shavings and caramel drizzle have the potential to overload the taste buds with sweetness, but the cake doughnut paired well with the elements. They did not have maple bacon doughnuts stocked when we ordered, so I’ll have to come back again soon.
Bottom line: Columbus is lucky to have two local doughnut places of this caliber, blessing us with their sweet treats.
This story was originally published August 13, 2021 at 10:00 AM.