CLEVELAND, Ohio - And now there are ten - 10 finalists for "NEO's Best: Donuts." Over the five-day voting period, Oct. 13-17, more than 12,000 total votes were cast for 51 nominees.
Plenty of jockeying for position was in play. As the week progressed, some low-scoring nominees rose and dropped, while a few of the early big-name places - such as Amy Joy, Fragapane and Doughnut Pantry - fell out of the top spots.
But many of the shops in the final ten have generations of loyal fans backing them. Jack Frost, Spudnut and Kiedrowski, to name just a few, have been in business for decades.
Here are the finalists...
Biagio's Donut Shop & Pizzeria, 35523 Vine St., Eastlake; 440-942-5541.
Jack Frost Donuts: 4960 Pearl Road, Cleveland; 216-351-3638.
Patterson Fruit Farm, 11414 Caves Rd., Chesterland; 440-729-1964.
Becker's Donuts and Bakery, 22088 Lorain Rd., Fairview Park; 440-734-9856. (Other family-owned locations in North Olmsted, Columbia Station, Cleveland, North Royalton and North Ridgeville)
George's Donuts, 7995 Darrow Rd, Twinsburg; 330-963-9902.
Donut Land Bakery, 1321 Pearl Rd., Brunswick; 330-225-7912.
Spudnut Donuts, 650 Prospect St., Berea; 440-234-4249.
Stan's Northfield Bakery, 9395 Olde 8 Rd., Northfield Center; 330-467-8655.
Kiedrowski's Bakery, 2267 E. Cooper Foster Park Rd., Amherst; 440-282-2700.
Raised & Glazed, 17800 Chillicothe Rd., #107, Bainbridge Township; 440-543-7978.
You've got until noon, Friday, Oct. 31, to cast your vote, using the polling widget embedded in this post. One vote per day, please. Automated voting is not permitted.
Meanwhile, we'll also hit the road starting Monday to visit the finalists and taste the donuts. We'll visit all 10 shops over the course of two weeks, and serve up daily reports, videos and photo galleries.
Our taste-testing team will be led by Northeast Ohio Media Group entertainment reporter Kristel Hartshorn and videographer David Petkiewicz, accompanied by retired Cleveland Police Captain Neal O'Donnell. Various Northeast Ohio Media Group reporters will also join the coverage.
At the same time, I'll conducting my own anonymous taste-testings, with an eye on naming NEO's Best: Donut's Grand Prize winner.
We'll announce the Grand Prize winner, People's Choice donut and the police officer's favorite with much fanfare online Monday, Nov. 3.
Now, let the voting begin!
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NEO'S BEST: DONUTS TOP 10
| DONUT SHOP | PERCENTAGE |
|---|---|
| Biagio's Donut Shop & Pizzeria, Eastlake | 17.13% |
| Jack Frost Donuts, Cleveland | 14.37% |
| Patterson Fruit Farm, Chesterland | 8.20% |
| Becker's Donuts and Bakery, Fairview Park, various others | 7.60% |
| George's Donuts, Twinsburg | 6.65% |
| Donut Land Bakery, Brunswick | 4.98% |
| Spudnut Donuts, Berea | 3.60% |
| Stan's Northfield Bakery, Northfield Center | 3.55% |
| Kiedrowski's Bakery, Amherst | 2.82% |
| Raised & Glazed, Bainbridge | 2.64% |