For this month’s Fine Dining & Breathing, I decided to visit Home Cut Donuts, located just off 815 West Jefferson Street in Joliet. Home Cut Donuts offers a wide variety of donuts, coffee and even has a small cooler of ice cream varieties. Producing fresh donuts and pastries every day, this donut shop earned a successful reputation, after being featured on Chicago’s Best and WGN 9.
Home Cut Donuts started as a family franchise between three brothers, who invested their money into opening an original donut shop. They became an instant hit in Joliet, and the store has been around for more than 50 years. What sets Home Cut Donuts apart from other donut shops is they offer inexpensive food and are open 24 hours every day, seven days a week.
I decided to order half a dozen donuts. I picked out a double chocolate, honey dipped, iced cherry cake, swiss chocolate, chocolate iced sprinkle, and a strawberry filled donut. Instead of putting there donuts in a cheap and flimsy brown paper bag, they put them in their signature white and pastel pink Home Cut Donut boxes. After taking a seat and opening the box, I felt like Jules from Pulp Fiction opening his briefcase for the first time. I normally don’t feel this excitement eating at places for the first time, but just opening that glorious box made it feel like I needed this my whole life.
The donuts all shared two common traits: smaller in size but thicker once it came to its breading. The moist donut’s breading almost had a munchkin consistency. This proved the donuts were indeed fresh and hadn’t been sitting on the display since early morning. Each donut was surprisingly more filling than the next, but didn’t stop me from enjoying these extravagant pastries.
I also ordered a French vanilla cappuccino. They have a machine that makes it instantly, and the quality of the drink was remarkable for an instant coffee. Though the amount of syrup used was a little off-putting, it could easily be fixed by stirring it. I could recall a customer coming in after me and ordering the same drink and asked the cashier if he could stir it up. But aside from that, the coffee sat perfectly in my stomach on a brisk fall night.
I spent just over $8 for six donuts and a tall cappuccino. Whereas at other places, I find myself spending 10-15 dollars for a regular coffee and a dozen donuts. Knowing how affordable Home Cut Donuts is and their quality of the food, it is safe to say Home Cut Donuts is my new go-to place for donuts. With their 24 hour schedule, it will definitely be the backbone of some of my late-night adventures.