October 6, 2008

voodoo doughnuts (portland)

Sorry about the delay (but at the same time, I do want to mention you might want to get used to it).

Got back from Portland at 4 am last night after a raucous time in a new city, and a WWE pay per view no less.

After a 6 hour drive, including a "oh dear God what's with the typhoon?" moment by the Tulalip Casino, and dinner in downtown Seattle (more on that tomorrow) - we made it into Portland and headed straight for Voodoo Doughnuts in downtown Portland.

It's a 24-hour doughnut place (with a sister store that's open 21 hours) smack in the middle of the club district on the outskirts of Chinatown, right beside an seemingly innocuous convenience store... until you look closer and see the wall display of bongs for sale.

It was close to 2 AM when we arrived and the district was still absolutely alive with energy, and more amusingly, the line-up for doughnuts was out the store. The crowd was a mix of yuppies, drunkies, freakies and all around the kind of people you want to see at the best d*mn doughnuts shop I've ever stepped foot into at 2 AM in the morning.

Voodoo Doughnuts can best be described as the Doughnut Nazi - it's a small door outside a brick building with but the smallest of signs indicating its presence, but fortunately the telltale forever-lineup tells you everything you need to know. The insides are decked out... interestingly? I really have no other words to describe the eclecticism of the room... that and I was also really REALLY tired and losing consciousness so it was one absolute mindf*ck before I even saw the donuts.

Yeah that first one is called the C&B. Think about it. The second one was one of their signatures, and one that was raved about by the online foodie world - the maple bacon doughnut - which was the reason I was there. It was a breakfast doughnut in every single possible way. A maple long-john, with 2 strips of crispy bacon on top. Good Lord the very thought of it...

Now here's the thing. Tim Horton's uses frozen doughnuts and they can't even do that sh*t right. How often have I passed by a Timmy's at 3 AM to find all they've got left are plain and sour cream doughnuts - stale, no less - what the f*ck is up with that?

This thing... oh my... this thing was soft, packed with flavour, and everything you'd ever want a doughnut that costs anywhere from $1.50 upwards to $6 (there's this thing called a Tex-Ass...). Sadly, I was underwhelmed - at the end of it all, it was just a maple doughnut with bacon on top. Nothing you haven't really had at any breakfast buffet.

The magic came from my second doughnut - this magical little dude that was riding the revolving display case that I asked "Hey, what's that donut with the Oreo's and what looks like peanut butter oozing out of the the hole? (yeah I did...)" This was a chocolate-glazed vanilla doughnut with what probably was 3 Oreo's crumbled on-top, and a 1/4 bottle of peanut butter jammed into its yoohoo. And it was glorious. Like - fireworks, angels singing glorious.

I'm done. I'm confidently saying I'm done. I've found the perfect doughnut(s) and they are at Voodoo Doughnuts at 22 SW Third Ave in Portland.

No comments: