I am a very sensible, high-fiber cereal guy. That’s my breakfast, plain and simple. Yet, on this particular morning in Portland, Oregon I am compelled to leave my lodgings at an early hour and seek out something wildly improbable for my morning meal. An irresistible, supernatural force draws me towards SW Third Avenue. I start to perspire. I feel my pulse racing. Is it witchcraft?
No, it’s Voodoo.
If you are faint of heart, read no further. I am about to take you on a perilous journey into the world of the dark pastry arts.
I almost miss the unassuming brick facade of Voodoo Doughnut, but something pulls me to the threshold. Inside, the lobby is about the size of a large closet. I see arcane brick-a-brac and an entire wall covered with New York Times obituaries of celebrities who journeyed to the spirit world in the past year. There are perhaps thirteen customers squeezed into the small space – hipsters, seniors, tourists and business professionals in neckties and cashmere pullovers – all similarly spellbound, and ordering dozens of doughnuts. It’s as if some powerful conjurer has cast a hex over the city of Portland, awakening the childhood sugar-coated breakfast fantasy that lives deep within our collective psyche.
I wait patiently for nearly 15 minutes and place my order, which is magically concealed in an alluring pink box. I nearly run back to my hotel. By this point, I am burning with fever. I split open the box and indulge with sinful abandon, starting with a wickedly-luscious traditional cake doughnut studded with sprinkles:
Triple Chocolate Penetration:
A gaudy hallucination of Fruit Loops floating on an allegorical bowl of milky white frosting:
And, the ultimate in daybreak decadence, The Bacon Maple Bar – sweet, smoky gluttony:
The experience has forever changed me. Bagels are banal. Fiber cereal is forgettable. Orange juice is ordinary. I am bewitched, perhaps possessed. From this day forth, I carry the mark of Voodoo Doughnut.
I sampled the food, wine and spirits of the Portland, Oregon region September 27 through October 2, 2009.
©2009 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved
I wait patiently for nearly 15 minutes and place my order, which is magically concealed in an alluring pink box. I nearly run back to my hotel. By this point, I am burning with fever. I split open the box and indulge with sinful abandon, starting with a wickedly-luscious traditional cake doughnut studded with sprinkles:
Triple Chocolate Penetration: 
A gaudy hallucination of Fruit Loops floating on an allegorical bowl of milky white frosting:
And, the ultimate in daybreak decadence, The Bacon Maple Bar – sweet, smoky gluttony: 
The experience has forever changed me. Bagels are banal. Fiber cereal is forgettable. Orange juice is ordinary. I am bewitched, perhaps possessed. From this day forth, I carry the mark of Voodoo Doughnut. I sampled the food, wine and spirits of the Portland, Oregon region September 27 through October 2, 2009.
©2009 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved
Oh, that's wicked! Did you sample each one of those? I crave doughnuts once or twice a year...these would take me over the top.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos!
I'm speechless. I just want to know if you actually ate the one with the Fruit Loops. :-)
ReplyDeleteThank goodness you warned us. What an assortment of doughnuts. I like the chocolate ones, no the bacon one, no the chocolate ones. Never mind, give me both. I'm under the spell.
ReplyDeleteGlad you're having a nice time on your trip. Someone once said a vacation is an excuse to eat whatever you want.
Sam
I would have gone right for the one with the Cocoa Puffs, which were, I am sad to admit, my very favorite breakfast cereal when I was a kid. Although those Fruit Loops would have been tempting, too. So when is Voodoo opening in New York????
ReplyDeleteI'm enchanted by the maple bacon donut.... mmmmm! And if they open in NY, I'll have to grab Lydia and road trip it :)
ReplyDeleteI don't see the appeal of sprinkles, Cocoa Puffs, or Fruit Loops (yes, I was an odd kid.) However, bacon and maple, now you're talking! Isn't this kind of eating what vacations are all about?
ReplyDeleteYour description of trying to find the store reminds me of Harry Potter's first visit to Diagon Alley...how magical!
ReplyDeleteDeb and Andrea - I sampled each, but I shared. It required a great deal of self-restraint. And, yes, Andrea, "The Loop" was at the top of my list!
ReplyDeleteSam - I'm with you - chocolate or bacon, or both? I had both.
Lydia - you would love the Puffs - they retained their crispness, even with icing!
Julia and Kalyn - I don't quite know how to describe it, but worth every calorie. My sister-in-law captured it spot on - "French Toast, Bacon and maple syrup, all in one doughnut."
Zany - I thought I might have been there before ... get me my broom!
I have several friends from Portland who all RAVE about these doughnuts! Now I see why. The maple with bacon is fat-free right?! I'll have two!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if I can handle all that sugar overload. I prefer my fried dough plain. I've been known to remove the glaze from doughnuts and most of the time there's nothing left by the time I am done.
ReplyDeleteI'd sink my teeth into each and every one of those "beauties." Enough said...
ReplyDeleteToo bad you didn't try their "Ol' Dirty Bastard". Crushed Oreo cookies and peanut butter. So delicious!
ReplyDeleteWow. Bacon maple bar?! Holy toledo! Lucky for my waistline there isnt one in manhattan! Great post.
ReplyDeleteEven though I grew up with about 10 Dunkin Donuts within a 5 mile radius of my house, I'm not a donut lover. Jeff is though. We stopped and got him a Halloween sprinkled one when we were in RI last week. Now maybe if I had a place called Voodoo Doughnut, I'd reconsider.
ReplyDeleteSo excited I found your blog. AND wowww those donuts look delish! Can't wait to browse through your blog, I'll be back often :)
ReplyDelete-Mini Baker