Doughnut. Donut. Do-nut. However you spell it, it’s a ring of delicious that you can essentially enjoy any time of day. (Well, ok, maybe not later on in the day once they start getting kind of stale. Unless the place is making em 24/7.) You’ve got your chain donut shops: Dunkin Donuts, Twin Donut, Krispy Kreme – and then you’ve got a bunch of awesome regional places that you see on Food Network or the Travel Channel like Voodoo Doughnuts, Top Pot, Doughnut Plant, and even Philadelphia’s own Federal Donuts. Just like everything else in life, there are the good, the bad and the downright awful when it comes to donuts. Plus, the age old battle between Cake vs. Yeast. (I’m partial to yeast donuts myself.) Here’s a recap of some recent treats I’ve indulged in.
First up, Seattle’s Top Pot Doughnuts, which touts a menu of “hand forged”, primarily cake donuts and a few yeasty bars as well. We got a little over-zealous and just grabbed anything that looked good which included 3 different glazed old fashions and a chocolate covered with sprinkles (a classic fav!)
Maple glazed, original glazed & chocolate glazed.
I honestly found them to be way too sweet for my taste. Plus, there’s just something about cake donuts that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. They feel too dry, even with all the glaze on top. The maple one was almost tooth decaying, that’s how sugary it was. And while the chocolate one had the sweetness of the glaze, the chocolate cake part itself was kind of bland and un-chocolate like.
Then you’ve got Portland’s infamous Voodoo Doughnuts. Yes, there will be a line but if you’re not willing to wait with the crowds, they’re open 24/7. They’ve got a huge menu board plus some rotating displays if you need a more visual way to decide.
They’re most famous for the maple bacon bar (because DUH, bacon on a doughnut. HELLO ULTIMATE BREAKFAST), but I didn’t find it to be appetizing at all. The bacon just tasted bland and soggy and didn’t really add anything to the overall flavor of the doughnut. Then there was the little raspberry jelly stuffed voodoo guy doughnut. WAYYYYY too sweet. Like, disgustingly sweet to the point where I just spit it out. The doughnut that looks like a Bob-om from Super Mario was filled with a Bavarian Cream; not so bad but I’m not a big fan of cream filled donuts. The fruit loops one would probably have been better if the cereal didn’t taste super soft and stale. And the chocolate rice krispy one with the peanut butter drizzle was the best out of all 5. If I hadn’t already taken bites out of 4 other donuts, I would have just eaten that one alone and been satisfied. (Because let’s face it – anything with chocolate & peanut butter is amazing.)
I also recently wrote about an amazing Cafe Au Lait doughnut from Dough in Brooklyn that was out of this world. And I’ve been less than impressed with Federal Donuts since they only do cake donuts and the good ones are always out by the time I get there. However, I do love the fact that they do hot, fresh donuts all day long – and that they have a donut called the Apollonia! (Hello, Purple Rain!)
Long story short: I don’t need all the fancy toppings and fillings; just give me a plain old chocolate frosted with sprinkles any day.
