It was a sunny Saturday morning (reason enough to celebrate in often-overcast Portland), and I was looking for a fuel stop before hitting the big Portland Saturday Market that sets up in the city’s Old Town district. I literally stumbled onto Voodoo Doughnut out of the blue; a red door on the side of a nondescript brick building at the corner of 3rd Avenue and Ankeny Street and a neon sign sticking out above the door are the only indications of its existence.
There was a steady stream of people going in and coming out, but the real clue I was about to encounter nirvana came when I opened the red door myself and the distinctive aroma of fresh-baked doughnuts came wafting out.
I’m a sucker for an awesome doughnut. And this place makes awesome doughnuts. Founded by two dudes (Kenneth “Cat Daddy” Pogson and Tres Shannon) who “always wanted to start a business together,” it’s the real deal; everything is made from scratch.
Voodoo Doughnut first came into the public eye when it was featured on the Travel Channel’s popular “No Reservations” show hosted by celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. Since then it’s gained lots of exposure via other TV shows and media outlets like the weekly Portland Mercury newspaper. As a result it’s become quite the tourist magnet, and the line out the door can be long. But it’s worth the wait.
First-timers can consult the laminated picture menu or just take a look at what’s in the glass display case on top of the order counter. I cheated a little; instead of a doughnut I had an apple fritter. It came right out of the oven, warm and impeccably fresh. Lightly fried to crunchy goodness on the outside, soft and light and puffy on the inside, oozing sugary glaze, swirled with sticky cinnamon and studded with bits of apple, it was tasty enough to, as Mick Jagger once sang, make a grown man cry—and I’ve got the tear-stained Stones ’81 tour T-shirt to prove it.
Some doughnuts stay on the menu and others drop off, so you’ll just have to keep going back until you try them all. I’d make the sacrifice for the maple bar, a large rectangular frosted doughnut topped with several strips of bacon. The No Name is anointed with chocolate rice krispies and peanut butter. Of course I won’t pretend that an
y of them are good for you, but this being Portland, they also make vegan doughnuts in assorted flavors.
A recent remodeling job has opened up the formerly cramped space somewhat, although in terms of character Voodoo remains a true hole in the wall (in the best sense, of course). The walls are covered with funny signs, arcane doughnut trivia and a healthy dose of product placement (T-shirts, caps and the like). You could hang out for awhile, but if it’s a pretty day my advice is to get a box of assorted goodies to go, head on over to the riverfront and enjoy your little sugar feast on a park bench by the Willamette.
Voodoo Doughnut is downtown at 26 S.W. 3rd Ave., a block south of W. Burnside Street and three blocks west of S.W. Naito Parkway.
