doughnuts

If you are a fan of any of the food shows out there — be it the Food Network, Cooking channel, Travel, network television etc., I’m sure you can relate to wanting to try places you’ve seen.

I’m most certainly the same way.

Unfortunately, I don’t always plan it out well enough to hit these places, but I’ve had a chance to visit a few.

One of those chances happened recently on a trip to the Pacific Northwest. Though based mainly in the Seattle area, a day trip was planned to Portland. And part of that trip?

Voodoo Doughnut.

Voodoo has been on many television shows, including ones on the Travel Channel and the Cooking Network. The Portland hotspot is known for eclectic delights, a bright look and interesting flavors.

I wasn’t disappointed.

Sometimes, places like this — ones that become “destinations” of sorts for foodies or other travelers won’t live up to the hype. They branch out, become big and the quality suffers. That doesn’t seem to be the case at Voodoo, at least by my experience.

The original was the spot I needed to hit. When arriving, the line wasn’t too long and I’d estimate I was in an ordering within 30 minutes or so, which wasn’t bad in my eyes.

TIP: Pull out that smart phone and access their menu via their website. By doing so, you give yourself a chance to look at the menu, see what the doughnuts they offer are and have a good idea in mind, so once you get to the counter, you can order.

When we were walking out, the line was much longer.

Inside is a doughnut-lovers heaven.

There many of the famous pink boxes ready to house your doughnuts. There are showcases of the many magnificent creations. The back looks very busy and there are racks and racks of doughnuts that the workers grab. Everybody seemed so happy, too, which always makes for a great experience. I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted when I went to order.

One note — this isn’t Dunkin’ Donuts. By that I mean, you don’t get a dozen for five bucks. The doughnuts are priced depending on what you are getting. There are different sizes of some of these (there was one that was massively huge — I decided it was in my best interest to skip that one!), so that means the price of the six you get could be different from the next person etc.

I ended up getting six or so, figuring I’d have them throughout the trip to Seattle. That meant I had the chance to test several different ones, and I really enjoyed each of them.

TIP: When getting your doughnuts, take a chance. Ask the person serving you his or her favorite doughnut and grab one. You might find yourself a great surprise. I did this and the one the girl chose was fantastic.

Despite a dreary sort of day (it was overcast and had drizzled once or twice — but that’s fine as in Seattle that day were thunderstorms, so we avoided the one bad day of weather during the Seattle trip), sitting outside and biting into one of these creations was delightful.

I fully enjoyed the experience at Voodoo and would totally recommend it. The doughnuts are delicious and the people were friendly and helpful. Definitely worth the stop.

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