TO MEET · 06/01/2013
A Portland Must: Voodoo Doughnut
We’ve checked another must-visit spot off of our Portland list: Voodoo Doughtnut. Guaranteed to have a line out the door, this shop has customers leaving with sugar rush-enducing pink boxes in hand.
Founded by Tres Shannon and Kenneth “Cat Daddy” Pogson, Voodoo Doughnut certainly subscribes to the “Keep Portland Weird,” slogan that the city has earned. If you’re looking to keep things classic, they do have your normal doughnut options: the powdered sugar, cake, glazed and jelly filled.
Yet, you shouldn’t be visiting Voodoo for normalcy. Their namesake doughnut is an actual Voodoo Doll, but we’ve also heard the Bacon Maple Bar shouldn’t be missed. Anything topped with the sweet cereals from your childhood guarantee a quick spike in energy.
“The perfect doughnut starts at the base, the nut itself,” Kenneth told us. “Soft and risen with plenty of gas bubbles to make it light and fluffy, it’ll have a perfect ‘skunk’ line down the middle where the doughnut floated above the oil while frying,” he explained. After cooling slightly, the doughnut is ready for toppings.
“It’ll be ready for a perfect dip into frosting, then a second dip into something that takes it over the edge, like Oreos,” Kenneth said of his topping of choice.
For Tres, the perfect doughnut is, “A butter milk bar with one end dipped in chocolate frosting and toasted coconut.”
Whichever you choose, you really can’t go wrong!
Photos by Collin Hughes