Breakfast In Portland: A Quick Spin Through Voodoo Doughnuts And Stumptown Coffee
The couple of rare times I’ve flown into Portland, Oregon it’s been because I was driving elsewhere. I’ve never actually spend any time in Portland until a couple of weeks ago. I asked the folks on Milepoint for tips on food and Voodoo Doughnuts was very quickly recommended to me. A local Portland coffee chain, Stumptown Coffee was right down the road. So, when my colleague and I had a few extra hours in the morning, we headed over to experience both.
We were at Voodoo slightly before 9. It sure looked like there was supposed to be a line.
We waited a short time in line which was just fine because there was a ton of menu to decipher. Lots of interesting donuts, but some of them get kind of crazy.
The display case showed off some of the more interesting wares.
This next one is probably one of the most interestingly named doughnuts. I won’t post the name of the doughnut, but if you use your imagination and then click on the menu picture above, you can probably figure it out. 😉
We ordered a few doughnuts, including an old fashion cake glazed, a Mexican hot chocolate and a Portland cream. We headed down the road to Stumptown Coffee to see if they would let us have a cup of coffee as we ate our doughnuts. There’s no space to eat inside Voodoo and the weather wasn’t the greatest, so we were looking for a place to sit down and chow down.
There were a handful of other people in Stumptown that were eating Voodoo doughnuts as well, so it appears Stumptown Coffee is fine with you downing your Voodoo while you enjoy your cup of joe. You can even listen to classic vinyl (yes, that’s an actual record player in the background of the picture below).
It wasn’t overly crowded when we walked in. We bought some breakfast items from them along with our coffee (Chai Latte for me).
Portland appears to be a late-to-rise town. We showed up at a bit before 9am and by the time we were headed out, the lines at both places were out the door. So, show up early or expect a line. And, bring cash, since that’s all Voodoo takes.
Overall, I think both are worth the trip for the experience. The doughnuts were enjoyable enough, the Chai not quite as much. If you have a morning to kill in Portland take a couple hours out of your morning.
I love VooDoo. I’ve been there 3 times.
Dhammer, I thought it was very good, though there is a place or two in NY that I grew up with that I think make a better basic donut. Can’t beat the variety of Voodoo, though.
Glad you enjoyed. We have a friend who had Voodoo Donuts do her wedding cake! It was more like a many-tiered series of plates with donuts on them. Plus they made a cute bride and groom of donuts. This PDXer will reluctantly admit that while i have enjoyed Voodoo Donuts. I’ve never actually waited in line or visited the locations. I guess it is like NYers not going to the Empire State building!
TWA44, I did see the signs for wedding cakes when we were there. And, as a DC resident for the past 15 years who hasn’t stepped foot in a museum downtown in at least 5 years, I can relate to you not visiting the hometown attractions. 😉
Great tip to get there early – I’m visiting for the first time next week and voodoo is on my list
Philatravelgirl, we also enjoyed a good seafood meal at Jake’s. I should be writing it up soon, but that’s a decent place for dinner if you’re looking.
A few other restaurant tips: The Charthouse, H5O Bistro, Lincoln, and Oba. For a more moderately priced meal, we like Nicholas on E Broadway, TE on SW Park, or, if you want to see some areas out of the center city, try Marco’s in Multnomah Village. Or just walk around The Pearl and try one of the many restaurants there. Ditto for SE Hawthorne in the 30s. Have fun.
TWA44, thanks for all the suggestions!