Site Name: Donut World
Site Address: 720 NE Burnside Rd
Gresham, OR 97030
One rainy day, the research team decided to make the long trek to the suburbs in search of a new donut experience. Through the downpour, off in the distance, a big red barn shown like a beacon of hope. That beacon was Donut World. That hope was expressed with raspberry fritters.
Figure 1. Site Exterior
Donut World is a barn full of doughnuts. The stained-glass window greeting you as you walk in (Figure 2) gives you a good feel for what you're in for...
Figure 2. Site Interior
Donut World reminded Josh of what espresso shops looked like in the mid-nineties in Portland: this weird transition to something fancy, but not fully committed to it. Josh loves this vibe, given how much of his adolescence was spent in places like this. He was a trench-coat and a pack of Djarum Blacks away from being fifteen again...
Figure 3. The Goods
Josh sampled a raspberry fritter and a buttermilk bar (he was ravenous from the hike out to Gresham). The fritter had a heavy, sugary glaze and a dense dough with a neon pink swirl. This one ran a little too far on the sweet scale for Josh.
Josh reported that the buttermilk bar was dense and creamy. This was a spot-on doughnut; acting as a counter-punch to the teeth-rattling sweetness of the fritter. Well played, Donut World.
Lorna sampled a Boston Cream. She reported the cream was pretty typical, but still good. The frosting was a bit thin, but the cake was nice and fluffy. Overall, Lorna was happy with both her sample and the bite she had of Josh's fritter. After a long debate on the merits of the glaze in the construction of a fritter, Lorna and Josh agreed to disagree.
Figure 5. Lorna's Sample
Below is an eerily accurate account of a typical Sunday morning at the Keeling household (just replace Garfield with our lumbering dog, Bear). How do you know us so well, DW?
Donut World has a special sort of charm that appealed to both Josh's love of kitschy coffeehouses and Lorna's nostalgia for the homey vibe of the Midwest. The doughnuts have their merits, but are not enough to justify the trip if you live in the city. That said, if you live in Gresham or happen to be passing through, they're worth a stop to settle in with a hunk of dough and a giant white chocolate mocha.
