Case Study 007: Tigard Donut

Site Name:     Tigard Donut
Site Address: 13815 SW Pacific Hwy
                       Ste 80
                       Portland, OR 97223



There are a million Tigard Donuts out there. Go to LA and you'll see a Tigard Donut on every other corner. Tigard Donut is a nondescript, immigrant-owned doughnut shop tucked away in a suburban strip mall. But we love these places and, quite frankly, Portland doesn't have enough of them.

Figure 1. Site Exterior

Tigard Donut has all the things you're looking for: old men arguing about politics, early hours, bad coffee, and solid, sugary doughnuts. Why is it that these places only exist in Portland suburbs (except for you, Annie's...)?

 Figure 2. Site Interior

Did we mention how awesome the owners are? The research team was cutting it pretty close to closing time, as TD closes either at 1pm or when they decide there aren't enough customers to justify sticking around. Luckily, we called ahead. And they gladly set aside a apple fritter for Josh out of caution and promised to stay open until we got there.

Figure 3. Site Owners

Josh reported that his fritter was sweet and light. The fritter had a heavy glaze and chocked full of apples. There are two types of apple fritters: those made out of apple/cinnamon flavored dough and those that have chunks of apple tossed in. Normally, Josh is pretty happy with the former normally, but Tigard pulls off the latter pretty well. A little sweet, but a solid doughnut.

Figure 4. Josh's Sample

Lorna sampled an eclair on this outing. Her notes were recorded for posterity.

 
Figure 5. Lorna's Sample

But the very best part of Tigard Donut is the fact that they have a kid's book all about the life of Arnie the Donut. It's an epic tale of self-discovery of one plucky little chocolate-sprinkled upstart. Highly recommended.

Figure 6. Reading Material

Case Study 006: Sesame Donuts

Site Name:    Sesame Donuts
Site Address: 6990 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale  Hwy
                      Portland, OR 97225-1461

Field Recording: Sesame Donuts by Mog Bog

Sesame Donuts is a bastion of doughy goodness in the wilderness that is Southwest Portland. Squished into the insane intersection that is the crossing of Scholls-Ferry and Beaverton-Hillsdale, this place is a little slice of Middle-Eastern doughnut heaven.

Figure 1. Site Exterior

It appears that an Arab family took it upon themselves to swoop up all the old Dunkin Donuts locations in Southwest Portland and make them their own. And man, did they do a good job. The selection is fantastic and well-priced. The requisite old men in the corner arguing about politics were at their most charming. At one in the afternoon, there was still a steady stream of customers.

Figure 2. Site Interior

The part that must be mentioned, though, is the staff. They are easily the friendliest doughnut vendors we have ever met. The staff at Sesame have created an in-store experience that is basically the doughnut equivalent of Car Talk. Everyone behind the counter loves to make bad joke after bad joke. And we're happy to groan along with them. 

Field Recording: Sesame Donuts (Gag Reel) by Mog Bog

On to the doughnuts. For this outing, we picked up three sample units: a Boston creme, an apple fritter, and the famed Sesame doughnut. We also had a chocolate milk (not reviewed here).

Figure 3. The Full Spread

Field Notes: Sesame Donuts by Mog Bog

Lorna reported positive results from her Boston creme. She said that the cream was delicious and there was a good texture to the dough. She was pleasantly surprised (as heard in the above recording).

Figure 4. Lorna's Sample

Josh said that his apple fritter was delicious. As seen in the figure below, there were large chunks of apple (a sadly infrequent occurrence in most places), good spice, and nice texture. He said that it was very moist and had the perfect degree of sweetness.

Figure 5. Josh's Sample

Josh and Lorna split (fought over) the Sesame doughnut. This gem is a lemon-glazed cake doughnut coated in sesame seeds. We don't want to stray too far into hyperbole, but this was one of the best doughnuts we've ever had. And we're professional doughnut researchers.

Figure 6. Bonus Round: The Sesame Donut

There is nothing bad that can be said about Sesame Donuts. These guys have it down. Unless you hate good doughnuts and awful puns (that is, you have no soul), you will love Sesame Donut. And it will love you back.

Figure 7. Josh at Work

 

Oh, did we mention they deliver?

Figure 8. The Sesame-Mobile

Case Study 005: Honey Jar Yogurt

Site Name:      Honey Jar Yogurt

Site Location: 13810 NE Sandy Blvd

                        Portland, OR 97230

Field Recording: Honey Jar Yogurt by Mog Bog

Honey Jar Yogurt (AKA Honey Jar Cafe, Honey Jar Donuts) is a bit of a hike from the inner city, but it's worth the trip. Honey Jar offers a little bit for everyone, with Thai food, frozen yogurt, hamburgers, and (most importantly) doughnuts on the menu. So far, the field team has sampled the doughnuts and Thai food and can report with confidence that both are excellent.

Figure 1. Site Exterior (North Side)

Figure 2. Site Exterior (East Side)

Honey Jar seems to be a neighborhood hot spot, with a good mix of people. On any given trip you might find a herd of old ladies on a doughnut mission, a young couple arguing over Thai food, or a family stopping by for a post-soccer game fro-yo. Honey Jar is an odd crossroads on the outskirts of Portland proper.

Honey Jar appears to be run entirely by a Thai family (complete with toddlers running around the place showing off their toys to unsuspecting customers). They are exceedingly nice, even staying open a little late for a last-minute Thai food run made by the field team on a certain Saturday trip to Ikea. That said, they often close early. If you're planning a trip any time past 3 or 4 in the afternoon, call ahead (503.254.2135).

Figure 3. Site Interior

Our first trip to Honey Jar was strictly business: doughnuts only. Lorna got the chocolate and coconut covered cake doughnut. Lorna reported the doughnut was pretty standard, not too dense and fairly moist. It wasn't exceptional, but it was solid. She also had a Boston Creme. She reported that this was pretty killer.

Figure 4. Lorna's Samples

Josh sampled an apple fritter. He found it to be light and crispy with very little glaze. The doughnut was exceptionally light and he claimed that he could have eaten two more easily. This claim remains unsubstantiated.

Figure 5. Josh's Sample

In sum, though Honey Jar is not a true doughnut shop it deserves recognition for managing to produce above average doughnuts while juggling just about every other type of food you could desire. So make the trip and support this funny little place. Oh, did we mention they have this awesome mural?

Figure 6. Doughnut Shrine

Case Study 004: Donut Queen

Site Name:       Donut Queen

Site Location:  5842 E Burnside St
                         Portland, OR 97215

Field Recording: Donut Queen by Mog Bog

 

Donut Queen is a post-apocalyptic doughnut shop. When the world ends and Tina Turner runs Barter Town, all doughnut shops will look like Donut Queen. And we mean no disrespect in saying this; it's part of their charm.

Figure 1. Site Exterior

 

The lady at the counter is very nice, though she always seems surprised when you show up asking for doughnuts, as if this is some sort of unusual request. The space is sparse and cold, with concrete floors and a few empty speed racks strewn about the kitchen area. They claim to also make pizza, though we have our suspicions....

Figure 2. Site Interior

Lorna sampled a chocolate covered cake doughnut. She reported nothing exceptional about her doughnut. It was sweet and heavy, but overall, pretty standard.

Figure 3. Lorna's Sample

Josh sampled an apple fritter. The glaze was thick and quite sweet. The overall taste resembled a Safeway doughnut on a really good day. It didn't help that the doughnuts were stone cold.

Generally, Donut Queen's selection is not terribly exceptional. The reason to come here is for the atmosphere. There's an eerie vibe in this place that is really charming. A friend of ours swears it's some sort of mafia front.

And besides, somebody's gotta try the pizza...

Case Study 003: Heavenly Donuts

Site name: Heavenly Donuts
Location: 1915 N Lombard
                Portland, OR 97217
Field Recording: Heavenly Donuts on Lombard by Mog Bog
 
Heavenly Donuts is the first chain location that we've visited. Heavenly Donuts has 7 locations, two of which are in Portland: one on Lombard and one on 102nd (there's also one in Gladstone). Being North Portlanders, we took the easy route and opted for the one on Lombard. No matter which one you go to, you'll be greeted by this piece of typographic wizardry.

Figure 1. Site Exterior

Once inside, you'll be greeted by an only faintly corporate vibe. If we hadn't done some preparatory research, we'd have had no idea that this was a chain. As can be seen in the figure below, the selection is fantastic and the foot traffic was steady even in the early afternoon.

Figure 2. Site Interior

We visited Heavenly twice, due to some problems with data collection on the first visit. Therefore, we each had two doughnuts.

On the first round, we stuck to our classics. Josh had an apple fritter, though as seen in Figure 1, the fritter options are numerous. As shown in the figure below, the fritter was not heavily glazed. The doughnut was light, somewhat fluffy, with almost a creaminess to it. Josh was pleasantly surprised by this one, coming from a chain. Unusually delicious.

Figure 3. Josh's Sample

Lorna had a cake doughnut with chocolate glaze and sprinkles apparently chosen in solidarity with the Charlotte Bobcats. This doughnut was also very well received. The picture and field notes below should speak for themselves.

Field Notes: Heavenly Donuts on Lombard by Mog Bog

Figure 4. Lorna's Sample

On the second visit, two additional doughnuts were sampled: a cream-filled and a maple twist. 

Lorna was sure to clarify that Heavenly has Boston Creams on hand (pudding-filled), not Bavarian Creams (fluffy cream-filled). Lorna noted that despite slightly uneven cream distribution, the doughnut was airy and soft on the inside with a nice light crispness on the outside.

Figure 5. Lorna's Second Sample

Josh was too quick with his second visit to report too much on his sample. But judging from the picture taken below, it was well-received.

Figure 6. Josh's Gluttony

Case Study 002: Acme Donuts

Site Name: Acme Donuts

Location: 2929 SE Powell Blvd

                Portland, OR 97202

Field Recording: Acme Donuts by Mog Bog

Acme Donuts is located just near the bowling alley on scenic Powell Boulevard. It's somewhat unclear what audience Acme is vying for. There is a sort of manic quality to the place that may be either comforting or off-putting, depending on your upbringing.

Figure 1. Site Exterior

As can be seen in the figure below, the color palate is intense. It may look like this print is overexposed, but we assure you, it was taken with your standard iPhone camera settings. It is just that bright in there.

Another departure from your standard donut shop: music. It seems that most places we go, the only sound is of munching and shifting trays. Not so at Acme, where the mellow funk groove fits the decor perfectly. It must be working: there was group of girls who seemed like regulars just hanging out and chatting the whole time we were there.

Figure 2. Site Interior

On to the important stuff: the doughnuts. The selection was a bit meager, due to a self-reported rush earlier in the day. Near as we could tell, there were no apple fritters (one strike right off the bat). Lorna ordered a chocolate cake doughnut with coconut. She said that the doughnut was adequate, though a bit strange as it seemed that the frosting was not doughnut glaze (hard and brittle), but actual cake frosting (wet and runny).

Figure 3. Lorna's Sample

Due to the lack of fritters, Josh was at a loss. The variety of flavors at Acme matches the general vibe: scattered and erratic. Josh opted for the PB&J doughnut.

How best to describe it? As Josh later told Lorna, it tasted like they had just used the fryer for a batch of shrimp and chips and then turned to making the PB&Js. Old oil. And Josh is no snob when it comes to bad fried food. But it was gross. So gross that we had to go to another doughnut shop afterward to wash the flavor our of his mouth. The frosting was runny and the jelly was toast jam, not the gelatinous goodness you would expect. The doughnut was a mess to handle and hard to choke down. We try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt in our research, but this was bad.

Figure 4. Josh's Sample

Phew. That said, Acme has something going for it. As seen in Figure 5, they deliver. They also had a very nice lady working the counter when we were there. And for those of us comfortable with the funky, scattered decor of places like Beaterville, this place should feel like home. Acme won't draw you in with their doughnuts, but if you live in the neighborhood, it's not a bad place to hang out, have a cup of coffee, and watch the Powell traffic. But just stick to the classics.

Figure 5. Delivery Apparatus

P.S. If you get a chance, check out their website. It appears to be down currently, but, last time it was up-and-running, it was complete insanity.

Case Study 001: Annie's Donuts

Site Name: Annie's Donuts

Location:  3449 NE 72nd Ave 

                 Portland, OR 97253

Field Recording: Annie's Donuts by Mog Bog

Annie's is what we think of when we think of doughnut shops. It is a simple shop that operates on the assumption that there will always be a need for doughnuts in the Roseway neighborhood. And so far, they appear to be correct.

Figure 1. Site Exterior

Note the classic road sign and painted window lettering. This is a prototypical doughnut shop. The staff are friendly and the clientele local. Personally, we love this place. It is exactly what we want when we go for a fritter in the morning. That said, the morning is the only time you could get one, since this place isn't Voodoo: they close at 1pm most days.

Figure 2. Site Interior

Lorna opted for a chocolate-frosted cake doughnut with coconut flakes. She reported a good overall flavor, both in the cake and frosting. The coconut is a good touch, but does not add a lot to the overall taste.

Figure 3. Lorna's Sample

Figure 4. Behold as Lorna Destroys the Evidence

Josh sampled the berry fritter. The berry flavor is a nice departure form your typical apple fritter. The doughnut is greasy, heavy, and thick on glaze. Some doughnuts are light and fluffy, just asking you to down a half a dozen. Not these babies. These fritters are a meal. This is what you eat when you wake up from a late night and need something to burn through the morning.

Figure 5. Josh's Sample

In summary, Annie's is a classic. There are no surprises and no disappointments. If you want a heavy-duty, American doughnut on your way to work or to deal soak up a mean hangover, go to Annie's.