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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Welcome to Regional Doughnut Field Studies, the blog where Lorna and Josh attempt to eat at every doughnut shop in Portland and justify it in the name science. In this blog, we'll post our findings from each shop along with any field recordings we may have picked up along the way.
Once a week, the research team heads out to a doughnut shop in the Portland Metro area. Josh always eats a fritter (typically apple). Lorna eats something with chocolate on it. We try to gather as much relevant evidence as possible. Posts will include impressions, pictures, and/or recordings of our experiences.
