September 09, 2010

Shameless Review: Portland's Voodoo Doughnuts - Irreverently Delicious

Voodoo Doughnut - The Magic Truly is in the Hole



The original Voodoo Doughnuts is a hole in the wall in Portland that any lover of doughnuts must visit.  This place is irreverently hilarious with doughnuts like:
  • The Voodoo Doll - a yeast doughnut with a raspberry filling in the shape of a person.  Topped with chocolate, it also comes with a pretzel stick "pin".  Unfortunately it doesn't come with directions on how to use this to torture random people...but I guess they had to draw the line somewhere.
  • The Bacon Maple Bar - another yeast doughnut, but in bar form.  Coated with a maple glaze and topped with 2 strips of bacon.  Given my beliefs about butter and bacon making everything better, you can imagine how I feel about this one.
  • The Diablos Rex - chocolate cake doughnut with chocolate frosting, red sprinkles, a vanilla pentagram and chocolate chips.
  • The Texas Challenge - This is a raised yeast doughnut that is Texas sized.  It is equal to over 6 normally sized doughnuts and if you can eat it in less than 80 seconds, you get it for free...I was not man enough to try, but let me know if you do and succeed and I will post your picture on Shameless Foodie!
  • The Old Dirty Bastard - A raised yeast doughnut with chocolate frosting, crumbled oreos, and peanut butter.
I have left off some of their more risque doughnut types, but if you are interested in seeing what else these mad scientists of doughnut making have concocted, check out their site here:  Voodoo Doughnuts Menu.

We heard about this place when we arrived in Portland and everyone was telling us, that this is the best place to go in the city.  I checked it out on urbanspoon.com and it is the number 1 rated restaurant in the city, so I had to give it a try.  We decided to take a stroll down there a little after lunch on a Sunday morning, thinking (naively as it turned out) that there wouldn't be much of a wait at this time of the day / week.  The line that greeted us was almost a full block long and wrapped around the corner. While this was a good sign, we were on a schedule so we decided to come back later.

FOOD:
When we finally got back around to Voodoo, I was almost sorry that I didn't wait in the line the first time.  I asked the young lady working behind the counter what the most popular doughnut they had was, and she reached into her confectionery case of magic deliciousness and produced a bacon maple bar.  Who am I to argue with the masses.  So, resigning myself to the inevitability of fate, I decided to give it a try.

Despite the late hour (it was 2AM...and before you ask, yes we had been drinking), upon my first bite the skies parted, and a heavenly light poured down as a host of winged angels sang music almost as amazing as the doughnut itself.  Maple and bacon is a traditional combination, but when added on top of a raised yeast doughnut, the human palette is not quite capable of keeping up with the doughnuty genius of this delightful bar.

One of my compatriots decide to try the Old Dirty Bastard.  This doughnut proved to be almost as delicious as the Bacon Maple Bar.  I was a little skeptical of the crushed oreo and peanut butter combination, the the richness of the peanut butter and the crunchy, slightly bitter aspect of the oreos off set each other beautifully and came together in a symphonic crescendo of doughnutness.

September 07, 2010

Shameless Review: Mother's Velvet Lounge & Cafe - Maybe She Will Adopt Me

Mother's Velvet Lounge & Cafe - Portland Scores Back-to-Back Wins



As I mentioned in my last review, the locals know where the good food is, but when it comes to where the best breakfast is...ask your bartender.  Since most of them work strange hours, their dinner is often our breakfast.  This was no exception and my bartender at Paddy's Bar and Grill (which has the largest liquor selection / wall in the city and probably the largest I have ever seen), didn't miss a beat when I asked about the best local breakfast joint.  He said Mother's instantly without thought...good enough for me.

I couldn't have been more pleased with the recommendation.  While it was a pretty good walk, maybe 10-12 blocks, from our hotel, it was well worth it.  When we arrived, there was a 20 minute wait with people milling around outside the restaurant.  Mother's conveniently offer free coffee for the wait, and unlike many places I have been with long lines everyone here seemed relaxed and friendly.  It was really like a bunch of friends were just hanging around outside of their favorite bar.

We were told it would be 20 minutes, but it was more like 15 which was a nice surprise.  I learned later that they always do their best to give you a time and then get you in sooner than that.

FOOD:
While we were waiting I noticed they were making coffee fresh ground for every pot.  I am not a huge coffee fan, but one of the servers insisted that the french press coffee was a must try.  So, try it we did.  I may have changed my mind about coffee.  I don't think I will ever be one of those that has to have 3 cups to function in a morning or a common sight at my local Starbucks like some of my family, but I could get onboard with a cup of freshly gound, french press coffee on a lazy Sunday morning.

Being in Portland I had to try something with a local flair.  I was a little surprised to see several dishes with a southwestern flair, but that isn't what I think of as northwest eats.  I settled on the Wild Salmon Hash with eggs.  I was a little bit intimidated by this dish.  Being a southern boy at heart, fish for breakfast is not a common thing.  However, I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised.  The thick cut red potatoes were in a delicate cream sauce with leeks, and then tossed with the extremely fresh salmon.  This was so good, my mouth still waters thinking of it.  The locally produced, fresh blackberry jam that is on every table is also a nice addition to their toast.