The decorations were made to look like the beach: the coconut flake topping was sprinkled on the donut to look like sand with a fun colorful toothpick umbrella on top. The donut embodied the tropical theme as best as it could. However, the decoration of the donut was fun. Its flavor was masked by the copious amount of sugar added to the frosting mixture. The guava jelly on the inside was like a loose, gelatinous corn syrup with very little guava flavor. When I ordered the donut, I expected it to be more fruity and have a stronger coconut taste, but instead, it was quite sugary. Their donuts were fairly dense and less airy than those of other places that I have been to. I got the Guava Colada donut at Voodoo Doughnut. While I must admire their work building their brand to a point where they are able to charge this much and stay in business, from a consumer standpoint, I felt like my money would’ve been better spent elsewhere. Voodoo’s donuts are also, in my opinion, extremely overpriced. It was flavorful and thick, and I appreciated the crunch of the seeds that remained dispersed throughout. The highlight of the Voodoo Doll Donut was the berry jam filling. Additionally, it was runny on the inside, which offset the textures of the donut as a whole. The chocolate frosting was, in my opinion, too heavy. My first impression was that it was a surprising mix of flavors: chocolate frosting, berry jam filling, vanilla frosting and a salty pretzel through the doll’s heart. I also got to try their namesake Voodoo Doll Donut. Sweet and light, the chocolate covering complemented perfectly the classic glaze on the donut. This was quite a shame: in my opinion, the chocolate covering was the best part of the donut. While the picture showed a donut drenched in chocolate, the reality was a drizzle. Furthermore, the amount of chocolate “covering” was meager at best. A combination of small alterations (a larger center hole, a shorter height) resulted in a noticeably less filling donut. However, the donut was deceptively insubstantial. It was at least a clean eat, more compact and less crumbly than other old-fashioneds I’ve had in my life. It was crispy, however, it came at the cost of a dry center. I ordered the chocolate covered old-fashioned donut.
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I ordered the Raspberry Romeo donut, and while the filling itself was standard (nothing surprising, nor necessarily disappointing), the dough felt below average, not to mention the jam distribution left a lot to be desired. The titles and appearances encourage high expectations, but the pastry itself falls a bit flat, a lackluster attempt that reeks of an establishment resting on its brand.
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But, what Voodoo doesn’t have is the donuts to match. This has a certain vibe to it, a post-obscurity-yet-still-edgy style complete with a pale pink storefront that screams Portland. Voodoo Doughnuts Voodoo Doughnut’s pink sign hangs above a hungry crowd. We rated each bakery out of 5 stars, so read more to find out which store was the most popular! We visited and reviewed Voodoo Doughnuts, Sesame Donuts and Blue Star Donuts. On Journalism’s trip to Portland, we visited 3 distinct donut establishments to taste test their donuts and let you know where to get the best bang for your buck.