Doughnuts are to Portland what coffee is to David Lynch, both essential fuel and calling card. While there are many pretenders to the title of the city’s best doughnuts—Voodoo Doughnuts certainly sells the most Instagrammable food products—Blue Star, from ubiquitous local restaurateur Micah Camden, is the most consistent. Flavors range from powdered sugar to maple bacon to passion fruit cocoa nibs, sold fresh daily until no more remain. The downtown location gets crowded early on weekends, so plan ahead. In a pinch, grab them at Blue Star’s airport location—which makes asking a friend to pick you up at the airport a sweet request indeed.
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Ask A Local
If you’ve read any guide about Portland I’m sure you were told to go to Voodoo Donuts; but I opted to ask around. The locals, the donut connoisseurs, and the emo contrarians might all agree that the best place to get a proper donut is Blue Star Donuts.
Blueberry. Bourbon. Basil. In the same donut.
Yeah. You read that correctly.
That one’s a main staple; but there other creative flavor combinations to be found at Blue Star. Some are stepped up takes on the classics, for example the lemon poppy buttermilk donut, that started my day with sense of nostalgia. Others, such as the Peanut butter powder donut filled with Marionberry and habanero jam, just sound so crazy that it has to be good. For the record: It was good... It was amazing.
Donuts for Foodies
Hand-crafted donuts for food nerds like me! Flavors of these delightful treats range from simple vanilla sugar to bourbon blueberry basil—all awesome! Forget that other Portland donut shop with lines around the block and disappointing fare. These folks do it right. I watched their team cook these babies up in small batches, flipping each one by hand. Rumor has it they use a brioche dough. Whatever it is, I’m a fan! Bring a friend, grab an espresso, try a few. And don’t forget to thank your donut maker.
The wait is worth it
Best donuts I’ve ever had. Skip voodoo and come straight to blue star.
