Doe Donuts - Portland, OR

courtesy of doedonuts.com

As it happens, the best donut I have had to date just happens to be vegan. When I took my dad down to Portland to catch a flight back home to Houston, I dragged my sister with me and told her I wanted to check out a vegan donut shop on NE Sandy Blvd I’d recently read about, Doe Donuts.

“Vegan donuts? Pffft!” she snorted, but slid into the passenger’s seat nonetheless.

“Just humor me,” I encouraged. I’d finally picked up where I’d left off binging Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix and discovered Doe’s in the Portland episode.

Doe Donuts is not exactly new. They’re newish, making their debut back in 2017, but they were (and are) kind of a big deal as they were the first all-vegan donut shop in Portland. They’re also emphatic about their ingredients, which are local, organic, Fair Trade, and Non-GMO whenever possible. Everything at Doe’s is made from scratch using those pure ingredients. You won’t find pre-made dough mixes or fillings and glazes that are ordered from outside sources. The donuts are fried and they do not use preservatives, so eating your donuts the same day that you purchase them is recommended, and applauded. Please note that their kitchen is tiny, so you won’t find gluten-free or nut-free options here. Just fucking amazing, plant-based donuts.

Seeing Phil devour the donuts on the big screen, I felt they just had to taste good. They simply looked amazing, and Phil’s wide eyes and sugar-caked lips had me convinced I needed to try them.

I don’t adhere to any special diet, which means I pretty much eat anything and everything with one caveat: it has to taste good. If it’s plant based and I love the way it tastes, consider me a staunch supporter and ally. I’m also not opposed to eating really bad, day-old Chinese food. Taste is subjective. I’ve read that some people really like these donuts, but don’t consider them the best donuts in Portland. That’s fine with me. I haven’t eaten every donut available in Portland, so who am I to say they’re not the best?

The strawberry-rhubarb bear claw, and my favorite, the Salted Vanilla Bean donut

My sister got the strawberry-rhubarb bear claw. I got one each of the Portland Fog and the Salted Vanilla Bean donuts. I’m obsessed with a good London Fog, so I thought the Portland Fog would be my favorite. But when I bit down into the Salted Vanilla Bean donut, its aromatic vanilla bean sugar and crunchy sea salt glaze giving way to an incredibly fluffy interior, I knew there would never again be another donut for me. I’ll admit I thought the same thing when I had my first maple-bacon bar, but seriously, I am passionately in love with this donut, and I don’t care that it doesn’t contain ingredients that came from animals. I’m totally fine with it.

My sister didn’t say a word as she annihilated her bear claw, but I’m guessing she’s okay with it, too.

Post Script: Doe Donuts also does ice cream, but I haven’t been able to break away from the donuts to try it.