Mighty O at Stumptown Coffee - Seattle, WA

Team Bloughnut took a trip on an aeroplane to the Northwest, home of Filson, Boeing, and Seattle's Best Coffee (as if!).  We hoped to hit Top Pot as required by most Seattle sources but didn't make it.  What we could accomplish was stop for some of Portland's finest coffee in one of their Seattle cafes, where we were (sort of) pleased to find Seattle's vegan doughnut option, Mighty O.

These tasted a lot like a vegan doughnut I have sampled here in the Bay Area: just alright.  The flavors were a yawn (vanilla chocolate and a blueberry mini--75 cents a bite).  "Can they even make a vegan raised?" queries Team Bloughnut associate Hillary K.  That's a good question, with my limited vegan doughnut experience they are always cake.

Here's another question: Do blueberries and yellow cake doughnuts make green?

The final question I will pose to you is a territorial one:  Do you think, based on this neon sign (I love all the neon in the Northwest, by the way), that the Portland-based micro-roasting behemoth Stumptown is trying to represent a little bit of P-Town pride among their neighbors to the north?

These vegan cake doughnuts just don't do it for me. If someone has found a vegan maple bar, vegan chocolate old-fashioned, or a vegan apple fritter, please let me know!

Without coffee, doughnuts just aren't very appealing to be honest

Team Bloughnut gave up coffee for 2 weeks to reset the body and give the Team some time to relax, and we found doughnuts just weren't really on the radar (it's like Mickey without Minnie). But thanks to a certain team member bringing back some Stumptown all the way from NYC's Ace Hotel, Team Bloughnut decided 2 weeks was long enough without the black gold. We're back!

We were quiet, but still busy.  Here are a few photos from a small doughnut adventure at the beginning of my coffee fast.  The first two are from The Jelly Donut in Pleasanton: never trust a doughnut shop next to a Little Caesar's Pizza Pizza, especially if it's spelled 'donut' -- though they do have decent Yelp reviews, and though they did serve up a pretty half-decent maple cinnamon roll, which I have never seen before!

This next pic is from the Pleasanton Fair Grounds, cleaning up after the Alameda County Fair.  Apparently the new rage is competitive tweener sheep riding?!  "The Toughest Sport on Wool" --- maybe the only sport on wool?!

The last shot is another bit of an interlude, paying homage to the King of Bad, bigger than life, Mr. Eastwood himself.  Spotted on 3rd Street in the Dogpatch, San Francisco.

'Til next time, keep it doughy.

King Pin Donuts - Berkeley, CA; and an Interlude

News Flash: King Pin Donuts gives Bob's a run for its money!  Hanging out with Bloughnut fan Aliza R. we stumbled upon this Cal hot spot after hours.  Doughnut holes fresh out of the oven and the greasiest deliciousest maple bar!  I'll be back..

Interlude: I have seen this billboard on Mandela Parkway in West Oakland for years (though they recently added the Kinetic Steam Works banner) and still don't know what to make of it.  Anybody have a clue?  Though, it's kind of a nice little personal mystery.

Bob's Donuts - San Francisco, CA

Bob's brings the heat yet again with another fine showing.  After nearly getting a flat tire Team Bloughnut needed some relief and Bob's delivered.  Apple fritter, chocolate old fashioned, and maple french.  I'm still waiting for the day when Bob's starts slippin' but it wasn't this fine day.

In the window: another satisfied customer licking her chops, or a sidewalk stroller contemplating her next fried dough move?  Bob's: BE THERE.

Bob's Donuts - San Francisco CA

After feverish World Cup action nothing calms me down like a gigantic slice of apple loaf from Bob's.  I recently discovered this little piece of magic: Bob's takes the leftover doughnuts, mashes them up, and creates a giant loaf filled with baked apples and topped with raisins.  At $2.45 a slice it's not cheap but definitely worth it, and a good use of day old doughnuts if you ask this reviewer. 

 The glazed buttermilk evoked oohs and ahhs from the Bloughnut review team.  Bob's delivers, again.

Doughnut Dunking Etiquette - 1946

Here is a nice video from 1946 worth watching for anybody concerned with the etiquette of dunking your doughnuts.

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675047264_Dough-nut-Dunking-Week_people-eat-dough-nut_man-grabs-and-eat_dip-in-liquid

Thanks to our international Bloughnut contributor Kelly Mc for the link!

HAPPY NATIONAL DOUGHNUT DAY - Dream Fluff Donuts - Berkeley, CA

Team Bloughnut joins in this national celebration of all things round and fried on the first Friday in June.  This day was first conceived by the Salvation Army 72 years ago to commemorate the women who served doughnuts to soldiers during World War 1.  For an early morning celebration we stopped by Dream Fluff Donuts on our way to breakfast at Mama's Royal Cafe for a sample pack: maple old fashioned, chocolate old fashioned (2), apple fritter (consumed in the Bloughnutmobile before we could get a picture), coconut cake, and crumb cake.

Dream Fluff knows what's up.  The fritter was aptly appley, massive, and the glaze not sickly-sweet.  The old fashioneds had the funky contours we have come to appreciate.  The cake doughnuts were moist, even after 5 hours in a paper bag in my backpack (though in all fairness maybe keeping doughnuts in a paper bag keeps them moist).  Our only concern is the maple glaze is very pale and sickly looking, noted on our maple OF and on the bars sitting in the store.  Overall we continue to give Dream Fluff high marks.

To acknowledge this important should-be public holiday we encourage YOU our faithful readers to in turn encourage your local shops to switch the incorrectly spelled "Donut" in their title to "Doughnut."  If you know us, you know how much "Krazy Glue" and "La-Z-Boy" and all the other stupidly misspelled, condensed, hyphenated, and otherwise annoyingly incorrect names really raise our hackles.

Happy National Doughnut Day, get out there and celebrate with some fried dough fireworks of your own.  Thanks to Bloughnut enthusiast Peter K. for the holiday heads up.