Portland Day 2 - Blue Star Donuts (Hawthorne)

When we were in PDX in 2012, Blue Star hadn't existed yet...

since then, this donut shop has expanded to several locations...

This particular location makes its ghome in SE Portland on Hawthorne where there are a ton of  interesting shops, eateries and coffee joints.  Blue Star is known for it's brioche based donuts made with local (and artisanal, ooh) ingredients. The guy working here was so very friendly and super enthusiastic. The donut display is minimalistic. There's only one of each kind on display; the rest are behind the counter.


Our trio

The passionfruit glazed donut with cacao  nibs (TC's choice):

Bert was drawn to the chocolate ganache donut with crushed almonds:

Here's the passion fruit cacao nib again. TC didn't really like it. She said it was too tart and didn't like the nibs on there, so I finished it for her (later on, that is), ha ha.

I had to get this donut, the Blueberry Basil  Bourbon...I could taste each flavor in the glaze.  This would make for a great cocktail too, but seriously, this donut was worth the hype.

Nearby, the legendary Baghdad Theater, showing, "Black Panther" of course.


Articles:
"Three reasons to check out Blue Star Donuts Hawthorne" PDX Monthly, May 12, 2014
"The buttery truth behind Portland, OR's best donuts" Serious Eats, Aug. 2014

Blue Star Donuts
3549 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 477-9635

www.bluestardonuts.com + reviews from you know where & FourSquare

We had a few bites before putting them away so we could go thrift store shopping.  These donuts so far, were among the best we've had. I still remember my bad experience with that shitty "doughnut" joint in North Park ((cough, cough, Streetcar, cough, cough)) which also uses brioche as a donut base.  These donuts were not heavy or gross like theirs were. The flavors were more intense as well.

As you can see we didn't over do it by getting a half dozen or whatever. We still had to reserve our appetites for dinner later on. There were so many great choices here, like a creme brulee donut with a crackly sugar top, but I refrained, ha ha.

Six years ago, it would have been outrageous to fork over $3 for a single donut. Now, for the "gourmet" donut places, it's the norm. How things have changed...