2124 5th Ave 
Seattle, WA
(206) 728-1966

I’ve been to Portland and had their best confectionery delight. In my opinion, the variety Voodoo Doughnuts offers is beyond compare. In Seattle, Top Pot is considered the best of Seattle because of its many endorsements. I had to challenge this claim.

I’ve had plenty of doughnuts from at least four different countries (two being from Asia) to know parts of what’s available. Even Homer might be eying me with envy, but I digress. In what I tasted early morning, when the product is at its freshest. I can certainly say they do rank up there in satisfaction. The quality can certainly be tasted.

When considering the variety offered, I have yet to find a place that can beat Mister Dounut and Voodoo. Top Pot is more traditional in what kinds of doughnuts are offered. I liked the flavour and chewiness of their basic hand-made honey glazed but I’m not raving about it. Also, nothing fancy or super sweet can be found here. What they make tastes like a cross between a heavy and a fluffy light doughnut. They’re not toasty hot, fresh off the fryer, as I had hoped. Now those are doughnuts I’d give my seal of approval to. As for what I’m impressed with is the size of these doughnuts! They measure nearly five inches wide in diameter.

I was able to eat two in a few hours as I strolled up 5th towards Pike. The walk did me some good, but it hardly burned the calories these doughnuts contain. I was nibbling away at my second piece to give me the energy needed to last the day.

Top Pot has a few good ideas. But the fact that this company has sold their recipe to other chains to make similar products does not really bode well for making this chain a unique fixture to Seattle. Supposedly, Starbucks uses the same recipe in the USA and Canada in their doughnut products. But does that mean they use the same technique to produce their product? I’m thinking not. Anyone interested in tasting a Top Pot will have to pull out a measuring tape and have refined taste buds to compare theirs to a Starbucks product.

I could have bought a box to take home to Victoria, but they close at 7pm. I was not able to return until well after 9, so that idea was out. My first attempt for a visit was met with a doh! Top Pot would be wise to be open for longer hours at their 5th Street location than to limit it. After Emerald City Comic Con, I was craving a sweet and was denied. In what I did manage to buy in my second visit to the block was enough to last me for the remainder of my trip in Seattle.

I tested the doughnut’s endurance by seeing what could survive on my ride home from what I bought previously. Even crushed and left for a day, the doughnut still tasted good. My dentist can start having fits now. I still have a few bites of a Feather Boa left, a coconut dusted doughnut.

3½ Blokes out of 5