My kingdom for a donut

Donuts are close to my heart. I love their roundness, the hole in the middle, all the different kinds. Most of all, I love that they cost less than $1 and they are unpretentious--not biscotti or scones or croissants...so unassuming.

Open Sesame!
So I was thrilled to find Sesame Donuts on SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy -- open 24 hours...true to their name, they've got sesame donuts, -- a crunchy saltiness that contrasts with the sweetness. Also heart-shaped for Valentine's Day, and red-green-white sprinkles for Christmas.

Don't Miss Jake
Best of all, they've got Jake. He works the night shift, making the donuts, serving people from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., when he either goes to his PSU classes or home to sleep until noon. He likes his job, he really likes eating donuts--either a maple bar, his favorite, or a handful of donut holes (15 for $1). He's friendly no matter how early in the a.m., and he'll take the time to get you fresh-baked old-fashioned out of the back, or just wait while you choose from the usual donut line-up...no eye-rolling, sighing or tapping of feet while you choose between chocolate frosted sprinkles, marble bars, twist sticks, toasted coconut, pumpkin spice....or just a bag of donut holes...

That VooDoo That You Do
A sidebar on Voodoo Donuts -- okay, I was curious to go there when I first read about it -- despite the fact that they've been featured on The Tonight Show, Good Morning American, Wall St. Journal, New York Times, Food Network, etc. etc.---a sure sign that a place has gone from too cool to yawn...I figured it was still a Must on the Must-See in Portland list (like Montage, but more about that another time...) Their Voodoo Wedding services ($25 for an intentional commitment, $175 for the real thing) are pretty clever....but...here's the kicker...
Their donuts aren't anything special--and definitely not as good as Sesame Donuts AND
The folks behind the counter were snotty...yes, I know that if you work in such a hyper-hip place, your attitude should say "I'm really much more than a person serving donuts," but it kinda soured me on the donuts -- good thing, too, because they were super-sweet, and I didn't even try the ones with Lucky Charms on top...

So, I'm sticking to Sesame Donuts -- and Jake...