Thursday, May 07, 2009

CC: Top Pot Doughnuts

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Location visited: Seattle, WA
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 4+ [see key]



Breakfast pastries never really ever entice me at breakfast. Maybe it's my mind that has convinced my digestive tract that such food bodes as just quick-burning fuel and that what I want is lots of protein. But whatever the reason, there are few times I'll pick up something like a doughnut in my morning travels.

Then there are the few times where it sounds like a great idea, such as when your hotel is really close to a really fine doughnut place. During my stay in Seattle, I had such a morning when a colleague of mine, originally from Washington, had a monstrous craving for a maple bar and we decided to hit local doughnut hotspot, Top Pot Hand-Forged Doughnuts. The place looked sleek enough, with its two-story glass front with some of the cutest bushes in a neat line along the bottom. The interior was arrayed somewhat like a loft with a huge staircase interjecting between two walls of giant bookshelves, with plenty of seating all over.

As a tremendous complement to their pastry selection, Top Pot of course serves up coffee. Admirably, they roast their own coffee in the back on a large drum roaster where they forge their doughnuts. The coffee (I believe it was their Diplomat blend) was bright and at a good roast level (no char); an overall fair coffee with potential but nothing tremendously distinct. The espresso, pulled short to medium, had the flavor of raisins up front along with a little sourness, and sadly had a good deal of char on the end. The tea is free leaf and the doughnuts lived up to the massive hype (my plain cake doughnut was great and my colleague's maple bar apparently was amazing).

While I did crave breakfast meat a little closer to lunch, Top Pot really made an amazing stop for a light breakfast. And while some of the coffee aspects could maybe grow a bit (the doughnuts need no change), I definitely will be hitting Top Pot next time I'm in the Emerald City.

So if you're up for a good doughnut and cup of coffee in downtown Seattle, give Top Pot Hand-Forged Doughnuts a try.

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