Vern's

Howdy gang! (I stole that one from my Grandpa) I am out in Fort Collins Colorado for a little r&r and a work conference and boy has been it refreshing. The skies are huge, the living is simple, the fish are plentiful and thunder storms roll in faster than you can say cinnamon rolls... did I say cinnamon rolls? What the heck is that? Well... since I did, I might as well roll with it (pun intended).


Ok, so cinnamon rolls. Well, I guess there are a lot of them out this way and they are not limited to a traditional bakery setting. They sell them anywhere from diners, to bait shops to dingy little gas stations; most of them claiming to make the best, but by the rules of logic we know that's not true. That's what makes the best the best; there is just one and it truly is better than the rest. The best is what makes a tied baseball game sit so uneasy in our souls and the the loss of the US Women's Soccer Team hurt so bad. But as far as cinnamon rolls go, I will not claim to have found the best in Colorado simply because I have not tried them all, but I will say that Vern's C.roll is pretty damn good.

So what is Vern's? It is a diner/bait & tackle shop/taxidermy emporium that holds a special place in the heart of my husband and his family and now mine. 

You see, every 2 years the organization we work for holds a 10 day conference in the Fort Collins area, so every other year a Vern's cinnamon roll becomes a delicious nostalgic must have.  

So here she is. Isn't she a beaut? Fresh out of the oven too! Properly served up with a side of butter and extra frosting (key elements of a great cinnamon roll). The roll itself is big, the inside is gooey, not dry, and the cinnamon-sugar is pervasive. You drooling yet?

Oh, and just for fun I will include some pics of our horseback riding trip we were headed to when we detoured to Vern's(or since it was preconceived is it a pretour? No, I think it's a Star Tour). Anyways, the cinnamon roll was great, the horseback riding was great and my family is great.

Portland: The City of Doughnuts

 You may have heard that Portland is the City of Roses, but we ALL know that Pasadena is the City of Roses. I mean why would the ROSE PARADE be held in Pasadena if it wasn't the City of Roses? But I am not trying to slight Portland at all; I am just trying to say what it should be known for is so much greater than its current self-assessment. After visiting Portland last week for Josh and I's anniversary and experiencing the sights, sounds, and most importantly, the tastes, I believe Portland is the City of Doughnuts! Which is way better! Am I right?

Let me explain. Most of you are probably already aware that the famed Voodoo Doughnut resides in Portland, but many of you may not have had the chance to experience the delicious magic they are conjuring there (pun intended). Well I have!

 Naturally, this was the first thing on my "things to eat list" while visiting Portland, but as hyped as I was on eating there, I had no idea how great the doughnuts would be! On our first visit (yes we went twice) we had to get the famous Maple Bacon Donut; we also decided on the colorful Cap'n Crunch Donut since I love Cap'n Crunch and colorful doughnuts (apparently I stopped maturing after 9).

Both were great! I have had a couple Maple Bacon Doughnuts in my day, but this was by far the best. The maple frosting was so thick and mapley and the fact that they placed the bacon on top in full strips, instead of all chopped up, not only made the doughnut look that much cooler but also complimented the sweet glaze with salty perfection. Yum! On to the Cap'n Doughnut. Soo sweet! But in a good way! All I could say was, "Crunchatize me Cap'n!" 

The cereal was kind of soft since it had been sitting on top of the frosting, but my husband and I both agreed this was what made it so good. It's kinda like when you leave your Teddy Grahams box open resulting in a little softer, more delicious version of the original. 

The second time we visited Voodoo was to bring home a souvenir for my parents. This time around I got a Jelly Filled Voodoo Doll Doughnut, since my Dad loves jelly filled and since it was the most iconic one there, another Maple Bacon of course and, after receiving a suggestion from our friend Beckee, a Portland native, we decided to finish off our box with an Oreo Crumb Peanut Butter Doughnut.

The Oreo Peanut Butter Doughnut was to die for, a female's dream. To give you an idea of how good the Jelly Filled Doughnut was I will quote my dad, "I ate half of the doughnut this morning, and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to go home and finish it off." So Voodoo, you get two thumbs down for inferring witchcraft, but two thumbs up for your doughnuts. 

But thats not all the doughnuting we did! On our first day in The City of Doughnuts we happened upon, thanks to Yelp, Tasty N Sons. I was starving so I decided I needed an appetizer before our meal. I decided to get the Chocolate Potato Doughnut with Creme Anglaise. 

A doughnut is an appropriate appetizer right? Regardless if my logic is correct or not, it was phenomenal! Served fresh out of the frier, this cake based doughnut hole was so moist and not overly sweet, which is why the sweet creme anglaise was such a perfect partner. The rest of our meal was amazing too, I suggest you eat there if you are ever in Portland.

So there you go. Portland is The City of Doughnuts. And I am sure there are other doughnut gems I didn't even get to. But I believe this is proof enough. And if Portland follows in suit with Pasadena, I believe we will have a Doughnut Parade one of these days. Oh the possibilities!