Conscious Choice Seattle: ‘Mighty’ Good

May 2006 | Local Food

‘Mighty’ Good

Since early 2003, this Wallingford organic bakery has been serving up ‘donuts’ with flavor but without the trans fats

By Andrew Mulholland

It is hard to defend a doughnut for its nutritional value. But it is equally difficult to write off the pure decadence of the right doughnut at the right time from our eating experiences.

For instance, a box of doughnuts can liven up an important meeting or provide treats for a moving crew made up of friends.
One tennis fan and conscious eater I know brings out doughnuts by the dozen during the women’s and men’s championship matches at Wimbledon. He figures, hey, I’m up early in the morning, this is once a year, perfect time for coffee and doughnuts. Then he swears off doughnuts until the next July.

I’ll have to tell my tennis friend about Mighty O Donuts. Trouble is, he likely to break his Wimbledon-only rule.

He lives within striking distance of Mighty O’s bakery in Wallingford. That’s one part of it. More convincing and tempting to him—and clearly lots of others discovering this place—will be the tasty doughnuts that are made without trans fats.

What’s more, Mighty O uses only certified ingredients and no artificial ingredients or preservatives. The Mighty O donut is also vegan with no egg or dairy.

Mighty O has accomplished the seemingly impossible. It has placed doughnuts into the clean food realm.

The distinction—and even being called the most progressive doughnut in the nation—has earned Mighty O standing orders for PCC Natural Market and Whole Foods Market stores throughout the area. Owner Ryan Kellner says there is enough national interest to start offering overnight mail order service.

“As the word spreads about our donuts,” says Kellner, “every day we meet at least one customer who is visiting Seattle and sought us out.”

What keeps customers coming back are the doughnuts. There is an impressive and fun selection, including the Naked Cake (plain vanilla cake), CooCoo for Coconut (vanilla cake with chocolate icing and coconut), Nutty Vanilla (vanilla cake with chocolate icing and chopped peanuts), cinnamon and sugar (vanilla cake with cinnamon and sugar), lemon poppyseed (lemon poppyseed cake with lemon glaze), Topless Chocolate (plain chocolate cake), French Toast (spike cake with maple glaze) and the DON’ut King (chocolate cake with vanilla glaze and coconut that does look a bit like the crazy stand-up, all-ways hairstyle of famed boxing promoter Don King).

There are seasonal specials and other new flavors and combinations always in development. You can also get mini-donuts. On my visit, I spotted and ordered the Coffee Bomb, which was delicious and moist without a single dunk into my organic Café Fiore coffee. The coffee is worth the visit alone and Mighty O offers a full line of espresso options.

I tried a half dozen to go plus sampled a DON’ut King piece at the counter. Not a clunker in the group.

The Naked Cake served as my personal litmus test. If I don’t enjoy the plain or what might be called the old-fashioned doughnut, then it’s not a place worth visiting again. The Naked Cake at Mighty O is pleasingly substantial yet light, not heavy. You will detect just the right hint of vanilla.

Make no mistake. It is a cake doughnut, which is a plus to me but many Americans have been won over by the less dense airy glazed doughnuts turned out by national chains. Those doughnuts depend on the trans fats or partially hydrogenated oils for their consistency and texture.

Those trans fat also are what make an inferior cake doughnut tastes greasy or mealy. Mighty O eliminates the entire problem.

I took samples of the half dozen home to my kids’ breakfast table the next day. I made no mention of the healthy ingredients (including sprinkles that can be added for 25 cents and contain no potentially harmful dyes). I didn’t explain the pioneering doughnut-making methods, until after the plates were gladly emptied, which told the story.

The DON’ut King was the clear favorite, though the Good O’L Glazed (vanilla cake with vanilla glaze) was enjoyed with gusto too.

If you are looking for a comfortable café in Wallingford, Mighty O can meet that desire too. Its location, formerly the home of the popular Honey Bear bakery, includes outdoor seating and some magazines for browsing. If you make a bathroom stop, you will notice the bags of organic wheat flour and Mighty O t-shirts with a distinctive logo.

You can read up on the how the doughnuts are made and even check a detailed list of what goes into any particular doughnut (not something you will see at national chains that are still in trans fat no-man’s land with no government requirements to report contents).

There’s also a selection of juices and other drinks, along with Big Bowl soups that require only hot water. You can even pick up some creative and artistic greeting cards. One thing: You might want to write out only after finishing your doughnut.

Which won’t be hard.

Andrew Mulholland is a regular contributor to Seattle Conscious Choice. Nora West, our dining reviewer and food mentor, is on assignment.

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