A Second National Doughnut Day

11/5/24 Top Pot Doughnuts, Ballard neighborhood

My observance of National Doughnut Day has always been on the first Friday of June. It turns out that we have a second National Doughnut Day each year – on Nov. 5! It would have been off my radar if I didn’t follow Top Pot Doughnuts on Instagram, but what’s social media for if not to enhance my appreciation for deep-fried dough and sugar? And a self-care doughnut was exactly what I needed on Nov. 5.

Clueless at Top Pot

6/6/25 Top Pot Doughnuts, West Seattle

Before heading over to Seattle Chinese Garden with USk, I made an early stop at the West Seattle Top Pot Doughnuts for breakfast. After all, it was a special day: It was National Doughnut Day!

As a regular observer of this holiday, I was appalled by the number of Top Pot customers – every single one except me, in fact – who were clueless about the day! The cheerful staff greeted each one with, “Happy National Doughnut Day!” and each responded with, “Oh – is it today?” or “Is that a thing?” I was the only one who had approached the counter with the greeting first!

How can people go about their lives so unaware? Tsk, tsk.

Top Pot Queue

 

6/4/21 Top Pot Doughnuts, Wedgwood neighborhood

I try to observe National Doughnut Day annually. Last year, I almost didn’t; the pandemic didn’t keep me away, but shaken and outraged by George Floyd’s murder, I wasn’t feeling festive. Still, there’s nothing like sugary, deep-fried dough to (temporarily) improve one’s mood, so I went ahead with it, and I was happy that I did.

Yesterday I was feeling much more upbeat as I set out for my neighborhood Top Pot. At 8 a.m., a decent line had formed outside the door. In the past, I have enjoyed sketching the Wedgwood store’s giant donut sculpture and twin palm trees from across the street, but this time I wanted to get close enough to sketch the queue. Though the sketch itself isn’t very exciting, it tells a larger story: masked patrons standing in line six feet apart, and my vaccinated self feeling safe enough to sketch them. (A palm tree makes a cameo appearance as a shadow on the building.)

Afterwards, I got into the line myself for a classic chocolate raised ring, which I sketched at home before scarfing it down. I noticed that the store is hiring; the donut biz must be thriving. We have many reasons to feel upbeat.

By the way, like many occasions and holidays, the origin of National Doughnut Day has gotten lost over the years. It was first observed in 1938 to honor Salvation Army volunteers who gave out donuts during World War I.

A Puppy and a Cupola (and Uni Jetstream Review)

6/10/16 inks, colored pencils, toned Strathmore paper

Once again the Friday sketchers lucked out on weather, which was supposed to be wet and windy this morning but turned out sunny. Driving to the upper Queen Anne neighborhood, I thought about all the many choices of fun things to sketch, including at least a couple of old churches. I chose the one with the nice cupola, the Queen Anne Baptist Church. The bright sunlight helped bring out all of its crisp shadows.

Suzanne was nearby sketching the same church, so before she finished, I pulled out my yellow Field Notes and a four-color ballpoint pen. Why ballpoint? Last Friday was National Doughnut Day, and today is – you guessed it – National Ballpoint Pen Day! (The holiday actually has a historic basis: On this day in 1943, Laszlo and Gyorgy Biro, Hungarian brothers, patented their innovative writing instrument that was once considered a luxury product.)

6/10/16 ballpoint

The last sketch, also in ballpoint, is one I had been wanting to get for a while – the bronze sculpture of a puppy and his ball in the plaza next to Trader Joe’s. (Named Boomer, the sculpture was made by Georgia Gerber, the same artist who made the Pike Place Market’s Rachel the Pig.) I started with the puppy, thinking that the woman chatting on her phone would soon get off the ball and leave. When I realized she had plenty to say, I put her in.

My ballpoint hatching skills leave much to be desired, but I’m not giving up on it. The smooth, oily ink (the Biros’ original design was based on printmakers’ ink, I just learned) is a very strange yet interesting medium. I could have done the sketch in half the time if I’d used my usual fountain pen washed with a quick swipe of the waterbrush, but after all, today isn’t National Fountain Pen and Waterbrush Day (which I’m sure is coming; I know Fountain Pen Day is in November).

6/10/16 ballpoint, colored pencil

Uni Jetstream Mini Review

As long as I’m talking about ballpoints, I have to mention the one I’ve been using the past several months: a Uni Jetstream 4 & 1. Ever since I read The Art of Ballpoint, I’ve been trying to practice hatching with ballpoint (though not as often as I should if I want to improve). I started by using the throwaway Bic stick pens I’m always taking from hotel rooms. I hate the sour smell some of those inks have, though, and I wanted more ink colors. For a brief time I used a Bic four-color pen because it was nostalgic from my childhood, but the cheesy color-choosing mechanism annoyed me.

It didn’t take long to fall down the Google hole of the vast world of “multi pens” – ballpoint and other types of pens that deliver two, three, four and more ink colors in one pen. I tried the Pilot Dr. Grip too, which uses refills that are very similar to the Uni Jetstream’s. In both pens, the odorless inks flow more smoothly and with no blobbing or skipping compared to the basic Bic. I prefer the Uni Jetstream to the Dr. Grip for its better-designed mechanism. They both come with a 0.5mm mechanical pencil, too. 

Above Targy’s Tavern

 

6/7/24 Upper Queen Anne neighborhood

Besides a change in view, I had a second reason for choosing the Queen Anne Top Pot to observe National Doughnut Day: It’s located only a half-mile from my very first apartment as an independent adult. Since living there 40 years ago, I’ve driven by a few times when I was in the neighborhood, but it recently occurred to me that I had never sketched the building.

When I arrived, the entire front of the building was in shade, and I was surprised by how tall the street maples had grown (I guess that happens in 40 years!). My apartment near the center of the upper floor had one window that looked out on the street, and back then I could actually see the street. Now all the apartment windows are completely obscured by those maples, at least in summer (though the trees probably also keep the rooms cooler).

Not a single thing about the scene appealed to me in terms of a sketch subject: It was too dark, too blah, and frankly, the part I was interested in – the window to my apartment – wasn’t even visible. Only nostalgia and a desire to document it made me put pencils to paper.

Incidentally, the corner of the main floor is still occupied by Targy’s Tavern, "Queen Anne's Favorite Watering Hole," which was founded in 1937. The building itself was built in 1902. (I didn’t know either of those facts when I lived there; I just Googled.) Whenever I used to tell people I lived above Targy’s Tavern, they expressed sympathy about the assumed noise. Actually, I never had much of a problem with that source of noise; the buses going by on 6^th Avenue West were a lot worse, day in and day out. And can you believe I never had a drink at Targy’s?

Queen Anne Top Pot

 

6/7/24 Top Pot Doughnuts, Queen Anne neighborhood

I typically observe National Doughnut Day at the Top Pot Doughnuts in Wedgwood, mainly because the twin palm trees and giant donut on the building are fun to draw. This year, for a different view, I went to the Top Pot in upper Queen Anne. Although there are no palm trees, big communication and microwave towers are all over the place. (The weird thing that I sketched that I couldn’t identify turned out to be part of an obsolete AT&T microwave system.)

It was such a lovely day last Friday that lots of families were enjoying the outdoor tables at Top Pot and Molly Moon’s Ice Cream next door. I had just as much fun observing and eavesdropping as I did sketching.

Near Miss

6/1/18 Top Pot Doughnuts, Wedgwood neighborhood

HOLEY cow, I almost missed it! Yesterday was National Donut Day, but I had it marked on my calendar on the wrong day! If it hadn’t been for a chance comment by Michele Cooper, tragedy would have resulted. Fortunately, I had enough time to dash out to the Wedgwood Top Pot Doughnuts to grab a chocolate-frosted raised. By that, I mean I had enough time to sketch Top Pot’s giant doughnut flanked by a pair of palm trees, which I’ve sketched many times from different angles. Who could possibly resist putting a doughnut and palm trees in the same composition?

As for that chocolate-frosted raised? I learned last year that sketching and eating sticky donuts don’t mix, so I didn’t bother to sketch it. After all, National Donut Day comes only once a year.

Pre-Gab & Grab Doughnut Do

1/31/20 A chocolate-frosted Bavarian cream at Top Pot Doughnuts!

Before heading to Seattle USk’s seventh annual Gab & Grab, a few of us met up at the nearby Top Pot Doughnuts. The last time I sketched at the Wedgwood Top Pot was a couple of summers ago on National Donut Day, when it was warm and sunny. I never got around to sketching my donut that day, so I made up for it this time. Cold, wet and blustery, the morning was just right for sketching indoors with good friends.

A good morning for sketching indoors.

Natalie's sketch of me eating my messy, oozing doughnut!

Playing and Eating

 

1/30/26 Panama Hotel Cafe, Chinatown/International District

The Panama Hotel Café is one of our favorite places to sketch. Roy, Mary Jean and I hadn’t been able to get together since before Christmas, so it was especially fun to meet up there for a morning of art play. My view (at left) wasn’t especially fun to sketch, but I didn’t care; the Panama’s ambiance is quiet, relaxing and, we all agreed, comfortable as a second home.

More fun was when we began our portrait party. Taking turns as the sitter, we made blind contour drawings and also sketched with our non-dominant hand. Hilarious both ways!

Mary Jean with my right hand

Mary Jean as blind contour

Roy as blind contour

Roy with my right hand

For lunch we tried E-Jae Pak-Mor, a Thai restaurant that had received a favorable review recently in the Seattle Times. With many items on the menu that I don’t see on typical Thai menus, it was clear why the Times called it one of Seattle’s best restaurants. I hastily sketched my Pakmor salad bowl before devouring it.

E-Jae Pak Mor (journal page incorrectly dated)

Full of that delicious lunch, I still had one thing that had been weighing heavily on my mind all day: Jan. 30 was National Croissant Day! Where would I get a croissant in Chinatown/International District? Googling “croissants near me” yielded literally nothing within walking distance, but MJ recalled seeing croissants at Fuji Bakery. I’d only ever had their amazing Crunchy Creamy Malasada doughnut, which had blinded me to all other pastries at the time, but sure enough, Fuji offered many types of croissants, too. It was just as well that they have only a takeout counter and no seating area, as I was too full for one just then – but take one out I did.

Later at home, I enjoyed my pain au chocolat, relieved not to miss observing one of my favorite holidays of the year.

Eating and drawing with good friends – does it get any better?

Couch with Palm

6/26/18 Wedgwood neighborhood

Palm trees in Seattle are uncommon enough that I always try to sketch them when I can. Most recently I sketched the pair of palms growing, strangely enough, in the middle of Top Pot Doughnut’s outdoor dining area when I was there for National Donut Day. You can imagine my glee when I discovered this one just a few blocks from the donut shop – with a couch in front of it, to boot! It’s not every day you can put a palm tree and couch in the same composition.

(As an urban sketcher, I am always “truthful to the scenes we witness,” part 4 of the Manifesto, mainly because I’m not very good at drawing from imagination; I couldn’t make this stuff up even if I wanted to. But who needs to make stuff up when reality is more entertaining?)

Birthday Party for Wedgwood Top Pot

 

9/12/25 Top Pot Doughnuts, Wedgwood neighborhood

Although I certainly have no problem indulging in donuts in any neighborhood, I consider the Top Pot Doughnuts in Wedgwood to be my “home” donut shop. When I first began sketching in 2011, one of the first cafes I felt brave enough to sketch people in was that Top Pot. Its interior is wall-to-wall, ceiling-to-floor bookshelves, giving it a comfy, library-like feeling. I also love the wide windows facing the street, which gives patrons a beautiful side- or backlighting. USk Seattle even had a small gathering there. (I have often thought that it could be my “third place” if only it were a bit cozier; my only complaint there is that it’s often chilly.)

When I heard that the Wedgwood store was celebrating its 20^th anniversary, you can bet I put that special occasion on my calendar! In addition to helping myself to free Pot Holes and coffee, I got to meet one of the chain’s co-founders, Mark Klebeck. It was fun to see all the families and neighbors stopping by for the festivities.

The Wedgwood store’s iconic twin palms and giant rooftop doughnut are so much fun to sketch that it’s obviously my favorite spot to observe National Donut Day. For this special occasion, I picked out some of my favorites from past years, below.

6/1/18

6/2/16

6/2/17

6/2/23

6/5/20

Party time!