Everybody knows Portland is a great place for donuts. And ice cream. But why get specific? When it comes to sweet treats in general, Portland is world-class.
According to Strawberry Shortcake -- yes, that Strawberry Shortcake! -- Portland is the No. 2 city in the United States for sweet treats.
We didn’t need an outside source to tell us that Portland excels when it comes to sugary sweets, but now that a ‘70s cartoon icon concurs, it feels right.
Why is Strawberry Shortcake ranking U.S. cities for their access to treats? Your guess is as good as mine. But since I agree with the red-headed sprite, I’m going to accept that she has moved into the ranking game and leave it there.
So how did Miss Shortcake come up with these clearly accurate findings? One simple metric: Bakeries per person. According to a press release, Strawberry Shortcake’s number people discovered that Portland has over 4,800 bakeries, which means 78 bakeries per 10,000 people.
The winner, Miami, has a somewhat shocking 190 bakeries for every 10,000 people, leading one to imagine Miami is mostly beaches and bakeries.
Rounding out the top five are Baltimore in third place, Atlanta in fourth and Boston in fifth.
And here’s where I admit that I do know why Shortcake is ranking bakeries – she’s got a new special on Netflix, “Strawberry Shortcake’s Perfect Holiday.”
Does it look good? No. But are they celebrating a non-Christmas holiday called “Winter Swirl” which is frankly a hilarious rebranding of Christmas? Yes.
Merry Winter Swirl everybody. Don’t forget to visit one of our many, many bakeries.
— Lizzy Acker
503-221-8052; lacker@oregonian.com; @lizzzyacker
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