I had been to Original Pancake House before, but had never paid much attention to the menu, defaulting to whatever I happened to be craving that day and paying closer attention to my companions than the food. However, after getting into a kind of hilarious exchange with the OPH Twitter account, I wanted to go back and pay attention to its merits as a restaurant.
When we arrived at the restaurant on a Sunday at lunch time, there was a fairly significant wait. This merely told me that Original Pancake House is the place to go when you're craving brunch after church or after waking up late on a Sunday morning.
Their menu is similar to many other places such as IHOP that specialize in breakfasts and pancakes, however OPH also features a few extremely special and unique items, including the Dutch Baby and their signature Apple Pancake. It is also worth noting that while the fare is similar in type, it is significantly higher quality than places such as IHOP and Waffle House. (Don't get me wrong, those places aren't bad most of the time, but better known for their 24 hour service than the quality of their food.) My eating companions and I managed to order a decent variety of menu items between us:
Dad:
Me:
My husband:
My grandma:
My mom:
I stole a bite from my mom's crepe, but I mostly tucked in to my massive stack of chocolate chip pancakes. I was a tad disappointed when the arrived because the waitress had described them as "Chocolate with chocolate chips" so I had expected a decadent chocolate pancake punctuated with chocolate chips, setting it apart from the standard chocolate chip pancakes offered at other establishments. Yet when they arrived, they were plain pancakes with chocolate chips. Still, as soon as they were set before me I noted a distinct smell that I only ever pick up from really well made pancakes: baking soda.
I can't even explain why this scent is so strongly correlated with excellent pancakes, but it has been my consistent observation of that familiar, almost yeasty scent steaming up from my plate that has accompanied the best piles of pancakes, and while it's not yeast, I do think it's the leavening. I think part of it is that if you can smell the baking soda, it's not generally an overly sugary pancake. Pancakes should be a vessel for sugar, not confections in themselves.
I wanted to try one of the signature dishes, but did not order them for my lunch because I was unsure whether I would actually like the Apple Pancake (I am very picky about cooked apple chunks in my food) and was wary of taking the risk for the price. My dad suggested we order one for the table so that we could all try it for the first time.
It was piping hot, sticky, gooey, custard-like, sweet yet balanced, and the apples were sliced consistently, cooked well, and in perfect proportion to the cake beneath. It looked like an overabundance of cinnamon upon first glance, but it actually balanced well with the rest of the dish.
Even after all of us had eaten a hearty lunch, the 5 of us managed to finish off almost the entire mound:
Original Pancake House also features a full coffee bar with a wide variety of syrups and an industrial espresso machine. They are not messing around with their coffee.
All in all, if you have never been to Original Pancake House, it is worth a visit. If you've been but have never tried one of their signature dishes, I strongly recommend you try them.
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