Breakfast #3: Not the Original Original Pancake House

This month we visited a Northwest staple, the Original Pancake House. Pacifica went as Cindarella, and I of course had to dress up in a jacket and tie, as the nameless Prince. According to our sources, this place makes all of its 'cakes from scratch, guards its recipes with high-powered rifles, and has legions of line cooks working around the clock to peel all the apples and grind the flour necessary for feeding the hundreds of kids who show up every weekend morning. Though the 'cake House in our neighborhood is not the original Original Pancake House, they certainly lived up to our expectations.

Lucky for us, we showed up early on a Sunday, before the brunch and church crowds. The House actually seems to be a converted house, with a waiting room/porch tacked onto the front so as to accommodate the dozens of people who line up on the weekends., and paneled in that house-where-you-eat-pancakes nostalgic sort of way (I think the Germans have a word for this: pancakessenhausgezeit) . As the waiting room was empty, we were able to waltz in and secure a table without a hassle. On the way in, Pacifica (Cinderella) noticed the kid menus, and we picked up two just in case we spilled syrup, and our waitress soon brought us a cup full of crayons, a cup of coffee for me (the Prince), and some moo juice for Cinderella.

I usually do not order pancakes, but given all the hype surrounding the House, I figured I would give them a shot, but it was a tough call...the pigs in a blanket sure sounded appetizing. However, the sweet side prevailed, I went for the walnut pancakes from the adult menu, and Pacifica went for the kid-flavored chocolate chip pancakes off the kids menu. They arrived within minutes (thanks to the legions of around-the-clock cooks), and were light, fluffy, and certainly tasted like they were made from scratch by people who know their 'cakes. They also came with some whipped butter, plenty of syrup, and we had enough in leftovers to bring back to feed the rest of our family.

The meal was great, but the downside was the seating. Pacifica requested that we sit next to each other, but the waitress was not able to accommodate us, and so we sat across from one another. "Really far across" according to one in our party. Plus, to make matters worse, my chair abutted a gentleman with a big butt, who showed his chair out and into mine when he left, and then made some weird Donald Duck noise at Pacifica as he walked past. Creep. Do kids even know what Donald Duck sounds like these days? Not mine. Luckily, the pancakes were so good that we soon forgot all about it.