Pancake Jack, Jack and Jill: #22 July: Country Kitchen in the Country

Cecelia and Emiel, my greatgrandparents

In July we were all back in Minnesota to celebrate the centennial of our DeBlieck ancestor's arrival in America. It was a great gathering--maybe 200 people, all related to Hypolytus DeBlieck (1845-1910), or the Landyuts, or the Roggemans, all getting together for a grand mixer in Redwood Falls. We even had relatives from Belgium show up, and learned that we may have more DeBlieck's on this side of the ocean than back in the old country.

Southwest Minnesota is undeniably beautiful in the summer...rolling fields and the colors of the prairie, and quaint towns like New Prague with cute biker bars and retired grain silos. I was impressed by the 50 different species of insect that appeared at dusk to bite and suck blood, and the devastation of a recent wind storm that snapped power lines and crushed farm buildings like pop cans. The waterfall in Redwood Falls was also quite a surprise, as were the folks leaping off into it.

We stayed at the Jackpot Junction Casino a bit out of town (and technically in Morton), and had high hopes for the Sunday morning breakfast. It took a while to get all four groups of the Brian DeBlieck clan together in the lobby, which incidentally smelled of stale cigarettes...it could have used a couple of fresh butts to freshen it up a bit. Unfortunately we found out that breakfast on Sunday is not served buffet style until 9:30...and being with little kids and all we couldn't wait two hours for it to open up. So we headed into town for the only place likely to have a variety of pancakes....Country Kitchen.

Country Kitchen has a special place in my heart. First of all, it was always a real treat when our folks would take us there and we'd be treated to a huge sticky bun coated in melted butter. My brother Steve and I learned nothing about manners there...our favorite thing to do while waiting for our food was to mix all the table-side condiments (cream, jelly, sugar, nutrasweet, salt, pepper) into our icewater, making crazy mixes and awful messes. Later, in high school, it was a place to hang out through the winter, drinking bottomless cups of coffee (90 cents) and smoking Bugler cigarettes (89 cents) with other 15-year-olds. We certainly pushed the all-you-can-drink policy to its limits...and we kept Bugler in business for a couple more years.

It has been a while since I'd last visited a Country Kitchen, and I was glad to see that one in Redwood Falls followed the standard layout of the franchise: a main dining area flanked by a north and south wing of booths (nice divide for a smoking and a nonsmoking section), and capped with counter seating for about 8 single, likely male, diners right by the kitchen. Since Sundays start out slow in the southcountry, it was easy for us to get the three booths we needed for the eight adults and five children in our party. We sat down and they quickly brought us coffees, water, and things for the kids to color....I poured in a plastic thimble of creamer in my coffee, stirred, and considered the menu.

oreo pancake, sans chocolate sauce

First off, I have never seen such horrible selections for kids on a breakfast menu....where else would you find the Mr. Chippy Pancake (pancakes sprinkled with choclate chips), or an awful mashup like "Oreo Pancake", a pancake cooked with a giant Oreo in the center, topped with a brown "chocolate" sauce.

I stopped there and considered the adult menu, which seemed reasonable, though nothing suggested that any of the dishes would be less than 3,000 calories. So I flipped to the backpage for the old timer selection...why not oatmeal? I got that with toast, no butter. The rest of the family got a whole variety of dishes. Big sister Angi smartly selected a mix plate that she shared with two kids. Jason got something that looked yummy and covered with cheese, but he was sitting pretty far away, so I never got a bite. My kids got strawberry pancakes...which sounded nice until I remembered what a #10 can of Sysco strawberry sauce looks like. The kids didn't mind one bit.

Everyone left pretty happy, or at least no longer hungry. I think we all got what we expected...though I was a bit disappointed by the oatmeal. As I spooned in the lumpy grey dish, with no taste or hint of the oats it was supposed to be made of, I couldn't help but wonder why they didn't spruce it up with bananas, or sunflower seeds, or honey...or at the least, a side of crushed Oreos. Maybe next time.