Original Pancake House Awards

Original Pancake House Restaurant Review:

Old-fashioned and oversize are on order when it comes to breakfast at this Kirkland hot-spot. Part of a small national chain founded in Portland, Oregon, in 1953, it’s located in a shopping mall. But the institutionalized feel stops with the knotty pine walls and early-American decorations. It’s famous for its apple pancake, a single large pancake smothered with sautéed apples and cinnamon sugar and baked to create a glaze, but there’s also a selection of buttermilk, potato and buckwheat pancakes. French toast and huge, lemony “Dutch babies” are offered, too. Customize your flapjacks with anything from bacon bits to chocolate chips and a slathering of whipped butter from the “you pick” toppings. Eggs are on the menu, but they’re a side to everything batter-related. Expect long waits on the weekends, but management eases the pain by pouring cups of strong, free coffee in the small waiting room. Consider calling ahead to put your name on the waiting list.