I had set up a breakfast meeting with a dealer I have in the St. Louis area. He picked out the place - The Original Pancake House in the Chesterfield Valley. I've eaten at locations of the Walker Brothers Original Pancake House in the Chicago area on a number of occasions (click here to read about one of my visits). Anytime that I have a chance to have breakfast at an Original Pancake House, I'm up for it.
However, a half hour before we were to meet that morning, my dealer called me up and said that he wouldn't be able to make it. He'd contracted the flu overnight and didn't think it would be wise to go out. I thought, "Well, I can still go to the Original Pancake House for breakfast!"
The Original Pancake House is one of the very few national chains that I'll visit, mainly because each of them seem to maintain a local flavor without compromising the core principles of what Les Highet and Erma Hueneke established when they opened their first Original Pancake House in Portland, OR in 1953. Both Highet and Hueneke had experience in the culinary arts and traveled extensively across America and abroad to learn about regional and national cuisines. Collecting recipes from around the world, the pair focused on breakfast and the Original Pancake House became famous for their Danish Kijafa Cherry Crepes, their apple pancakes, and the Dutch Baby - a German-style pancake. They use only the highest quality butter, whipping cream and hard wheat unbleached flour at the Original Pancake House. Their batters are made fresh in-house each day. The Original Pancake House corporation is headed by second and third generation family members of the Highet/Hueneke family.
Highet and Hueneke began to franchise the Original Pancake House in the late 1950's and today there are over 100 locations in 28 states (including Hawai'i) across the United States. There are two in the St. Louis area that are owned by Gordan Manus. The first one was the one in the Chesterfield Valley that he opened in November of 2007, and in May of last year he opened a second Original Pancake House in suburban Ladue.
The location in Chesterfield is on Chesterfield Airport Road in the midst of a number of shopping destinations and restaurants. (see map) The decor in the Chesterfield location is sort of a rustic Northwoods/Western theme with pine woodwork and stone inlays.
I was seated at a small table and given a menu by a hostess. My server for this visit, Angela, came by to greet me. Outgoing and effervescent, Angela asked me if I wanted any coffee (I don't drink coffee), then she said she'd be back in a while to take my order.
Now, my all-time favorite item on the Original Pancake House's menu - when they're available - is the pumpkin pancakes. They usually have them in the fall and even though it was getting close to winter, they still had them available. Second on my list - and the default "go-to" when the pumpkin pancakes aren't available are the blueberry pancakes. They use real blueberries and not a compote or a pie filling like I've had at some restaurants in the past. The Original Pancake House is also famous for their omelets, but with "pancake" in their name, all I've ever gotten there are pancakes. I've even gone to an Original Pancake House at night to have pancakes for dinner.
When Angela came back to take my order, I wondered if I could get the best of both worlds - pumpkin pancakes with a side of blueberries. She said, "Sure! No problem at all!" She asked if I wanted a full order of pancakes (six 6" pancakes) or a half-order (three 6" pancakes). I took the half-order and got a side of bacon. She said, "Oooo... Our bacon is absolutely the best." She asked if I wanted some whipped cream on top of the pancakes and I couldn't say no.
It wasn't long before the pancakes and bacon showed up at my table. The pancakes at Original Pancake house are a nice compromise of the thin pancakes my wife likes to make at home and the thick fluffy pancakes that generally end up being gut bombs at most other breakfast restaurants. The pumpkin taste in their pumpkin pancakes is subtle, but strong enough to be noticed with each bite along with the whipping cream and maple syrup. The plump and fresh tasting blueberries was a perfect complement to the pancakes.
The bacon at the Original Pancake House in Chesterfield is thick-cut and wide. The bacon wasn't overly crispy, but it wasn't limp and greasy. The bacon certainly was very good. Angela came by to check on me after I had taken a bite of the bacon and she said, "Isn't that bacon just great?" I gave her a "thumbs up". It was very good. As was everything that I had during my visit.
Food critic and chef James Beard - a native of Portland, Oregon - once called the Original Pancake House one of his Top Ten restaurants in America. In 1999, Beard's foundation awarded the Original Pancake House with an America's Classic Award, one of the first restaurants to be given the honor. When you walk into a Chili's or an Applebee's, you know it will be the same as any other Chili's or Applebee's in any city. To me, that isn't the case with any Original Pancake House that I've been to. The menus are somewhat consistent amongst all the locations, but the decor from one to the other is very different and unique. As I said, I usually eschew most national chains, but I'll keep going to the Original Pancake House where ever I come across them in my travels.
Those pancakes look great. I agree that restaurants often serve thick gutbombs of pancakes which is why I never order them.
Posted by: Jeni Flaa | May 02, 2014 at 08:09 AM