Original Pancake House
Category: Breakfast & Brunch [Edit]
Neighborhood: Torrance1756 S Pacific Coast Hwy
Redondo Beach, CA 90277 (310) 543-9875
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Breakfast
- Alcohol: None
9 reviews
Neighborhood: Harbor City
"I grew up literally down the street from Monk's, and have been coming here since I was too short to see over the counter. For me, Monk's is…" read more »
57 Reviews for Original Pancake House
Excellent place for those hankering for some pancakes!!! Given the name of this place, they serve pancakes like toast here. Sourdough pancakes was excellent. Portions by far in one order is particularly meant for two or one hungry big boy.
They have lots to offer on their menu and prices are decent in comparison to neighboring sit-down restaurants in Redondo Beach.
This place gets pretty crowded weekend mornings particularily Saturdays. Plan to wait to get seated or get there early if you decide to go on Saturday morning.
Don't even THINK about coming here if you're craving a light, healthy, and refreshing breakfast/brunch!
This place is all about butter, heavy cream, massive portion size, mega cheese, and more butter... which means everything is delicious and stick-to-your-gut goodness.
* Right now, crepes with freshly sliced strawberries are available, and are sweet and tasty enough on their own without the strawberry syrup that comes with it. Very buttery indeed!
* Their #1 bestselling pancake is the chocolate pancake, served with a heaping mound of fresh, homemade whipped cream and with tons and tons of chocolate chips. Will def satisfy a raging sweet tooth.
* All of the baked omelettes are ginormous and must contain at least 8 eggs! However, the ham and cheese one truly went overboard with the cheese -- the center of it was literally a thick slab of grease laden, melted cheddar -- so you might want to ask for easy cheese.
I always bring friends here who are visiting from out of town and they have all been readily impressed. Due to the massive portion size, we always ending up sharing, and although there is supposed to be a $1 per person splitting charge, we've never gotten dinged for it. It pays to be nice to your waitress!
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YUMMY !! makes me hungry just thinking about it. great food,, good service,, small place, but worth the wait. always busy, always good, always a treat.
i had the french toast and its the best! my wife had the 2 by 4 and the pancakes were real good. eggs are eggs, but the menu had lots of different kinds of pancakes to choose from. you have to go and try them all. they also have omelets that are massive. also great to order. only open until 3pm, so go early and be prepared to wait. but you will thank me later,
Oh man did I feel smart! Saturday morning, 8:30am and we're up and out the door! I was so excited with thoughts of all I could do! So much time on a Saturday to accomplish anything and everything! [1]
First thing was first, we needed food. A couple weeks ago I tried to go to the Original Pancake House but there was a crowd of 50 people outside at 10am. So this time I knew I had the upper hand, it was only 8:30am! Mwahahahah, only old people would be awake that early. So when we arrive there was still a wait, but there were only a few people waiting inside. While waiting, there was a particularly annoying old lady sitting next to me coughing up a lung. Gross old people! Stop hacking your plague germs all over me! No worries, we were seated within minutes and I was clear of the coughing hag.
Not for long, the diseased corpse was seated right next to us, contently trying to hack up her innards. Oh well. The menu was full of breakfastie delights and glancing around, I could see the portions were generous. I knew I wanted the famed Dutch Boy before we even came. The website made it look damn fine. The woman ordered some biscuit, gravy, egg, mushroom with potato pancake ordeal that sounded kinda good on paper.
I was amazed at how fast our order came up, couldn't have been more than 7 minutes.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
The Dutch Boy was a mound of hot, fresh, crisp dough like confectionary wonder. Puffed up in all the right places and dusted with fine Columbian white gold. The edges were by far the best part and the strawberries that accompanied my dish were all unblemished and fresh as a baby on a spit rod. The girl's dish wasn't as fabulous. The mushroom gravy was lacking and the meat thing on the bread thing wasn't anything special. I felt bad for suggesting it to her. But the side of potato pancakes were spot on for this Jew and went well with the apple sauce and sour cream.
So if you can brave the flood of old people and get up that early on a weekend, I suggest you try this place and then go see a $6 matinee at Del Amo.
1. All we did after was a movie, long nap, movie and then dinner.
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The Original Pancake House is THE PLACE for a delicious omelette or pancakes. The omelettes are out of this world and are huge, so come with a big appetite to make a dent in your food. The service is adequate. There is always a wait, but it is worth waiting for! They close early each day, so don't come there at dinner time and expect to be fed. If you are on a diet....don't even think about it!
I grabbed lunch from this place as an afterthought yesterday when I was visiting the eye glass store next door.
My past experience here many years ago was not great (Bland and average and pricey I thought) but then I've only had the regular egg breakfast plate, nothing fancy. So I more or less avoided the place.
But the Homemade Corned Beef Hash breakfast I had yesterday, in a word, Wow!
Tasty tasty everything, with generous portions of everything to boot. I was surprised that it was that good; it explains the line on weekends (And many a large bellies).
The Beef Hash came blended with tiny potato chunks and it wasn't overly salty as I thought it'll be. The bits of chewy meat texture was very nice as well as the potato pancakes that came with it. Scrambled eggs looked like an omelet so big and smooth they were, not the egg lumps in small portion that I remembered. It came with sour cream which is great with the food. This is comfort food, good for the soul, and my belly got a little comfortable as well, time to dig deep into my soul to decide whether I want new sets of pants.
I also had the Apple Waffle. In a word, it's ok. Not bad but I'm sticking to eggs and meat, the Beef Hash hooked me. I'll visit in moderation (No I don't want to replace my wardrobes right now).
I truly hate breakfast places -- seriously i do. my most crabbiest moments are mornings out for breakfast, starved, and waiting in line just to be seated. not only that, i hate sweets for breakfast, i crave salt. i'd snort it off a dead hooker's ass crack if i needed to.
after 20 minutes of pacing back and forth waiting to be seated, we ordered and our food came out surprisingly fast. i think i crumpled the pancake into a tightly packed golf-sized ball and jammed the whole thing down my throat. i then proceeded to chug the syrup like an overzealous frat boy, then fell back in my seat, only realizing minutes later that i've eaten TOO much TOO fast and i've got a bad case of the itis.
i held my stomach and moaned about how much it hurt. i bitched when i was hungry, i bitched when i was full, sh*t, i might have even bitched while i was eating and during my food-coma nap which followed soon after breakfast. maybe i just bitch too much. people tend to agree about that. but what they don't know is that original pancake house's pancakes are incredible -- they brought the pancake lover out of me.
sorry dead hooker's ass crack, it's your loss you weren't there when i needed you the most.
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Not my type of omlete- very eggy and not much filling and just plain gross.
my mother enjoyed this place- I will never go back.
you waited forever and i expected wonders.
swedish pancake- not so much. tasted pretty eggy and not good.
maybe its just me, but i just dont see what all the hype is about?!
This place gets 4 and 3/4 stars for their food. They have the BEST buckwheat pancakes. The buckwheat pancakes are why I go here! The menu is fairly extensive and everything that comes out of the kitchen looks really good, and everybody I've eaten there with really likes the food.
Parking can be a hassle as they share a lot with other businesses. The wait to be seated can be a little long at times; I've waited as long as a half hour here, and they don't have adequate seating for those people waiting, and it gets fairly crowded on weekends for breakfast. Service is always good, even when they are crowded.
So why did I give them only 3 stars?...
They have the absolute worst coffee on the face of the earth. I mean it, it's horrible! I think they go down to the ocean to get the water to brew the coffee with. Seriously, I've had better instant coffee out of an MRE (meal ready to eat, the modern day version of the C-Ration).
They need to choose a new brand of coffee, get a new coffee maker, with new coffee filters, and hire someone that knows how to make coffee.
I'll still patronize this place, I just don't order the coffee!
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Good god almighty, these were the best damn pancakes I've ever put in my mouth. I drove 30 minutes from Long Beach to experience them, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Seriously, these simple buttermilk pancakes were like the Platonic Ideal of Pancakes. If a perfect pancake existed in the realm of perfect forms, this would be that pancake. After that first bite I exclaimed, "What have I been eating all these years? Imitation pancakes?" That's how good it was. I finished all three of them, too. I've never been able to eat more than one pancake in my life. With these, I was desperate for more. As a plus, I ordered a side of the blueberry compote, which everyone immediately drizzled over their pancakes to the delight of all. Sure, the wait was hideously long, and the place was devoid of all charm or decor (it's more like an eating hall; the American Legion of Pancakes), but the pancakes made it alllll better. Plus, their coffee was enormously delicious. I drank three cups. Damn tasty! I also ordered their vegetarian omelette. It was puffy and delish and unlike any omelette I'd ever seen. But I wouldn't order it again --- next time I will solely focus on PANCAKES.
Yet another member of our weekend breakfast rotation. Like a IHOP, but loads better. The wait to be seated is hit or miss, but usually you'll be doing the standard 15 minute sit-around. For a breakfast joint, they have a fairly extensive menu, from pigs in a blanket to swedish pancakes, they got it all. They have corn beef hash to die for -- second to the Absinthe in SF.
Our favorites: corn beef hash, baked apple pancake and chocolate chip pancakes.
If you go on a weekend, make sure you go early, that's all I'm sayin'. Personally, I don't think there are enough really good breakfast places in the South Bay, but I'll go here before Coco's or IHOP anyday.
On a Friday (today), we arrived at about 9:20 and were seated immediately. As said earlier, on a weekend, that late and you'd be cooling your heels for about an hour, no joke.
They actually have a pretty good menu, there's a ton of different things to choose from. They are famous for the Dutch Baby, but I've never tried it. I usually go for the bacon, eggs & pancake deal, which is good.
Today, however, I had the French Crepes, which were fantastic and very filling. Thin crepes, filled with strawberries, topped with more strawberries and a dusting of powder sugar, and served with (wanna guess?) strawberry syrup. One serving is three large crepes, of which I finished 1-1/2. You can also purchase just one crepe, which in retrospect, I should have done.
My husband got the bacon pancakes. At first, when he ordered, I thought it was going to be regular pancakes with a side of bacon. But no. They were, really, pancakes with bacon mixed in. Looked kinda gross; sounds kinda gross, right?
Oh, man. They were delicious! Full plate of them also! At least 6 GIANT BACON PANCAKES! The heart attack special! You might want to give them a try.
Unless you're too scared.
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Waited in line outside for 25 mins, waited for the food for about another 30 mins. We ordered omelet, pancakes and crepes. The omelet was in a really wierd shape, it didn't appeal to me AT ALL. The potatoe pancakes tasted bad with syrups...my veggie crepe was nothing like the crepes i have had before, my coffee cost 2.25$...the service was slow...only thing I like was the strawberry pancakes that one of my friends ordered, I didn't know it tasted good because everything else was a torture in my mouth in comparison or what.
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I wanted to love OPH because I've passed by for the past 4 years and only just now tried.
The long lines & many reviews hyped my expectations. I definitely want to return and try actual pancakes. (The lady sitting next to me while waiting said to try the Swedish pancakes so I'll get that next time).
I wanted to try the Dutch Baby or Apple pancakes but was intimidated. The man sitting at table next to me warned me about how difficult it would be to finish. (Is it SoBay people who are so nice & friendly as strangers or OPH diners in general?)
I was disappointed to discover the coffee was 2.25! But did enjoy the Eggs Michael. Potato pancakes were OK.
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Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day hands-down. This place is definitely one to hit up for some scrumptious pancakes and crepes. The crepes are so so delicious, they melt in your mouth.
The wait kind of sucks, but they have a great variety of pancakes. The Dutch Baby and their omelets are a little overwhelming, though.
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All-in-all, this place is just OK. The really stellar thing here is the service, which I've found to be top notch. It's not one of those places where only your waiter will help you.
Food wise, their pancakes are good. I enjoyed the buckwheat pancakes the last time I was there, though their flavor could have been stronger (the description on the menu is partly to blame for getting my hopes up).
As for disappointments, the butter just looks too pale to me. This is a sure sign of cheaper butter, and I noted it. The other sad point was the bacon, and thats a real killer. It was overcooked and liable to break into flying pieces if you aren't careful biting down on it.
A large selection of pancakes to choose from. Awesome omelettes. Spinach crepes are lush & creamy. Home fries are to die for. Just wish the restaurant was larger to accommodate the lines of crowds and extremely tightly packed tables. There's a heavy-set hostess lady who isn't friendly. But don't let her deter you from the excellent food!
If you don't enjoy sitting like sardines w/ neighboring eaters, wait (be prepared to wait!) for a booth table.
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i think it's great. very important, go early before 8 am. i really think this will impact the dining experience. it's a simple, no-nonsense type of place. you can even get a buy one get one free coupon out of the entertainment book. two people can eat breakfast for 12 bucks with the coupon. the "signature" pancake dishes look incredible. i will try them next time. i'm getting hungry just thinking about them......wow. i went for the omelette. very nice, not greasy, oven baked, and delish. this place is quite the landmark. there is a chance you'll be rubbing elbows (literally) with a stranger (since the pack people in like sardines here to maximize cash flow and minimize wait times), but it's all good. we're all here for the scrumptious breakfasts. go here before 8 am. how can you NOT have fun at the OPH????
and yeah, the coffee might be 2.25, but welcome to the year 2008!!!
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I had no idea that there was an Original Pancake House in L.A. While being away from Chicago this whole time, I've been longing for Walker Bros. Original Pancake House's fluffy omelette to their potato pancakes and their dutch baby to their pigs in blankets.
I was extremely excited and anticipated this place to be the perfect breakfast spot.
Anyhow, I've ordered the spinach omelette (what I usually get at Walker Bros.) and requested to swap their butter milk with potato pancake for an extra bucks or two. However, the waitress noted me that they're not allowed to do so. Then I got sad and sobbed about their service and for denying my request as Walker Bros would have kindly serve me the potato pancakes.
The service wasn't quite the same and so was the vibe.
The spinach omelette took a bit longer for it to come out than I expected to be. Anyhow, the omelette was fluffy alright, but it didn't come with the mushroom sauce that they served it with as they do with Walker Bros.
I apologize for compulsively comparing this very OPH with WB's OPH, but the fact is they aren't the same.
I'd still recommend peeps to try this place.
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After eating here and enjoying my first try at potato pancakes, I asked myself "These are pancakes?? what was I eating before?"
You might have the same reaction after trying OPH pancakes. With their original batter recipe, these pancakes taste a step above the rest. I would recommended being adventurous and try the potato pancakes with apple sauce and sour cream. You might think this would be too 'heavy' for breakfast, but they are surprisingly light.
I would come here more often, but it does get very crowded and the wait could take 30 mins. Since there is no inside waiting area, you will most likely be outside in cold.
The experience here is to eat pancakes, if you feel like eggs and bacon, save yourself the wait and go to Carrows or Big Boys.
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Holy CRAP, I had no idea there was an Original Pancake House in LA!! This was the Take All Your East Coast Friends Here breakfast destination back in my pre-vegan days in Chicago and Wisconsin. Alas, alack, as a vegan, I can no longer enjoy the Giant Plate of Heaven that is their apple pancake. If the Original Pancake House's apple pancake was a Jeopardy question, the answer would be,
"What do you get when you add 4,000 eggs to your pancake batter, top it off with a huge portion of the filling from the best apple pie you've ever had, and bake that motherfucker till it's the size of your plate, and several stories higher?"
OK, maybe not, because I don't think you're allowed to say "motherfucker" on Jeopardy. But you get my point.
If you don't get my point, my point is this: if you're not a vegan and not trying to lose weight, run, don't walk, to your nearest OPH and order you up an apple pancake. You'll thank me later.
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Can you say YUMMY???? The Dutch Baby is the way to go. Oven baked pancake with whipped cream and strawberry sauce. Come on! =) Portions are huge. But unfortunately so is the line. Get a paper and a coffee before and be prepared to wait at least 30 minutes if not longer. But the food makes up for it. I am usually not the biggest pancake fan but this just about convinced me. We also had the Western Omlett and that was huge and tasty as well. Comes with thee buttermilk pancakes. Again, no way one person can finish this. Sharing is the way to go. If you can finish it by yourself, please email me so I can send you congratulations =)
Be prepare to wait at this location. Went here for a friend's bday today and I ordered the apple pancake, which was good but I could barely eat half of it before I called it quits. Was tempted to get the strawberry waffles but strawberries aren't in season so they're frozen right now. Guess will have to go back when they're in season.
Whenever I wake up early and don't have work (rarely), this is where I am. There's always a line, but it's most definitely worth the wait (any place that can close at 2 in the afternoon and still stay in business is probably that good). I would recommend their Buttermilk Pancakes, which melt in your mouth, their French toast, which is huge and light and fluffy perfection, their chocolate chip pancakes (freaking addicting), or their bacon omelet (which is HUGE and comes with 3 pancakes. This is my favorite). I got an apple waffle once it was way too sweet (and remember this is coming from someone who loves the chocolate chip pancakes). This place is a real treat and I'm sure whatever you decide to order will be fabulous.
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Um, $10 for a pancake?? Ouch. The apple pancake was as delicious and overwhelming as everyone said but it was too "eggy." What's with the "omelet" in the center?? It was too much, I couldn't finish.
A nearby table ordered the Dutch Baby, OPH's second most popular specialty. Looked amazing and I will definitely try it next. They have some uniquely creative dishes and plenty of attractive menu items like bacon pancakes, Swedish pancakes with lingonberries, and Danish cherry kijafa crepes. Never going back to IHOP again!
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Don't be fooled by the name- This is not a generic IHOP by any stretch of the imagination! Pancake House has earned a respect all it's own (check the lines on the weekends as a testament!)
Everything I've had is good here. Their omelette's are solid and huge with all your classic choices and the pancakes reach pancake perfection as any restaurant with "pancake" in the name should.
The setting (not even ambiance here) is kind of a pre-school cafeteria gone awry. This is the south bay folks. That means families and high chairs and lots and lots of crayons. Typically I avoid these places but the breakfast here is worth it.
Oh, and if you're looking for a change of pace, go for the dutch baby... It's like nothing you've ever had baby, I promise.
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If you like pancakes, you are going to love this place. It's not your run of the mill IHOP either. Everything that I have had here is fresh, including the OJ (which is also very yummy). The serving sizes are huge, but wait there's more. The taste is heavenly. Yeah, yeah, yeah, there is a long wait on the weekends, but it's worth it. Just stop at Starbucks first get a cup of Joe and read the paper while you wait. Time will fly by. Enjoy!!!
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The Original House of Gluttony.
You gonna eat hear, you gon' git FAT. That's the way it is. But man oh man did that stack of pecan pancakes hit the spot. Made for a nice mid-afternoon nap, too.
One of my favorite things about the greater LA area is that diner & breakfast culture will always thrive. As long as there are struggling aspiring actors who need a place to come when they're drunk late at night or hung over the next morning, there will always be room for an OPH.
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Breakfast to me is the best meal by far and yet there are hardly any good breakfast places out there. Thank god for OPH. I get the 49ers, and a side of bacon. THE BACON! you'll never eat it anywhere else. You can tell this is restaurant that doesn't skimp on their quality of food. Unfortunately they don't seem to pay any attention to the decor or vibe. Service can also be a bit lacking sometimes, but I'm just really picky about that. I would have given it 5 stars, but I have a thing against corporate restaurants.
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Man this place gets packed! A few of my friedns and I got together for a breakfast outing and we were patiently waiting for over 45 minutes (sunday....duh) until we were seated. But once inside this well established restaurant, we were greeted with a kick ass server and I ordered their pancakes with strawberries and was delightfully surprised on how big and tasty it was. Selection of syrup was good along with the quality. I recommend this place as one of those "Youre in Redondo? You gotta try this place" as a landmark restaurant here in the City of Redondo by the beach.
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I just realized that this place is not actually called OHOP....
My stupidity aside, this is my favorite place for breakfast, hands down. Everything is sooo fresh, including the fruit in their crepes, pancakes, and waffles. I lOVE their dishes with strawberries, they never disappoint. Strawberry crepe, strawberry waffle.. only problem is there is usually a long wait, especially on the weekends. But I'd say it's worth the wait.
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why do people go to IHOP when they can go to OPH? and please dont call it OHOP.
the portions are huge and every single pancake i've tried has been delicious! one of my faves is the chocolate chip pancake. they drizzle chocolate sauce on top. mmmm.
their omlettes are good too if you're not in the mood for pancakes.
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I live in Atwater Village, but every now and then, it's worth the 25 minute drive to hit the Original Pancake House. I've been to a few of these, one in Chicago, one in Falls Church, VA, and one in Anaheim. They each have their specialties, but the fresh strawberry (in season) Dutch Baby is the best.
The wait can be a bear, I try to get there by 9AM on a weekend. The tables are often packed together, but everyone is so happy to be there, you can strike up some very interesting conversations.
I also like their potato pancakes, coconut waffles, and the strange puffy omelets. Good coffee and fast service too!
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For starters, I'm not a big pancake fan at all.
I was a little sad that I went when strawberries weren't in season.
That meant no strawberry waffles for me.
I ordered banana pancakes and was a little disappointed that it was just buttermilk pancakes with sliced bananas on top. I was hoping that the bananas were mixed into the pancake batter or something...
but nevertheless, the pancakes were good.
Maybe I'll order an omelette next time..
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There's enough posting here to compliment the restaurant. I just want to add 4 stars to make sure they get the credit for doing a good job. The only thing is that this place is so popular on weekends you always have to wait more than 15 minutes. But it's worth it.
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The original recipe for Coca Cola contained cocaine and was very popular. I think they put something in the 49er flap jack 'cause I have to have. They also have awesome patty sausages.
The secret is that they make everything fresh. OPH is about taking baking fresh and putting it into your breakfasts. Their motto is that good food takes time to make. The great thing is that they are good about moving the crowd. And there is always a crowd.
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The pancake is the best. Really busy on a sunday morning.
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When I first came to this place, I was confused. I thought that IHOP had an offspring restaurant called the Original Pancake House. Welp, I was wrong. I've been there quite a few times since and I've enjoyed all the times I've come here.
I've had all kinds of dishes here: the waffles, pancakes (potato or otherwise) and their eggs benedict or variation. My favorite is the eggs michael, which is just like eggs benedict, but instead of having ham underneath the poached eggs, they put sausage patties. It's a nice variation that other restaurants do not offer... at least not unless you ask.
5 stars for Pigs in a Blanket! Pigs in a Blanket! With the tropical Syrup! Why is that syrup so fantastic? Oh the elation! The omelettes are sabado gigante, poofy and unique and there is a plethora of flapjack specialties. Oh, breakfast food closer to lunchtime makes me so happy.
