The Original Pancake House

The Original Pancake House is a chain of diners with locations all over the country.  These diners are in the same vein as IHOP, but the primary focus at TOPH is without a doubt, pancakes, and lots of them.  The variety extends not only to unique creations such as the Bacon Pancakes or Georgia Pecan Pancakes, but they also serve Wheat Germ Pancakes, Swedish Pancakes, Gluten Free Pancakes, as well as a raft of other choices.

On this particular visit, I decided that I should give one of TOPH’s house specialties a try.  They offer two pancake specials:  the Apple Pancake (optionally served a la mode) and the Dutch Baby, of which I opted for the former.  The Apple Pancake is made with Granny Smith apples and pure Sinkiang cinnamon, while the Dutch Baby is served with whipped butter, lemon, and powdered sugar. Both are placed in the oven and baked to perfection. It’s only one pancake with each order, so, I went for the Apple Pancake a la mode.

Naturally.

With a side of turkey sausage links.

I mean, how much food could a single pancake really be, right?

Sweet merciful crap, if I’ve ever said that you can’t have too much of a good thing, I take it back.  Babies wail at the whisper of the order.  Old ladies faint at the sight of it departing the kitchen.  Virgins…heh.  Well.  Virgins must be sacrificed to the great pancake God Pancaykahthopalu for such a thing to be created.

Really though, this was a thing of beauty.  Not really the fluffy type of pancake you expect, but this thing comes off more as a giant dish of bread pudding topped with cinnamon apples. It was just…a little overwhelming.

The six scoops of ice cream didn’t exactly help, either.

It seemed that with a dish that’s so over the top, everything else would come as sub-par.  But no.  The coffee here is actually reasonable, and the wait staff occasionally saunters by to top you off, making each visit to TOPH a four cup minimum.  The sausage was tasty, but in retrospect, totally unnecessary.  This thing makes a better shared dish if you’re going to go for it, but make sure that you’ve got plenty of time to nap after.  Believe me, you’ll need it. The coffee will only suffice in getting you home without falling asleep at the wheel.

The Original Pancake House can get busy in the morning on the weekends, but late morning/early afternoon brunches are perfect.  The place closes at 3pm, so don’t wait too long to get in and have a good meal with good friends.

Recommended for:

• Pancaykahthopalu Zealots
• Brunchers
• Binge Eaters
• Diner Junkies

Not Recommended for:

• Carbaphobes
• Weak-willed dieters
• Screaming children
• Impatient Gastronoms

The Original Pancake House has numerous locations all over the country.  Find your local one here.