Original Pancake House

Visiting Montgomery is an interesting experience: with no ill will toward the good people up there, the perfect little brick downtown and the car dealerships and the froufrou shops make me think: snobby ‘burb! But if you look past all that, there’s a fairly nice breakfast spot there, the Original Pancake House, located on the main drag, Montgomery Road.

Now, as you can see on its website, Original Pancake House is a c-h-a-i-n. And I don’t like c-h-a-i-ns, generally. But at least these are franchises, and at least there aren’t too many of them. So I can deal with it better.

The prices aren’t really cheap, but they are reasonable, I think. And sometimes you can purchase half-price gift certificates, which makes it quite affordable. They like to talk about their ingredients – real butter, real cream, etc. And the food does indeed seem well made with good ingredients. We’ve tried a few different things, but here are a few favorites.

• Apple pancake: A puffed oven pancake, which sinks after a while and loses its impressiveness, this is topped with apples cooked in a cinnamon glaze of some sort. It is very, very good. (Probably not good for you, but good.) Since its height is due to internal air, it’s not as large as it initially appears, so it’s not quite as much food for the money as it seems. But you’re paying for the combination of tastes and the impressive visual experience, too.
• Belgian waffle: We’ve tried the plain waffle and the apple waffle (which comes with an apple syrup, too). Both are great, not for their flavor as much as their texture. They are a good inch thick (which doesn’t sound like much, but it’s two or three times an Eggo), crispy on the outside, fluffy and soft inside and very light. Slap on the whipped butter and drizzle with syrup and you’ve got something worth eating.
• Omelettes: These are the highlight of the place. They don’t look like a typical omelet, as these are “hand rolled” and “finished in the oven” – whatever that means. Rather than long and thin, like a burrito, these are sort of elliptical. They are browned on the outside, especially where the cheese leaked. And they are delicious! We’re especially fond of the bacon and cheese omelet, which isn’t on the official menu, is sometimes on the special menu and always seems available by request. I’ve also tried a spinach omelet (with Swiss, I think – maybe a choice of Swiss or feta), which isn’t on the website but is, I think, on the Montgomery location’s menu.

Notice I said nothing about their pancakes? That's because the pancakes are just ordinary – nothing special at all. In fact, I'd say I prefer the pancakes elsewhere – even though I suspect these might be more "home made" than others.

Rating: 10 (3, 4, 3) (What's this?)
Lisa's rating: Gimme a bacon omelet and nobody gets hurt!