The Original Pancake House

Pancakes and waffles are basic breakfast foods in America, items you can get served to you at almost any restaurant that has any sort of breakfast menu. Not all pancakes are created equal, however, and you have to do some hunting to find truly exceptional examples. Instead of traveling all over Pittsburgh in search of the perfect pancake, you may want to just get right to eating by visiting the Original Pancake House on McKnight Road. You won't easily find better pancakes in the area.

The Scene

The Original Pancake House is a Portland-based breakfast restaurant with more than 80 locations nationwide. The focus is on gourmet made-from-scratch breakfasts and fresh ingredients. The atmosphere is what you would expect from a good breakfast restaurant - homey, energetic, sunny and comfortable.

The Service

With the food as good as it is, the Original Pancake House is very popular, so getting in can take a while in the morning - especially on Sundays. Once you get in, actually getting your food can also take a while. This is not a complaint - the food itself is all prepared to order and well worth the wait! If you're in a hurry, stay away from the items marked specifically as taking longer to prepare. For faster seating and service, try early afternoons, even on a Sunday.

The Food

Authentic homemade fare is whipped up daily at The Original Pancake House, from fresh squeezed juices to batters made on the premises.

Pancakes - What can be said about pancakes? They aren't really difficult to make, so it's easy to make decent ones and hard to make them turn out bad. What makes the Original Pancake House stand out is the variety of speciality pancakes: chocolate chip, 49'er, bacon pancakes, Georgia pecan, coconut, etc. The list is quite long and everyone should be able to find something they enjoy. The Apple Pancake looks especially tempting, but be prepared for a longer wait if you want it.

Eggs & Meat - The Original Pancake House may specialize in pancakes, but that's not all they do. They are also known for their omlettes and offer a variety of other meat and egg dishes as well. I didn't order an omelette, but they look huge. The bacon was very thick and meaty. Eggs Michael is a dish I've not seen elsewhere: eggs Benedict with a sausage patty and sherry mushroom sauce. The sauce itself is very delicate, almost too delicate because the sausage tends to overwhelm it. When the flavors come together, though, it's amazing.

It's Not Just for Pancakes - In addition to the pancakes, waffles and eggs you might expect from a breakfast restaurant, The Original Pancake House offers crepes, blintzes, and a Dutch Baby, one of the house specialties. Most of the crepes are accompanied by sauces containing various liqueurs and are served with tropical syrup. The Cherry Kijafa Blintzes were tart yet sweet, and very cherry; the filling was smooth and complimented the sauce well.

Breakfast Your Way - One notable thing about the menu at the Original Pancake House is that similar dishes can be found across different entree types. Thus you can get cherry Kijafa Blintzes, cherry Kijafa Crepes, and cherry Kijafa pancakes (or even just cherry Kijafa sauce on the side). There are pecan pancakes and pecan waffles, bacon pancakes and bacon waffles...actually, there's quite a bit of crossover between pancakes and waffles, so if you have your heart set on a particular flavor, you're not necessarily limited by the form. It's also worth noting that the online menu is not complete - there are items, even entire classes of items (such as blintzes) which are available at the restaurant but missing from their Web site.

Beverages

The Original Pancake House provides a standard assortment of beverages, including some favored coffees. For a restaurant like this I had hoped for better coffee, but I guess I should have expected very standard fare. Both the regular and the flavored coffees are rather weak. Try the fresh-squeezed juices instead.

All in all, the Original Pancake House is well worth visiting for anyone looking for a tasty and filling breakfast. I'd recommend planning on a late breakfast or having breakfast around lunchtime in order to avoid the crowds.

Prices: $4 to $8 for most menu items. Kids and seniors get a price break on certain selections.

Hours: Open daily 7:00 am to 3:00 p.m.

Location & Contact Information

The Original Pancake House
8300 McKnight Road
Ross Township, PA 15237
412 358-9622