The good news is that there is nothing “original,” as in new or unexpected, at this Original Pancake House franchise in Hyde Park. The better news is that the breakfast restaurant concept dreamed up in Oregon more than 40 years ago is still a winner.
Illinois is truly at the center of the Original Pancake map. Seventeen of the 56 units are here. The Hyde Park store, largely unchanged since it opened in the mid-1970s, offers the familiar, homey setting with heavy, dark-stained wood tables and chairs plus the reassuring sight of real cooks working in the well-lighted kitchen at the far end of the dining room. A stone fireplace fills one wall and booths line the others.
It’s old-fashioned, but the cozy ambiance is welcoming to solo diners. So are the uniformed servers, seeming veterans who deliver hot food hot and have developed the knack of appearing just when your coffee needs to be warmed up. The coffee, by the way, is pleasantly old-fashioned too. It is mild but flavorful. An additional welcome feature, probably too good to be true all the time: On a recent morning no programmed recorded music was to be heard.
The most demanding task for a first-time diner is to weigh the options on the large menu. There are, for instance, 17 versions of pancakes (most $4.50 to $5), eight crepes (seven of them less than $6), eight waffles (seven less than $5), eight omelets ($6 to $7). But it doesn’t stop there. Juices, cereals, meat side dishes and other selections beg to be sampled.
What to choose? Well, the place is named for a pancake, so why not? The blueberry pancakes ($4.70), three good-sized round pillows, are made from a buttermilk batter and delivered with a bowl of crunchy berries and whipped butter. In contrast, the apple waffle ($4.55) tastes downright dull.
The large omelets, nicely puffed and browned in the oven with a generous amount of freshly cooked filling, are terrific. For example, crisp onion, bell pepper bits and diced ham enliven the very fluffy Western omelet ($6.85).
For meat, it’s impossible to beat the carefully cooked thick-cut bacon (four large strips for $2.70). Sausage patties ($2.65) are flat, mildly spiced and very meaty. With the addition of butter, paprika and black pepper, potatoes are turned into impeccable hash browns (90 cents) or combined with corned beef to make a bland but beautifully crusted hash ($3.95 as a side, $6.75 with eggs).
Across the board, the food is well-seasoned and free of excess grease.
Last but far from least are two star offerings, the Dutch Baby ($5.75) and the Apple Dutch Baby ($7.25). Both are created from an eggy batter that, when cooked in a very hot oven, puffs like a popover and arrives at the table looking like a pie shell. The center of the latter is filled with apples that have been cooked with butter and sugar, while the center of the Dutch Baby is naked but for a coating of lemon juice and dusting of confectioners’ sugar. The sweet-sour taste is curiously refreshing.
As for the French toast, it will have to wait for a future visit.
Original Pancake House
(Two forks)
1517 E. Hyde Park Blvd.,
Village Center shopping plaza
773-288-2322
7 a.m.-3 p.m. Mon.-Fri.;7 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun.No credit cards Wheelchair accessible
———-
Ratings key: 4 forks: Top of the class 3 forks: Better than most 2 forks: Very good fare 1 fork: Middle of the road
