The Pancake House
At The Original Pancake House, we occasionally get letters from our customers letting us know about their experiences at our restaurant. We want to share this very special letter from one of our youngest customers, Sophia, a 4th grade student at Slavens School. Sophia’s 4th grade Language Arts teacher, Bo Sager, requested that each member of his class write about their favorite restaurant and then mail a copy of the letter to the owner of the restaurant. We are so touched by Sophia’s kind words and happy memories of breakfasts with us! Thank you, Sophia, for sharing your love of pancakes with us! We look forward to seeing you and your family again soon!
The Pancake House is a family friendly place. You can be loud without any rude comments. It is a cozy place it not too fancy but everyone is always nice. The Pancake House is an amazing restaurant.
You might guess what is on the menu. Pancakes of course. While there are other things on the menu, pancakes are their best. They are so good they must put buttermilk because they are full of greatness. They don’t only use the pancake batter for pancakes. They also use it for crepes. They put jelly, fruit, and chocolate on the crepes. Man the crepes are good. It feels like a party in your mouth. I do not like eggs at all. But the way they cook it makes it great. The best thing they make with egg is their omelets. You can ask for stuff like vegetables or bacon. Might I say that when you ask for bacon it makes it a 100 times better. If I didn’t get so full after this breakfast I would eat the whole egg omelet.
In one word to explain the service: great. They are quick to get you a table. In less than a minute they will have a server at your table. All of the servers are nice to you. They always make sure that you are taken care of and the food is good. This one time for my birthday I went to the Pancake House. They asked if it was my birthday and I said yes. 10 minutes later, they came with the most delicious crepe. It had jelly and strawberry on it.
The Pancake House is a great place. Their food is incredible and it’s at a fair price. So go now go to the Pancake House the best place to eat in the world.
By Sophia
Celebrate Mom!
Mother’s Day is just around the corner! We love this special holiday as it is a time to celebrate all of our moms and thank them for their love and support. Of course one of the best ways to say thank you to mom is to take her out for a nice breakfast in Denver. We’ll be happy to host your whole family so that you can give mom a much needed and well-deserved morning off!
Here are a couple of other cute gift ideas to show mom that she is special:
Hand Print Flower Art – Great for kids ages 0-5
Little ones will need a bit of help from Dad to work the paint, but will love covering their hands in bright colors to make the flower prints on this cute homemade card for mom.
Fruit Flower Bouquet – Great for kids ages 6 and up
This is a wonderful project to do with young children and makes a very special treat for moms on Mother’s Day. It would be a great gift to tide everyone over before going out to brunch later in the morning. Little one’s may need some help from dad to cut the shapes, but then can arrange the fruit flowers on their own!
Homemade Chocolate Truffles – Great for kids ages 10 and up
Instead of buying mom a box of chocolates from the store, gather the whole family (minus mom of course!) and make your own! Homemade chocolates are easy and make a very fun project for older children. Plus mom will love this sweet, homemade gift! Check out the recipe here.
To all our moms, we wish you a very Happy Mother’s Day from your Original Pancake House family!
Celebrate National Oatmeal Month!
Did you know? January is National Oatmeal Month! What a perfect time to celebrate the simplest, healthiest, and one of the most comforting breakfast foods. We’ve researched a few fun facts about oatmeal, and even have a great oatmeal recipe idea for you. Read on below!
Fun Facts About Oats:
- There are three types of oats that can be used to create oatmeal. Steel-cut oats still contain the whole grain and oat bran and are processed through steel cutters which slice them into pieces. Rolled oats are de-hulled, steamed and flattened. Rolled oats are often referred to as “old fashioned oats.” Finally, instant oats are similar to rolled oats except that they are steamed longer and are fully cooked before they are dried.
- In general, the less processed your oats, the more fiber they will contain. For optimum health benefits, go with the steel-cut oats.
- Ancient Germanic tribes around 1,000 BC were the first to cultivate and eat oats.
- Oats were first brought to the United States by European settlers in the early 1600’s. Immigrants used the oats in porridge, pudding, and baked goods, much the same way we do today.
Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats
If you want to create the healthiest oatmeal with steel cut oats, but don’t have the extra time in the morning, try using a slow cooker! Follow the instructions for water and oats ratio and combine in a slow cooker. Add in raisins, fruit, or any other toppings of your choice. Set the slow cooker on low for 7-8 hours and in the morning you have piping hot oatmeal, ready to go!
And of course, we’ll be happy to share our Old Fashioned Oatmeal with you the next time you are out for breakfast in Denver. Our version is served with warm skim milk, brown sugar, and raisins. You can’t beat it on a cold January day! Happy National Oatmeal Month!
Fireside Chat with Melodie Polidori of Polidori Sausage
We love our Polidori Sausage links any time of year, but one of our favorite holiday special menu items is the Polidori Sausage holiday links! As the holiday links recently made their annual debut on our holiday special menu, we thought it might be fun to sit down with Melodie Polidori and learn a bit more about sausage!
Q: Polidori has a long history in Denver, can you tell us a bit about how Polidori Sausage began?
Polidori Sausage just celebrated its 90th year in business. It all began back in August of 1925 when my great grandmother Ana Polidori and her husband Rocco bought a grocery store in North Denver. My grandmother was the butcher at the store while my grandfather ran the grocery part of the store. When my grandmother was not busy cutting pork chops and steaks for customers she would cook up her family heirloom Italian sausage for customers to sample. The aroma of the sausage made customers curious how to get Polidori Sausage. She would sell the sausages from the butcher case. 90 years later we still make her family Italian sausage recipe the same as she did back in 1925.
Q: What are some of the Polidori Family favorite holiday traditions?
Food---Having stuffed shells with Polidori sausage at my grandparents’ house for Christmas and eating turkey with a to die for stuffing with Polidori Stuffing!! Another favorite tradition was making Pizzel’s with my grandmother!!!
Q: Can you tell us what special ingredients make your holiday links so delicious? Or is it a family secret?
It starts with the finest cuts of pork and fresh spices. Cinnamon and nutmeg are two special ingredients as well as fresh currant berries!
Q: What is your favorite breakfast meal?
A breakfast soufflé with Polidori Sausage.
Q: Other than at OPH, where can people find Polidori Sausage in Denver if they need to feed their sausage fix at home? Do you make other types of sausage in addition to breakfast links?
Polidori Sausage can be found at King Soopers, Safeway, Albertson’s, Spinelli’s Market and Max Market. We do make maple sausage links as well commonly used at breakfast restaurants.
Thanks Melodie! The next time you join us for breakfast in Denver, definitely try the special holiday sausage links! You won’t be disappointed. Have a wonderful holiday season!
FALLing In Love With Apples
When golden fall leaves start to pop against bright blue skies, we know fall has arrived in Colorado. And when we think of fall at The Original Pancake House, we think of apples! Apples signify the beginning of harvest season and bring a delightful range of flavors to any fall meal. Our favorite fall breakfast in Denver is our Apple Pancake with oven baked fresh Granny Smith apples and pure Sinkiang cinnamon glaze. Read on to learn how to bring the flavors of fall to your breakfast table with this recipe for Apple Pancakes.
Apple Pancakes
2 eggs, well beaten
1 ½ cups of milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup sugar
3 medium apples, peeled and coarsely grated
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Vegetable oil, for frying
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting
- Mix the eggs with the milk in a large bowl.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and sugar together.
- Combine the wet and the dry ingredients and stir in the apples and whatever other flavorings you see fit.
- Heat a thin layer of oil in a skillet over low to medium heat. Drop large spoonful of batter into the pan and cook until golden brown underneath. Flip the pancakes and cook them for an additional two or three minutes.
- Either dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately, or keep on a tray in a warmed oven until you are ready to serve them.
From our kitchen to yours, we hope you enjoy this season of sweater weather! Bon Appetit!
Make it at home: Bacon Pancakes!
Bacon and pancakes are two of the most popular items people order when they go out to breakfast in Denver. 
What could be more delectable than a stack of warm pancakes and a side of bacon? The answer: Bacon Pancakes! We receive many requests for our Bacon Pancake recipe at The Original Pancake House. Read on to learn how to make this decadent breakfast treat at home.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- 8 slices bacon
- Pure maple syrup, (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, melted butter, and egg. Whisk flour mixture into buttermilk mixture just until moistened, with small to medium lumps remaining.
- In a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet or on a griddle, cook bacon over medium-high until fat is rendered and bacon is browned on one side, 5 to 6 minutes. Flip and cook until golden and crisp on underside, 1 to 3 minutes. Drain bacon on paper towels; pour off all but 1 teaspoon fat from skillet (reserve for another use). Finely chop bacon into small bits and mix into existing batter.
- Heat skillet over medium. Pour 1/4-cupfuls batter into skillet. Cook until some bubbles appear on top of pancakes and a few have burst, about 2 minutes. With a spatula, carefully flip pancakes and cook until browned on underside, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a platter and loosely tent with foil. Keep pancakes warm in oven and repeat with remaining batter, adding more bacon fat if needed. Serve with pure maple syrup if desired.
From our kitchen to yours, bon appetit!
We’re nutty about Pecans!
At The Original Pancake House we go nuts for pecans! We love them in our Banana Praline Crepes, we enjoy the crunch they add to our Pecan Belgian Waffle, we can’t get enough of their toasty goodness in our Georgia Pecan Pancakes, and they certainly add a special something to our Banana Praline French Toast. YUM! To celebrate this special nut, we’ve collected a few fun facts about pecans.
Did you know?
- The name “pecan” is a Native American word that was used to describe nuts requiring a stone to crack. There are over 1,000 varieties of pecans. Many are named for Native American Indian tribes, including Cheyenne, Mohawk, Sioux, Choctaw and Shawnee.
- The pecan capital of the world is Albany, Georgia, which boasts more than 600,000 pecan trees.
- Pecan trees are native to North America and over 80% of the world’s pecan crop comes from the United States. Some of the larger pecan shellers process 150,000 pounds of pecans each day. That’s enough to make 300,000 pecan pies!
- Pecan trees only produce nuts every two years. Pecans come in a variety of sizes – mammoth, extra-large, large, medium, small and midget.
- The pecan pie was created by French people who had settled in New Orleans.
- The pecan is heart healthy and contains antioxidants, 19 vitamins and minerals and healthy fat. Pecans are also high in zinc and provide 10% of daily recommended value per serving.
- In 1995, Georgia pecan wood was selected by the Atlanta Committee to make the handles of the torches for the 1996 Olympic Games. The torches were carried in the 15,000-mile U.S.A. relay and in the lighting of the Olympic flame in Atlanta on July 19, 1996.
- About 78 pecans are used in the average pecan pie.
- Pecan trees can live to be over 200 years old. The largest and oldest trees can have a trunk that is three feet in diameter and can be over 150 feet tall.
- One ounce of pecans provides 10% of the recommended daily fiber intake.
All of these fun facts are making us hungry; time to get cracking on our next batch of Georgia Pecan Pancakes. Next time you are out for breakfast in Denver, come join us and try one of our delicious pecan breakfast dishes!
DIY: Homemade Granola
In the heat of summer, one of our favorite breakfast items is our homemade granola with milk or our Fiesta Bowl which includes granola with fresh fruit and yogurt. Granola makes a nice light breakfast when you are short on time or looking for a healthy start to the day. Here is one of our favorite homemade granola recipes. It is a great item to have on hand in the pantry when you don’t have time to join us at The Original Pancake House for breakfast out in Denver!
Homemade Granola
Ingredients
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
2 cups sliced almonds
¾ cup vegetable oil
½ cup good honey
1 ½ cups small diced dried apricots
1 cup small diced dried figs
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup roasted, unsalted cashews
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Toss the oats, coconut, and almonds together in a large bowl. Whisk together the oil and honey in a small bowl. Pour the liquids over the oat mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until all the oats and nuts are coated. Pour onto a large cookie sheet pan. Bake, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until the mixture turns a nice, even, golden brown, about 45 minutes.
Remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool, stirring occasionally. Add the apricots, figs, cherries, cranberries, and cashews. Store the cooled granola in an airtight container.
We like to get the kids involved when we make this recipe; everyone enjoys stirring the granola and licking sweet and sticky oats off their fingers! From all your friends at The Original Pancake House, have a wonderful summer!
Top 5 Reasons to Take Your Family Out to Breakfast
Aside from being the most important meal of the day, breakfast with the family has many other important benefits for you and the kids. Here are our top five reasons to take your family out to breakfast in Denver.
- Time to talk.
Family meals give children and their parents time to focus on one another, talk about their days, and bond as a family. Further, studies show that family meals give children an opportunity to have conversations with adults, as well as to pick up on how adults are using words with each other, which may explain why family meals can help build a child's vocabulary.
- Expose kids to new foods.
Eating out together can be the perfect time to introduce new foods and expand your kids’ palates. After all, who can resist a delightfully fluffy omelet filled with garden veggies or a golden waffle topped with fresh berries? You might be surprised to find fruits and vegetables go right down the hatch when presented in a new way.
- Someone else does the work.
There are so many rewards of going out to breakfast! No last minute trips to the grocery store, no scrambling to get a healthy and filling meal prepared for starving tots, and no dishes! Let us do the hard work while you enjoy time with your family.
- Reduce stress.
Sharing a meal can help reduce stress by giving you a few moments to slow down and enjoy the coffee. When your hardest choice is between crepes and pancakes, you can really relax and enjoy a few moments of downtime.
- Treat yourself!
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and The Original Pancake House has a plethora of scrumptious choices to delight your taste buds. We guarantee a hearty plate of Bacon and Eggs or a Dutch Baby will brighten your day so don’t be afraid to treat yourself!
We hope you have the opportunity to enjoy a special breakfast meal with your family in the near future. We will be happy to host and let you sit back, relax, and enjoy bonding with your kids. Stop in and see us at The Original Pancake House sometime soon!
Peanuts & Cracker Jacks: Funny Food Superstitions of Major League Baseball
Baseball season is in full swing across the country! We love to take our family to Coors Field each summer t
o cheer on our Colorado Rockies and check out the fun and crowds in downtown Denver. On a recent trip to the ball park, we got to talking about Major League Baseball players and their superstitions. Many players have a special song that they play before each at-bat, or a routine that they follow before each game. One of our favorite (now retired) Rockies players, Todd Helton, used to start a game with a full beard. If he didn’t get a hit by the fifth inning, he would shave his beard to a goatee. If he still didn’t have a hit by the seventh inning, he would shave his beard entirely!
We also learned that some players have a special food or meal that they must eat before every game. Hall of Fame third baseman Wade Boggs used to eat chicken before every game. Retired Chicago Cubs pitcher Lee Smith used to sleep through the first four innings of every game and have his teammates wake him up before the fifth inning with a cheeseburger. Drew Storen, relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals, had a grilled cheese sandwich and glass of milk every day during the 2011 season.
Our favorite superstitious player is C.J. Wilson who plays for the Los Angeles Angels. On the days that he is scheduled to pitch, Wilson eats a very specific breakfast. His game day menu includes a vegetable omelet with an English muffin. However, he is allergic to butter, so his English muffin has to be served without! Next time C.J. is in town, we hope he joins us for breakfast in Denver. We would be happy to serve him a lucky veggie omelet and English muffin without butter.
To all the superstitious Major League, Minor League, and Little Leaguers, we wish you luck this baseball season. We are happy to serve you a lucky breakfast before any game, just swing on in to The Original Pancake House!
Fit For a Celebrity - What Do Famous Dads Eat For Breakfast?
On Father’s Day we have the opportunity to celebrate some of the most important men in our lives –Dads! Though the fathers in our family often have celebrity status, we thought it would be fun to look at a few other famous dads and see what they eat for breakfast. Read on to see what we found out:
Brad Pitt:
This super-star celebrity is a father to Maddox, Zahara, Shiloh, Pax, Knox and Vivienne, what a crew! Brad Pitt is known for his abs and spends a lot of time in the gym. Reportedly, Pitt eats a very healthy diet full of lean proteins and whole grains. One of his favorite breakfasts is six eggs and oatmeal porridge with raisins.
David Beckham:
A famous soccer player, model, and husband to fashionista Victoria Beckham, David Beckham has his kids' names - Brooklyn, Romeo, and Cruz -tattooed on his back. David Beckham also works hard to stay in shape and eats a very healthy diet. His favorite breakfast item is a tomato and cheese omelet. Yum!
Will Smith:
Will Smith is father to Jaden, Willow, and Trey, and keeps the family entertained with his jokes and musical stylings. Will Smith is another celebrity dad who has to eat a healthy diet to keep up his physique, but he and the kids like to eat chocolate for breakfast when wife Jada Pinkett Smith is out of town.
Will Ferrell:
You can bet his sons Magnus, Mattias, and Axel never stop laughing with father Will Ferrell around. And though Will’s famous character “Buddy the Elf,” from the movie Elf, enjoys spaghetti, sugared maple syrup, sprinkles, mini-marshmallows, Hershey's chocolate syrup, M&M's, and Frosted Chocolate Fudge Pop-Tarts for breakfast, in real life Will and the kids enjoy eggs and pancakes like the rest of us.
We think each of these celebrity dads could find something to fill their bellies at The Original Pancake House; hopefully they will stop by if they are ever out for breakfast in Denver. And if you need to treat your own dad to a breakfast out, we will be happy to serve him a meal fit for a king. From The Original Pancake House family, we would like to wish all the dads out there a very Happy Father’s Day!
What is a Swedish Pancake?
At The Original Pancake House, Swedish pancakes are one of our favorite menu items. Lacy and sweet, and served with lingonberry sauce and whipped butter, these pancakes are always a special treat. For those of you who have never tried a Swedish pancake, let us entice your taste buds!
Though called a pancake, Swedish pancakes more similarly resemble a traditional French crepe. They are very thin pancakes and are most often served folded or rolled with sweet toppings. Swedish pancakes are known for their richness. High in egg and butter content and low in flour, these pancakes are lighter, fluffier and airier than other forms of pancake. To make Swedish pancakes, we prepare the special batter, spoon onto a hot griddle into a thin layer, and flip, much the same way one would prepare a crepe.
Because Swedish pancakes are especially sweet, they are usually served with lingonberry, any other fruit preserves, or even yogurt. Lingonberry sauce is a traditional Swedish condiment as the berries are quite plentiful in the mountains and forests of the country. Lingonberry sauce is most similar in flavor to a cranberry – slightly sweet and slightly sour – and makes a great accompaniment to sweet Swedish pancakes.
The next time you join us for breakfast in Denver, be sure to try out our Swedish pancakes with Lingonberry sauce. We promise you will enjoy this special treat from a land faraway!