Eggstravaganza

Spring Eggstravaganza Recap

2014 Eggstravaganza FB cover_Final

As April comes to an end, we also close the curtains on our month-long Spring Eggstravaganza.  We’ve had so much fun celebrating eggs with you this past month.  One feature of our Eggstravaganza was a weekly Egg-off contest between several of the Original Pancake House favorites.  Our customers voted on their favorite egg breakfast dishes via Facebook and the results are in:

Week 1:  Fried Eggs claimed victory over Scrambled in our first weekly Egg-off.

Week 2: Denver Omelet took top prize in a heated contest with the ever-popular Joe.

Week 3: After a tight race, Green Chile Eggs Benedict inched ahead of Classic Eggs Benedict to take the win by a nose.

Week 4: In a close contest, Ham & Cheese Omelet earned the win over the Florentine Omelet.

All were close-fought “battles” and for good reason; we have a hard time choosing our favorite egg dishes as well!  As a closeout to the Eggstravaganza, we’d also like to share a few additional Eggstra Fun Facts about Eggs.

Did you know…

  • Each of the roughly 280 million laying birds in the U.S. produces from 250 to 300 eggs a year. In total, the U.S. produces about 75 billion eggs a year, about 10% of the world supply.
  • Normally, hens with white ear lobes lay white eggs, and hens with red ear lobes lay brown eggs. There is no nutritional difference between white and brown eggs.
  • A mother hen turns her eggs about 50 times per day.
  • The most expensive egg ever sold was the Faberge “Winter Egg” sold in 1994 for $5.6 million.
  • Egg size and grade are not related to one another. Size is determined by weight per dozen. Younger hens tend to lay smaller eggs. The size increases as the hen grows older and bigger. Grade refers to the quality of the shell, white and yolk and the size of the air cell.
  • There are 7 to 17 thousand tiny pores on the shell surface, a greater number at the large end. As the egg ages, these tiny holes permit moisture and carbon dioxide to move out and air to move in to form the air cell. The egg can also absorb refrigerator odors through the pores, so always refrigerate eggs in their cartons.

Thank you to all our customers and fans who helped us celebrate our Spring Eggstravanza this past month.  Whether you joined us for breakfast in Denver and tried one of the 24 fantastic egg dishes on our menu, or you voted in our weekly Facebook Egg-offs, we hope you enjoyed celebrating the incredible egg as much as we did!

Have an eggscellent spring, Denver!


OPH Corned Beef Hash

Irish Breakfast Traditions

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we thought we’d explore Irish breakfast traditions.  The morning after all the St. Patrick’s Day revelry, we figured the good folks in Ireland must sit down for a hearty meal. As it turns out, a full Irish breakfast is nothing short of a small feast!  Here are a few breakfast staples from the Emerald Isle:

Our Corned Beef Hash
Our Corned Beef Hash

Rashers – Rashers are the Irish version of bacon.  This pork treat more resembles Canadian bacon, although it is a fattier cut and is served as a round patty.  Where American bacon is traditionally cooked until crispy, rashers are typically fried in Irish butter until cooked through and lightly browned.

Bangers – Bangers are a traditional Irish breakfast sausage.  Either made with pork or a combination of pork and beef, bangers are typically short in length and fat in diameter.  The word “banger” refers to the sausage’s tendency to split and explode out of its casing when cooked.

Boxty – Considered a traditional Irish potato pancake, the boxty actually more resembles American hash browns.  Riced potatoes are compacted into a pancake shape within a hot skillet and fried to make this breakfast staple.

Black & White Pudding – Black pudding is essentially blood sausage, or cooked and congealed blood from pigs or cows mixed with pork, beef, or sometimes oatmeal, bread or potato.  White pudding is a similar soft sausage made without the blood.  Both varieties are usually sliced and then grilled or fried.

And more still! – All Irish breakfasts are served with fried eggs.  In addition, a full Irish breakfast will include Irish brown bread, baked beans, fried tomatoes, and sautéed mushrooms.  Whew!  With a meal this large, you are sure to have energy for a full day’s work or fun!  If you don’t want to fly all the way to Ireland for your next morning meal, we’d be happy to serve you an Irish inspired breakfast in Denver at the Original Pancake House with our very own Corned Beef Hash and Eggs.  From all of us at the Original Pancake House, Happy St. Patrick’s Day!


Dutch Baby Pancake

Important Ingredients: 5 Reasons to Love The Original Pancake House

We recently came across this article profiling the most important restaurants in America. The author noted that it wasn’t the fanciest, trendiest or most popular ones that made the list, but the ones with consistently good food, unique recipes and happy customers.

Even without any breakfast restaurants topping the list, we’re confident that we have all the ingredients necessary for an important restaurant:

  • 15-Ingredient-Made-From-Scratch Pancake Batter: You can’t find stuff this good in stores, folks. And we’re not giving away our recipe either.
  • The Dutch Baby: If a pancake and a crepe had a child, it would be The Dutch Baby. Oven baked and served with whipped butter, lemon and powdered sugar, this is one of our favorites.
  • Salty and Sweet: There’s a reason people don’t mind a little syrup getting on their bacon. It’s the perfect combination, and if you haven’t tried it yet, our Bacon Belgian Waffle will win you over.
  • Breakfast for Lunch: More commonly known as brunch, this is the most important meal of the weekend. Anyone care to disagree?
  • Green Chile: Coloradoans love their green chile, and we have some of the best in the country – Mark Schlereth’s Green Chile Sauce. It’s gluten-free and has become the official green chile of Coors Field and Pepsi Center. Try it on one of our omelettes, or with your bacon and eggs.

And when the most important stop of someone’s day is having breakfast at our Cherry Hills or Denver Tech Center location, well, that just tops the list. We invite you to come in and try one (or all!) of our important ingredients, and find your own reason to love The Original Pancake House.