The Original Pancake House

8601 SW 24th Avenue, Portland, Oregon, (503) 246-9007

This Portland institution opened back in 1953 and hasn’t changed noticeably since. Okay, the prices may be a bit higher, but the menu still features the huge apple pancake and Dutch Baby along with a score of other specialty flapjacks, omelettes, and all-American egg combos with sugar-cured hickory smoked bacon or ham. This may be the last restaurant in the country that still uses the tiny milk-bottle shaped cream pitchers, and they’re filled with heavy cream, not half-and-half.

There are other “original” pancake houses operated under franchise, but this is the original original, the very first, and it retains a special charm that can’t be packaged or copyrighted. From the homey white clapboard siding to the warm patina of the honey-colored knotty pine interior, this converted residence practically screams “grandma’s house,” and the friendly but no-nonsense servers impart a “eat-up, it’s good for you” feeling. The locals aren’t the only ones who know the is place is special. The New York-based James Beard Foundation recognized the Original as one of America’s Regional Classics this year.

The line forms before the doors open at 7:00 a.m. and never dwindles. Expect to wait; an hour or more on the weekend is not uncommon. The crowd mostly reflects the upscale neighborhood that this section of southwest Portland has become, but there are always a few long-time regulars or less-mainstream younger folks who’ve discovered the joy of really good pancakes.

Everyone should, at least once, experience the apple pancake. What looks like a bushel of fresh Granny Smith apples, is baked tender and glazed with sugar, cinnamon, and butter, piled in a mound over a rich eggy “pancake” base. This isn’t just a stack of hotcakes with some apples, but more akin to a custardy dessert. It’s really good and unbelievably big. The Dutch Baby, the other signature dish, towers over the plate, the top dusting of powdered sugar like snow on a mountaintop. Squeeze on some fresh lemon juice for a simple but delicious breakfast. The Swedish pancakes are a trio of crepes served with a bowl of lingonberry preserves and whipped butter. You spread on the butter, top with the tart berries, and roll them up yourself. Most of the crepes and pancakes are made with the restaurant’s long-cultured sourdough, which gives them a pleasant tangy flavor.

When the Original first opened it's doors, fresh butter, eggs, and cream were considered hallmarks of healthy eating, a bit of holdover legacy from our agrarian past, but also, in no small part, the result of a dairy industry marketing effort that would be highly suspect if not downright illegal today. They still make food taste wonderful, though. Unless your serum cholesterol makes you a candidate for a spartan low-fat diet, an occasional trip to the Pancake House is worth an extra hour at the gym.