Walker Brothers Original Pancake House | A Chicagoland Best

Best Original Pancake Houses

Chicagoland boasts seven Original Pancake Houses, but Walker Brothers Original Pancake House is a Chicagoland best. A hundred more populate the nation. Some are better than others. I have never been to one I didn’t like. Roadfood celebrates one-of-a-kind restaurants. . I would feel guilty not to include it among our highest recommendations. (One other Original Pancake House we can’t resist recommending is the Original Original Pancake House in Portland, Oregon.)

Everything’s A Cut Above

Walker Brothers Original Pancake House has a style all its own. Stained glass, wood, and art nouveau create vintage Victorian ambiance. It is unimpeachably clean, embarrassingly polite, and comfortable. Everything served exceeds ordinary-restaurant standards. That starts with brilliant fresh orange juice and good coffee with a pitcher of heavy cream. Order bacon and you get a plate of thick, pork-belly-good slices. Even eggs exceed, especially if you get them butter basted along with freshly made corned beef hash.

Name Your Pancake Pleasure

Granted, it is difficult to order eggs when the pancakes are so good. The plainer ones demonstrate simple excellence. Rich buttermilk cakes, tangy sourdough flapjacks, old-time buckwheat all earn blue ribbons. A Crepe Creations menu offers banana crepes, Cherry Kijafa crepes, and chipotle chicken crepes with crusty potato pancakes.

What to eat at Walker Brothers Original Pancake House-Baked Pancakes

My jaw drops in awe when I confront the kitchen’s showstopper baked pancakes. These include a German pancake and an apple pancake. Both feature egg-rich batter that puffs them high above the skillet in which they’re baked. They arrive completely eclipsing the plate on which they sit. The German pancake is accompanied by lemon wedges and powdered sugar. Combine them to create sweet-tart syrup. The apple pancake is a bubbling mesa of fruit and cinnamon and tender batter. It’s a Chicagoland best. An American best. Vegetable lovers go for a baked Danish Garden pancake. That comes loaded with broccoli, tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions, all topped with havarti cheese.

The Price of Popularity

The only bad thing to say about Walker Brothers Original Pancake House is that sometimes you can’t get in. There is often a wait for a table. A long wait on weekends.