The Original Pancake House Southfield Michigan

A pancake house, pancake and waffle house or waffle house is a

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

that specializes in

breakfast Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night. Various "typical" or "traditional" breakfast menus exist, with food choices varying by regi ...

items such as

pancakes A pancake, also known as a hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack, is a flat type of batter bread like cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based Batter (cooking), batter that may contain eggs, milk, and butter, and then cooked on a ...

waffles A waffle is a dish made from leavened Batter (cooking), batter or dough that is cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. There are many variations based on the type of waffle iron ...

, and omelettes, among other items. Many small, independent pancake houses, as well as large corporations and

franchises Franchise may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Media franchise, a collection of related creative works, such as films, video games, books, etc., particularly in North American usage * "Franchise" (short story), a 1955 short story ...

, use the terminology in their establishment names, most notably the International House of Pancakes (IHOP), Waffle House and The Original Pancake House. Most pancake houses are dine-in, although most will offer carry-out as well. Many are open until around 3 a.m. Exceptions to this are large chains such as IHOP and

Denny's Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,400 Restaurant, restaurants in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and several other internationa ...

, which are usually open 24 hours. Some independent pancake houses are found in strip malls, or exist as stand-alone structures that have been re-fitted, such as a closed-down

diner A diner is a type of restaurant found across the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Western Europe and Australia. Diners offer a wide range of cuisine, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...

retail store The retail format (also known as the retail formula) influences the consumer's store choice and addresses the consumer's expectations. At its most basic level, a retail format is a simple marketplace, that is; a location where goods and services ar ...

Fare

Pancake houses in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

may offer various pancake styles, such as

buttermilk Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in Western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most mode ...

buckwheat Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum'') or common buckwheat is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. Buckwheat originated around the 6th millennium BCE in the region of what ...

and

sourdough Sourdough is a type of bread that uses the fermentation by naturally occurring yeast and lactobacillus bacteria to raise the dough. In addition to leavening the bread, the fermentation process produces lactic acid, which gives the bread its dis ...

, along with pancakes blended with fruit, nuts and

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

. They will also commonly offer different styles of pancakes which originate in different parts of the world, such as German pancakes, Swedish pancakes, Dutch Apple pancakes, crepes, 49er's flapjacks, and others, as well as Belgian waffles, buttermilk waffles, and

French toast French toast is a Dish (food), dish of sliced bread soaked in beaten eggs as food, eggs and often milk or cream, then pan-fried. Alternative names and variants include eggy bread, Bombay toast, gypsy toast, and poor knights (of Windsor).''Oxfo ...

. In addition, a wide variety of breakfast foods are common at pancake house restaurants, which includes

grits Grits (stylized as GRITS) is an American Christian hip hop group from Nashville, Tennessee. Their name is an acronym, which stands for "Grammatical Revolution In the Spirit". GRITS is made up of Stacey "Coffee" Jones and Teron "Bonafide" Carter ...

oatmeal Oatmeal is a preparation of oats that have been dehusked, steamed, and flattened, or a coarse flour of hulled oat grains ( groats) that have either been milled (ground), rolled, or steel-cut. Ground oats are also called white oats. Steel- ...

, omelettes, egg dishes, breakfast meats such as

bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...

and

sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

, and combinations such as

pigs in a blanket In the United States, pigs in a blanket are small hot dogs or other sausages individually wrapped in pastry. It is commonly served as an appetizer. Ingredients and preparation In the United States the term "pigs in a blanket" typically refer ...

and eggs benedict. Some also offer lunch items such as

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

steak A steak is a cut of meat sliced across muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally Grilling, grilled or Pan frying, fried, and can be diced or cooked in sauce. Steaks are most commonly cut from cattle (beefsteak), but can also ...

, chili,

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed ingredients, frequently vegetables. They are typically served chilled or at room temperature, though some can be served warm. Condiments called '' salad dressings'', which exist in a variety of flavors, a ...

hamburger A hamburger (or simply a burger) consists of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis ...

s and

sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

es.

In Europe

Molen nooitgedacht met het pannekoekenhuis

Netherlands

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, some pancake houses offer up to 70 pancake varieties. In

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

, a region in the western part of the Netherlands, some pancake houses serve

poffertjes ''Poffertjes'' () are traditional Dutch batter cakes. Resembling small, fluffy pancakes, they are made with yeast and buckwheat flour. Typically, ''poffertjes'' are sweet treats served with powdered sugar and butter, and sometimes syrup or ...

, a traditional Dutch batter treat that resembles small, fluffy pancakes. Moreover, Dutch pancakes are generally eaten as full lunch or dinner meals, and not as breakfast items like in the United States.

Restaurants

Some examples of pancake house restaurants in the Netherlands include Bunnik,Dutch Delight: Typical Dutch Food - Sylvia Pessireron, Martijn de Rooi, Linda Cook - Google Books
p. 105. Lage Vuursche, The Pancake Bakery, Boerderij Meerzicht and De Carrousel.

Denmark

In Denmark there is a restaurant chain where pancakes and ice cream are offered. It is called

Rasmus Klump ''Rasmus Klump'' (translates to ''Rasmus Lump'' or ''Erasmus Lump'') is a Danish comic strip series for children created in 1951 by the Danish wife-and-husband team Carla and Vilhelm Hansen. The series was translated into a number of foreign lan ...

Familierestaurant, after the Danish character "Rasmus Klump", whose favorite meal is pancakes.

In the United States

There are many pancake houses in existence throughout the United States. Some restaurateurs in the United States have focused on offering breakfast foods for consumers to eat at times of the day other than in the morning, to make pancake and waffle houses more competitive. Some U.S. cities have a significant number of pancake houses. For example,

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...

, has the highest per capita ratio of waffle and pancake houses in the world.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the "Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...

, has a significant number of pancake houses, numbering over 10 in a two-mile distance. The Grand Strand, a large stretch of beaches on the East Coast of the United States that consists of over 60 miles of beach land, has been noted for having a considerable number of pancake houses.

Notable pancake houses

As of 2012, Cracker Barrel, whose menu is based on traditional Southern cuisine with appearance and decor designed to resemble an old-fashioned general store, operates 620 stores in 42 states. As of 2006, Denny's has 1,600 restaurants. IHOP has over 1,550 total locations in the United States and in other countries. Waffle House is a

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories in many pa ...

that has over 1,500 locations in the United States. The Original Pancake House has over 100 franchised restaurants in the United States, and in Portland, Oregon, where it was founded, it has been open since 1953. It is known for offering a wide range of breakfast dishes and items. Sears Fine Food, a pancake house in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

,Arirang: The Bamboo Connection - D. Christi - Google Books
p. 77. has been serving Swedish pancakes since 1938. In

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, Beverly's restaurant (now named Beverly's In The Rough) opened as a pancake house on May 19, 1921.Insiders' Guide to Oklahoma City - Deborah Bouziden - Google Books
p. 43. The restaurant still prepares pancakes from scratch. File:TypicalWaffleHouse.jpg, A Waffle House restaurant in

Hagerstown, Maryland Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States, and its county seat. The population was 43,527 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Hagerstown ranks as Maryland's List of municipalities in Maryland, sixth-most popu ...

File:49ers flapjack OHP.jpg, 49er flapjack, a sourdough crepe from Naperville Pancake Cafe File:Wafflehousedish.jpg, A dish at a Waffle House restaurant in Arkansas File:2011-01-28 Cracker Barrel in Morrisville, NC.jpg, A Cracker Barrel restaurant File:IHOP omelette breakfast.jpg, IHOP breakfast foods File:Stuffed ft.jpg, Honey Jam Cafe stuffed

french toast French toast is a Dish (food), dish of sliced bread soaked in beaten eggs as food, eggs and often milk or cream, then pan-fried. Alternative names and variants include eggy bread, Bombay toast, gypsy toast, and poor knights (of Windsor).''Oxfo ...

References

{{Reflist, 30em, refs= REAL AMERN BREAKFAST - Cheryl Alters Jamison, Bill Jamison - Google Books
p. 84. Beard on Food: The Best Recipes and Kitchen Wisdom from the Dean of American ... - James Beard - Google Books
p. 210. DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Amsterdam - Christopher Catling, Robin Pascoe - Google Books
p. 236. Talking with My Mouth Full: Crab Cakes, Bundt Cakes, and Other Kitchen Stories - Bonny Wolf - Google Books
p. 121. Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age - John A. Jakle, Keith A. Sculle - Google Books
p. 210.