Walker Brothers The Original Pancake House « FoodMayhem (2024)

Several years ago my family and I attempted to share breakfast together at Walker Brothers The Original Pancake House in Wilmette, IL Walker Brothers. After a fiasco there (long story) we ended up elsewhere and I didn’t get my pancakes. During this trip, it was critical that we eat some of those famous pancakes, and we did!

Jessica hung about the hotel room this morning while I slept in, until a late 8:30am CST, which is very late for me. After slowly getting myself together, we got in our rental car and started driving. It was about 30 minutes driving, but fortunately there was no line. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t busy. Even at 9:45am(ish) they were doing quite a bit of business and handling it very well. Heck, even before we got to open the menus we were drinking our coffee and tea.

In an interesting change, Jessica already knew what she wanted to eat — the Apple Pancakes. Walker Bros. is famous for these treats and they are impressive. We’ll come back to that. I carefully read through the menu and then asked the waiter for a suggestion amongst the classic pancakes. He said the blueberry and the banana were the two most popular. I selected the Banana Pancakes; we also ordered a side of hashbrowns and bacon.

Have you ever seen the movie “Defending Your Life“? Through the stay in Judgement City the citizens can eat anything they want, as much as they want, and the food is picturesque, always tastes great, and is ready almost instantly. Well, this is about as close as I’ve ever gotten to that dream. Our food was ready almost instantly! It seemed as if they turned around and had it in hand.

Walker Brothers The Original Pancake House « FoodMayhem (1)

The Apple Pancake set down on our table and the table almost collapsed under the shear weight. It was about nine inches across and two inches tall, steaming hot, piled with apples, and gooey with brown sugar and cinnamon. It was exactly what we thought it would be, although much sweeter than Jessica had hoped. The taste was like that of a giant cinnamon bun, filled with apples. No matter how hard she tried, Jessica just could not eat the whole thing, although partly because it was too sweet for her.

Walker Brothers The Original Pancake House « FoodMayhem (2)

My stack of pancakes was laid out in a perfect pinwheel with a large dollop of whipped, milky butter in the center. The waiter was incredibly thoughtful and let me know that many people request the Tangerine Suzette Sauce on the side, I thought that sounded like a wise idea and it worked out well.

Walker Brothers The Original Pancake House « FoodMayhem (3)

These are the best pancakes I ever ordered! I do recall one time my friend’s dad made slightly better, but they were never repeated and he wouldn’t share the recipe, so I guess those are disqualified since one time could be a fluke 🙂 Unlike other banana pancakes, the bananas were mashed into the batter, so the flavor was consistent throughout the pancakes. The pancakes were perfectly cooked, moist, and super fluffy. The whipped, sweet butter added just the right touch. Keeping the sauce on the side allowed me to use it on some of the pancakes; use some real maple syrup (not that terrible corn syrup at other places). Jessica felt the pancakes had a bit of a baking powder taste, but I didn’t detect it at all. I would order these seven days a week and twice on Sunday.

Walker Brothers The Original Pancake House « FoodMayhem (4)

The Hash Browns, were thick shreds of lightly pan fried potatoes with tons of melty cheddar cheese and lots of chunks of ham. My amazement continued, as all our food truly looked exactly the same as in the menu and was so appealing. We were a bit upset that the potatoes themselves were completely underseasoned and slightly undercooked, but that didn’t seem to stop us from cleaning the plate.

My one complaint about the experience was the bacon. While it was definitely thick-cut, probably cut on location, and likely baked (so that it wasn’t greasy) it had no particular flavor other than the cured flavor. It’s a bad thing when I don’t devour all the bacon in sight.

Walker Brothers The Original Pancake House « FoodMayhem (5)

The whole meal was served piping hot, Jessica’s coffee cup was refilled constantly, the service was incredibly friendly and helpful (which seems to be a consistent theme around these parts), and the price was good. We particularly liked the masterful way Walker Bros. had staff dedicated to their specific tasks: people just filling coffee; people taking orders; people delivering orders; people at the register; etc. Everything moved along smoothly and quickly, yet we never felt rushed. This is a New Yorker’s dream. Sadly there is nothing like this in New York. No place to get a breakfast close to this fast and good and inexpensive.

So it took years for me to finally try it, and driving back to Chicago we hit a TON of traffic, but to have a phenomenal breakfast that made me feel like I had died and gone to heaven (or at least Judgement City), it was all worth it.

posted by Lon at 05:36 PM Filed under American and New American, Breakfast or Brunch, Restaurants, Travel.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Walker Brothers The Original Pancake House «  FoodMayhem (2024)

FAQs

Is The Original Pancake House the same as Walker Bros.? ›

Walker Bros. is a series of pancake houses in the Chicago area. They developed as a franchised spin-off of The Original Pancake House, founded in Portland, Oregon, in 1953 by Les Highet and Erma Hueneke; the Walker Bros. version has been in business for over 45 years.

Where was the first Walker Bros.? ›

Digby Walker and his brothers opened the first Walker Brothers Dry Goods store in Eureka Springs, Arkansas in 1903.

Who owns Richard Walker Pancake House? ›

Richard Walker - Business Owner - Richard Walker's Pancake House | LinkedIn.

Where does original pancake house get its bacon? ›

The Original Pancake House restaurants (Poway and Kearny Mesa) serve Hormel's Old Smoke House bacon, but not the kind you find in the supermarket. Theirs is a wholesale-only 9/13 bacon -- 9 to 13 slices to the pound.

How many original pancake houses are there in the US? ›

There are over 100 Original Pancake House restaurants from coast to coast, which have won local and national acclaim.

What is the history of The Original Pancake House? ›

The building's identity as a hospitality house was firmly established. Erma Hueneke and Les Highet, in1953 founded The Original Pancake House in Portland Oregon and quickly gained national acclaim for their menu. Their dairyman, Raymond Birkland, was a fan too.

What was the Walker Brothers' biggest hit? ›

After moving to Britain in 1965, they had several Top 10 albums and singles there, including the No. 1 hits "Make It Easy on Yourself" and "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)", both of which also made the US Top 20 and Canadian Top 2.

How many Walker Brothers are there? ›

They weren't British, they weren't brothers, and their real names weren't Walker, but Californians Scott Engel, John Maus, and Gary Leeds were briefly huge stars in England (and small ones in their native land) at the peak of the British Invasion.

Who is the oldest Walker brother? ›

Paul and his brothers grew up outside of Los Angeles

Born on Sept. 12, 1973, Paul was the eldest of four children born to Cheryl, a former model, and Paul Walker III, a former amateur boxer. He had a younger sister named Ashlie and two younger brothers, Caleb and Cody.

Who owns The Original Pancake House Michigan? ›

Jennifer Hamilton - Owner - The Original Pancake House Michigan | LinkedIn.

Who owns IHOP in real life? ›

-based Dine Brands Global, Inc. International House of Pancakes, LLC is a subsidiary of Dine Brands Global, which is publicly traded (NYSE: DIN).

Who bought pancake house? ›

MANILA, Philippines—The Max's restaurant group has completed its acquisition of a controlling stake in Pancake House.

What kind of syrup does The Original Pancake House use? ›

MAPLE SYRUP

The Original Pancake House is all about great food and good company, and we would love to serve your friends and family a delicious breakfast that everyone will love. We make every meal using quality ingredients and very special care.

What city has the most pancake houses? ›

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 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.

How many branches does pancake house have? ›

History. Known for their breakfast foods; their signature dishes are the Apple Pancake, Dutch Baby, German Pancake, and omelets. They have over 100 franchised locations throughout the United States, and are located from Seattle to Edgewater, from Wilmette to Williamsville, from Honolulu to its headquarters in Portland.

What was IHOP's original name? ›

History. Jerry Lapin, Al Lapin, and Albert Kallis founded International House of Pancakes in the Los Angeles, California area in 1958 with the help of Sherwood Rosenberg and William Kaye. The first restaurant opened on July 16, 1958 at 4301 W.

What are the sister companies of pancake house? ›

MAXS' portfolio consists of homegrown and international brands such as “Max's Restaurant”; “Pancake House”, “Yellow Cab Pizza”; “Krispy Kreme”; “Sizzlin' Steak”; “Teriyaki Boy”; “Dencio's”; “Kabisera”; “Maple”; “Jamba Juice”; and “Eats”.

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