Lehndorff: Breakfast nirvana daily House special

Published January 14, 2005 at midnight

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Truly great pancakes - swabbed with butter and soaked in syrup - can have a profound effect on humanity. In the case of this human, perfect cakes 'n' eggs can morph a horrid morning into a nice day. Unfortunately, mediocre a.m. fare dished at chain eateries always disappoints me so deeply that I vow to never darken their cookie-cutter doors again.

That's my excuse for proudly, if stupidly, avoiding the Original Pancake House for so long. There are two outlets of the widely acclaimed, Oregon-based chain in Greenwood Village, but the opening of a restaurant in Boulder finally got me there one morning. The run-of-the-mill Middle Americana decor is underwhelming, but the fine breakfast perfume - one part coffee, one part bacon and 331/3 percent butter - immediately caught my attention.

My chain doubts were eased by one forkful of corned-beef hash ($9; $5.25 side). It's the real deal, a terrific blend of chopped brisket, red potatoes and onions griddled until browned and topped with neatly basted eggs. It's so superior to the typical mush that it should be assigned a new name.

The hash was just the amuse bouche for the three, light-as-a-feather buttermilk pancakes that accompany many breakfast entrees. OK, you'd expect the cakes to be stellar at a pancake house, but these are exceptional. You can taste the buttermilk, and there's none of that icky raw flour or pancake mix flavor.

The House buckwheat pancakes ($5.50; $4.25 half) should be rated "A" for "adult." Only grown-ups can appreciate the earthy appeal of these dark brown cakes with a nonfluffy, chewy texture. The eatery's regular warm syrup is tolerable, but you must get a side of real maple syrup ($1.25) to fully experience the buckwheats. The sourdough flapjacks ($6.50; $5 half) gave off a yeasty aroma reminiscent of fresh beer.

The attention to detail is heartwarming in even simple dishes like eggs ($6.95-$7.50 with meat and cakes). They take large fresh ones and perfectly fry, scramble and baste them. The top-notch side meats include real, thick-cut bacon and link pork sausage, and the hashbrowns are griddled just right.

The six varieties of omelets ($8.25-$9.75) are big, pan-cooked creations flipped on a plate and delivered to the table as a steaming dome of eggy yumminess. My vegetable omelet was an impressive-looking thing brimming with bits of fresh broccoli and cheese.

The Original Pancake House is the only place I've encountered that offers to cook your French toast ($6.50; $5 half) well-done. The dish is usually lightly cooked and served "custardy," the waitress said, noting that some patrons complain that their French toast isn't cooked enough. "Make mine medium rare," I said. Cooked in butter and dusted with powdered sugar, the sourdough slices were a delicate, custardy treat.

The servers at the Denver-area outlets do a fair amount of that pre-emptive explanation and I appreciate it. On one visit the server warned us that it might take 30 minutes to get either of the two most spectacular dishes: the oven-baked Dutch Baby ($7.95) and the cinnamon-laced apple pancake ($8.95). The pretty, soufflé-like Dutch Baby invariably elicits oohs and aahs when it does arrive all puffed up and dressed with butter, powdered sugar and fresh lemon juice.

The restaurant doesn't need to serve dessert when chocolate chip buttermilk pancakes ($6.75; $4.95 half order) are on the menu. The semi-sweet chocolate-oozing cakes come with thick whipped cream. The thick crepes ($6.95-$8.25) come filled with sweet fruit.

The House takes care of the details - like berry preserves served in a ramekin, not one of those foil-sealed packs. I like the fact that I get a pot of coffee ($1.95) on the table. It's not fabulous, write-home-about-it coffee, but it's rich and hot.

There's very little I sampled in several visits to the House that I didn't love. The potato pancakes ($7.25; $5.75 half) are flat little cakes rather than the thicker, shredded potato latkes I prefer. They're decent enough, as are the eggs Benedict ($9.25) despite the too thin and bland hollandaise. I'm also a little miffed that the eatery isn't open for dinner.

It may be a broad generalization, but the House management seems to hire nice servers and train them to provide the kind of quick, solicitous service you need at breakfast, even if you are eating it for lunch. The House is especially busy on weekends when the post-party and after-church crowds pile in, creating long waits. You'd think these people had never tasted pancakes before.

Too many restaurants view serving breakfast as a burden. The Original Pancake House celebrates breakfast and treats it with respect. Using outstanding ingredients, cooks make the morning classics from scratch and dish them with style and care. They wisely don't waste any effort on doing lunch items.

The Original Pancake House was founded in 1953, and there are now nearly 100 franchises. The crucial factor seems to be that the company is still privately owned by the family that started it. Their philosophy of quality has miraculously survived expansion.

I'm glad I overcame my well-founded aversion to chain eateries to dine at the Original Pancake House, the exception that explains the rule. I'll go back because I haven't sampled the Belgium waffles ($5.25-$8.25), bacon pancakes ($6.50; $5 half), cream of wheat ($3.50) and oatmeal ($3.50) yet. I bet they'll make my day.

John Lehndorff is the dining critic; lehndorffj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5103.

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