John L.
Yelp
The Original Pancake House was founded in 1953 in Portland, Oregon by Les Highet and Erma Hueneke. It is a second and third generation family business. There are currently 128 locations in the USA. Many of the stores are gluten friendly. That includes all of the locations in Maryland and this one. There are no locations in DC. My wife and I had eaten at the Rockville location, and we loved the food, but the service was slow. We found this restaurant while we were in the area, so we decided to get some carryout. We got the Chicken Crepe and the Bacon, Egg, and Cheese sandwich.
The Chicken Crepe had diced grilled chicken, green peppers, mushrooms, and pimentos mixed in a sherry wine sauce that was wrapped in a crepe and topped with sliced almonds and black olives. It was served with 4 lacy potato pancakes, sour cream, and cinnamon applesauce. The small potato pancakes had lots of well-cooked grated potato bits mixed into it. The flavor was basically potato and pancake batter that was nicely fried. The sour cream was typical, and the applesauce was sweetened with lots of cinnamon. The chicken crepe had a flavorful filling of chicken and vegetables in a wine sauce that was nutty and slightly sweet with a hint of salt. The crepe was soft, moist, and slightly stretchy. The flavor was like a pancake with no sweetness. Overall, this dish was well-balanced, well-rounded, and flavorful.
The Bacon, Egg, and Cheese sandwich had a choice of cheese, bread, and egg cooking method. The bread choices were English muffin, croissant, bagel, white bread, or Texas toast. The cheese choices were provolone, cheddar, mozzarella, or Swiss. We picked cheddar cheese, bagel, and scrambled eggs. There were 2 layers of savory fried bacon. The bacon was crispy, thick-cut, and slightly salty. That was fine because the eggs needed some salt. The eggs were fluffy and plentiful. The cheese was a mild cheddar that had somehow slid most of the way off the bagel. Most of it was melted on the side and bottom of the bagel. A little more care in sandwich construction would be appreciated! The bagel was soft and slightly chewy with a little sweetness. Overall, this sandwich was very good tasting and quite filling.
I used Grubhub to order the food. I got a message that the food was ready when we arrived at their parking lot. When I went in to get it, I was told that only the sandwich was done. So, I took photos while I waited. The dining room looked clean. The service was friendly and quick. The menu has many interesting items like Swedish pancakes, Hawaiian pancakes, Cherry Kijafa crepes, Tahitian Maiden's Dream, Mandarin crepes, etc. If you're looking for a good breakfast diner, then give this place a try!