Country Pancake House

Country Pancake House

140 East Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450

(201) 444-8395

Brunch places are some of my favorite to sniff out and check out.  It's perfect for lazy mornings/afternoons with good company.  Also, when eating brunch you don't have to feel so bad when you order an extra side of corned beef hash or bacon because technically, you're eating two meals (breakfast & lunch) right?  I've heard about this place from a few friends and although it's kind of out of the way, a few friends and I decided to give it a try (especially after salivating over the online menu).

The Country Pancake House is pretty small.  Upon stepping in and scooting around a tight line of hungry people, we finally got a chance to put our name down and scope out the place.  The decor brought me back to the almost childish halls of my middle school - halls that were lined with colorful caricatures of people, some of which I helped to paint (hey, the Mural Club was so cool in back in middle school - at least that's what I told myself even though my best friend and I along with a handful of people were the only ones in the club).  Don't judge.  Anyway, back to the pancake house.  The walls were covered with colorful farm scenes with barns, a giant corn (how corny), horses, etc.  It kept me distracted until we were finally brought to our table.

Once we got to our table we got a nice warm basket of cornbread with "regular" cornbread and chocolate chip cornbread.  Unfortunately the cornbread was pretty dry.  It wasn't until we were almost done with the cornbread when they finally brought us the butter to go on the bread.  The butter was really rich and savory - maybe it's because I haven't had butter in a while.  It's probably out of a plastic tub, but it did taste homemade.  I'll definitely find out next time I go!

Looking at the menu again was overwhelming - even after spending a good amount of time visualizing the food from the online menu the night before.  As if it wasn't bad enough that they had so many choices, the Country Pancake House also offers their pancake orders prepared in 2 ways - either as 4 medium pancakes or 2 large humongous pancakes.  So many choices!  After "waffling" around for a good 10 minutes between a couple of choices, I made a decision.  I wanted something sweet and pancake-y because come on, it's not a visit to a "pancake" house unless you order some pancakes, right?

I ordered #89 White Chocolate, Banana, & Almond Pancakes.  I was craving for something chocolate-y though I know others would beg to differ in regards to the white chocolate being REAL chocolate.  I also wanted some fruit and liked the crunchiness of the almond against the soft bananas so I thought that #89 would be a good start.  Like any other hungry wannabe competitive eater, I had to order a side (corned beef hash) to complete my meal.  The pancakes were good - not great - but good.  The flavors and textures of each item weren't was apparent and exciting as I had hoped.  Each got drowned out, dulled out in the pancake batter.  However, the pancakes were very hardy and filling (about 1/2 inch thick).  I had to throw in the paper napkin after 1 and a 1/2.  But don't worry, I showed the other 2 and a 1/2 doggie-bagged pancakes who was boss later that day.  The side of corned beef hash was all right.  Nothing was really wrong with it.  I wished it was crispier though.

My friend also ordered the same combination of white chocolate, bananas, and almonds, but she got the waffle instead.  I tried a bit of hers and found it more intense than mine.  The chef was a little heavy handed with the white chocolate - the whole thing was drowning in it - so much so that my friend had to scrape some of the chocolate off the waffle and this girl is not one to waste any food.  The bananas, however, were really fresh.

As any good brunch-er, I visited the Country Pancake House again the following weekend.  You never really truly experience a place until you've been there twice.   This time around I was a pro.  I knew exactly what I wanted even before stepping in, which made ordering a breeze.  I was craving something salty and unhealthy.  I got #43 America's Favorite Potato Pancakes, which came with potato, ham and onion, 3 eggs, sour cream, and apple sauce.  It was a huge plate!  The outside of the potato pancakes were pretty good.  With one (big) bite I got the crispy goodness of the outside of the pancakes with the chewy goodness of of the inside.  The ham and eggs were like the extras in a show featuring the star: potato pancakes, so they didn't do much for me.  I'd definitely get this order again.

My friend ordered the Seafood Omelet which had shrimp, smoked salmon, crab meat, and cheddar cheese.  Sounds good right?  Unfortunately, we both agreed it was pretty disappointing.  It was overly salty, so much so she couldn't finish it.

I end this blog post with three words.  Yay for brunch!  -2/15/10 & 2/21/10

OVERALL RATING: * * *
FOOD: * * *
SERVICE: * *
AMBIANCE: * * 1/2
VALUE: * * * * 1/2

PROS:

• Great deals
• Lots of options

CONS:

• Dry cornbread
• Limited space inside
• Long wait (during peak hours)
• So many options it makes it hard to pick just one!

SUGGESTIONS:

• Check out the menu before you go - it's so long you could spend all day looking at it at the pancake house with the pressure of eager onlookers waiting in line for you to finish so they can get their darn table
• Get there early - the line goes out the door during breakfast/brunch/lunch hours