After more than six months of hiding my new dietary restrictions about as fiercely as I try to hide my identity during a visit to the latest restaurant I’m reviewing, I’ve decided to welcome readers along for the journey.
Today, I am 6 1/2 months pregnant, fittingly expecting my first child around the time my family and I would otherwise be gathered around the dining room table for a Thanksgiving feast.
As I head into my third trimester, I’m chronicling my experiences navigating where my palate takes me.
First up: pancakes.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve had an insatiable appetite for pancakes. Not the kind slathered in compotes and whipped cream, covered in crushed Oreos and topped with ice cream or filled with nostalgic breakfast cereals.
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Not dessert pancakes, but good old-fashioned, unadulterated pancakes. The kind that take you back to simple breakfasts at home, where paper plates sag in the steam of a stack of homemade cakes and the only accoutrements are a stick of room-temp butter and a sticky bottle of syrup.
What makes a good pancake for me, is a golden color, crispy, buttery edges and a cakey interior that sops up syrup seamlessly.
A generous topping of salted butter is nonnegotiable. The salty, fatty addition makes every bite. In my book, no bready carb should be without butter.
Here, 10 pancakes I’ve loved in metro Detroit so far, ranked in order of the cakes that satisfied my cravings to the ones I’ll never get enough of.
Marybelles Cache
Sometimes a soulful breakfast does the body right, and that’s exactly what you’re in for at Marybelles in Eastern Market. The best part about Southern breakfasts is the ability to pair sweet items with savory dishes that might otherwise be seen as dinner entrees. Catfish and grits with French toast, deep fried chicken and waffles. The pregnancy appetite lives for an opportunity to taste all of these flavors in one sitting. At Marybelles, a side of orange-colored pancakes filled with hunks of creamy, candied, sweet potato mash laced with cinnamon and sugar pair well with any savory item on the menu. The cakes are light, chewy and topped with a large dome of the most important part — butter.
3400 Russell St., Detroit. 313-974-7422; marybellescache.com
Ash Bar
Part of the allure of the pancakes at Ash Bar is the sheer convenience of rolling out of a luxurious bed and traipsing upstairs for golden cakes that are nothing like the stiff, bland hot cakes from a continental breakfast buffet at a traditional hotel. Just up the winding staircase at The Siren hotel, Ash Bar serves a weekend breakfast featuring pancakes topped with fresh sliced strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and a dusting of confectioner’s sugar. The thin cakes are brittle — almost too brittle — and require delicate handling if you’ll be handing one off to a breakfast companion as I did. The consistency is slightly gritty, as if made with a batter of corn or almond flour, allowing the cakes to sop up salty whipped butter and rich maple syrup easily.
Ash Bar, 1509 Broadway St., Detroit. 313-290-0193; ash.world
The Breakfast Club
Texture can add interest to a traditional pancake. It’s why I’ll sometimes turn to gluten-free hotcakes made with corn meal or almond flour. The multigrain blueberry pancakes at The Breakfast Club — though not gluten-free — offer a similar mouthfeel. The grainy texture and wheat-y flavor give an old-time, country feel, as if you’ve stopped into an old diner during a long-haul road trip. The cakes are topped with a berry butter and served with a side of warm syrup. Your server may even stop by with a hot ramekin of drawn butter for an especially comforting feel.
The Breakfast Club Madison Heights, 30600 John R Rd., Madison Heights. 248-307-9090
The Hudson Café
You can’t have a conversation about pancakes in Detroit without mentioning The Hudson Café. The place is known for its pancakes with whirls of cream cheese frosting and sweet toppings, but its original buttermilk cakes are just as tasty. The texture of the pancakes is soft and chewy, and they’re medium-sized, so not overly filling. A jar of hot syrup adds a sweet touch. Note that the current menu at the downtown Detroit location lists $2 per topping or filling, however, your bill may reflect a $3 charge instead.
The Hudson Café, visit hudson-cafe.com for locations.
Yolk and Toast
A humble, no-frills breakfast spot, Yolk and Toast is just the place you turn to for an order of simply delicious pancakes. These are the cakes you ate as a child, maybe Sundays after church or as a treat on a rare day off from school. I add bananas to my pancakes here because I appreciate the method of fillings at Yolk and Toast. Bananas are topped onto the batter while cooking. Once the cake is flipped, those bananas hit the griddle directly, bruléeing on the hot top. That softened feel and caramelized flavor of the bananas make the cake for me.
Yolk and Toast, 28055 Groesbeck Hwy., Roseville. 586-776-3343; yolkntoast.com
Joe Louis Southern Kitchen
When I was a kid, my father would sprinkle his pancake batter with cinnamon and nutmeg. He’d add a dash of vanilla extract, turning the mixture into this beautiful shade of light brown with flecks of spices floating about. The Cinnamon Roll Flapjacks call to mind those spiced pancakes that I continue to make to this day. The cinnamon here, though, is blended with rich brown sugar and swirled into the batter before flipping the pancake on the griddle. Just before it hits your table, that swirl is then traced with a drizzle of cream cheese frosting.
Joe Louis Southern Kitchen, 6549 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-788-8338; joelouissouthernkitchen.com
Presley’s Kitchen and Bar
There’s something homey about a simple plate of blueberry pancakes. At Presley’s Kitchen and Bar, the new restaurant at Hotel David Whitney, the humble dish is elevated with housemade lemony whipped cream and another handful of fresh blueberries to complement the plump berries cooked into the batter. The trio of cakes are large and nicely browned, and they’re served with a side of bacon or sausage. It’s nice to have a savory pairing without having to pay the extra fee for a side — or for an entirely separate, savory dish as one with a hefty appetite might do.
1 Park Ave., Ste. 101, Detroit. 313-887-4044; presleyskitchen.com
Sidestreet Diner
Sidestreet is the place where big appetites go to indulge. Giant pancakes that spill over the side of your plate are beyond filling — kudos to anyone who can finish a whole serving in one sitting. While you’re at it, pile on the fillings. I opt for chocolate chips and bananas and delight when the chips turn into crispy, melty, chocolatey bits from the heat of the griddle.
Sidestreet Diner, 630 St Clair Ave., Grosse Pointe. 313-884-6810; sidestreetdiner.com
The Original Pancake House
Another Detroit-area staple that can’t be missed on a list of pancakes is The Original Pancake House. Though there are traditional pancakes here, the place is best known for its sweet and savory Dutch babies and baked pancakes. The Big Apple, an eggy confection coated in sticky, tart, sweet, cinnamon apples, is a crowd favorite and my go-to for a more abstract take on an original pancake. The charred crust is like a pastry shell, the insides are as chewy as a crepe and though the apple-encrusted topping is sweet enough, a little syrup goes a long way.
The Original Pancake House, oph-mi.com for locations
Clique Restaurant
For some time, I didn’t believe anything could make a breakfast dish at Clique any better. And then I traded my usual side of a grilled, iced cinnamon roll with a side of pancakes. The pancakes here are perfect. A stack of three silver dollar hot cakes marbled with an amber color in the spots where hot butter browned the surface. The insides are fluffy and a crisp, salty edge forms along the perimeter. As buttery as the hot cakes already are, the plate comes with a generous side of soft butter. The small size and simplicity of the pancakes here feels humble in a world where pancakes seem to get larger and more theatric, and yet equally decadent to the point where you may be inclined to order more.
Clique Restaurant, 1326 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit. 313-259-0922
I'm taking recommendations: Which restaurants serve up your favorite pancakes? Send your suggestions to LCGreen@freepress.com.
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