Best Ways To Celebrate National Pancake Week In Pittsburgh
Break out the butter, slather on the syrup and get ready for National Pancake Week. What started in the Middle Ages as a week-long pre-Lent purge of the most decadent ingredients, often found in pancakes, has transformed into a seven-day celebration of fruit-topped flapjacks, extravagant crepes and savory hotcakes. This year's flapjack festivities run from Feb. 10 to 16 and you can bet Pittsburgh's pancake connoisseurs will be flocking to the nearest pancake house to partake in the syrupy sweetness surrounding the week's hotcake hype. Whether you like yours thin, fluffy or stacked three feet high, these five restaurants and diners have earned their reputation for serving up award-winning pancakes in the city placing them among the best places to celebrate National Pancake Week in Pittsburgh.
Deluca's Restaurant
2015 Penn Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 566-2195
www.delucasdiner.com
Plastered to the window of Deluca's Restaurant is a sign that reads "home of the best breakfast in town" and that's exactly what you can expect when you enter the classic diner atmosphere of this Strip District staple. The majority of menu items are priced under $10 but the pancake portions are anything but skimpy. Pittsburghers' favorites, including Deluca's blueberry pancakes, cinnamon bun pancakes and the seasonal pumpkin-flavored pancakes, are worth waiting in the block-long lines of locals and out-of-town visitors who swarm this iconic breakfast spot for a taste of Pittsburgh pancakes.
Pamela's P&G Diner
60 21st St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 281-6366
www.pamelasdiner.com
When President Obama recommends you try the pancakes at Pamela's P&G Diner, they must be good. In fact, that the president named Pamela's pancakes the best pancakes he's tasted in a very long time during a 2008 campaign stop in Pittsburgh. Located about a three-minute walk from fellow Strip District pancake house Deluca's Restaurant, Pamela's has been making the city's best breakfast since 1980, which includes its famous crepe-style hotcakes. Try the diner's gigantic strawberry hotcake, which come overflowing with juicy strawberries, sour cream, brown sugar and whipped cream for $7.29. In addition to your appetite, be sure to bring your wallet as Pamela's is a cash-only restaurant.
Eggs N'at
8556 University Blvd.
Coraopolis, PA 15108
(412) 262-2920
www.eggsnat.com
As the regional dialect of this restaurant's name suggests, Eggs N'at serves up a side of local flare with its Pittsburghese pancakes that come straight off the griddle with just the right amount of crisp edges and fluffiness. For small appetites, order a single pancake in chocolate chip banana, strawberry chocolate chip or blueberry walnut for just $1.75. If you're really starved, try The Ironworker, which will get you three eggs, bacon, homefries, sausage, toast and pancakes for $9.50. Eggs N'at is conveniently located in Moon Township just minutes from the Pittsburgh International Airport and Robert Morris University.
Paris 66 Bistro
6018 Centre Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
(412) 404-8166
www.paris66bistro.com
Indulge in the sweet taste of authentic French crepes without ever leaving Pittsburgh at Paris 66 Bistro, the city's ultimate French restaurant. "Pittsburgh Magazine" raved about the ambiance and flavor of Paris 66 Bistro naming it "Best French Restaurant" for 2011 and 2012. Recipes on the lunch and dinner menus have been passed down through generations and feature only the finest local ingredients like gluten-free, organic buckwheat flour from Frankferd Farms in Saxonburg. Galettes, the huge buckwheat flour-based pancakes, are priced from $13 to $16. Order the bistro's champ de mars galette made of lemon, chilled smoked salmon and dill crème fraiche, but be sure to leave some room to sample the dessert crepes, which highlight unique combinations of house-made caramel and apple confit created by master pastry chef David Piquard.
Dor-Stop Restaurant
1430 Potomac Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15216
(412) 561-9320
www.thedorstoprestaurant.com
Since it opened its doors more than 25 years ago, Dor-Stop Restaurant's world-famous pancakes have sent a wonderful smell wafting all the way from its home in Dormont to the ranks of The Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives." Its classic diner-style breakfast has helped this small-town restaurant earn its reputation for the best pancakes in the city, which include favorites like its pumpkin pancakes, banana pancakes and oatmeal raisin pancakes. The Dor-Stop Restaurant's other breakfast entrees also feature its variety of pancakes like fresh-grated German potato pancakes in the ham from the bone special that's baked right in the restaurant's kitchen. Most meals cost well under $10 and takeout is available.
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