Original Pancake House

Getting a table at the Original Pancake House in Bethesda on a Sunday morning entails a wait. Once you're in, however, it's worth the price of admission.

Unless you're a devoted carnivore, don't bother with the eggs and meats. My bacon, while adequately fatty, was cooked to the point of being burnt... and it was dry. My eggs were entirely forgettable (but servicable). The homefries were bland and congealed together. So what? Just get the pancakes. The buttermilk ones are amazing - tender, piquant with buttermilk, and they have a nice bounce without being rubbery. You can load them with an endless amount of syrup, and they will resist disintegrating. They are things of beauty. These are what pancakes should be - and I am not even a big fan of pancakes in general. I've tried their skillet variations in the past - such as the massive babka they call an apple pancake, but the simplest version shows off what they do best and is less likely to overwhelm.

If you celebrate Lent or other occasions with lots of pancakes, this is the place to visit.


http://www.originalpancakehouse.com/

Study Music

Wheeeee finals.

For your (and my) listening pleasure:

Zee Avi's Just You and Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWXXFT2RccY

BGR

What's a girl to do when she has spent the last 48 hours awake finishing a group project, delivered a closing under firm grilling, and finished her first final? She looks for a huge hunk of burger, preferably freshly killed. Due to cost and morals, most nights I eat vegan. This was not to be one of those nights.

BGR has long been on my to-visit list. It's been featured on Man v. Food for offering a seriously huge burger. I heard that their other offerings, fit for mere mortals, were also decent. An old friend and I spent five minutes figuring out the futuristic in-house soda/pop machine with a hapless customer. They offer flavored varieties of Sprite and Coke through that thing, kind of a throwback to the the 1980s.

I talked family with a childhood friend who has spent the last few years in Belgium. Our orders were ready in a little under fifteen minutes, and the service was great for a carryout place. Finding a table was tricky, but we swooped in on a four-person banquette. Next to us was a pair of young litigators, loudly commiserating on the state of the job market. A couple tables down held a family dealing with a baby. This is not the place for a cozy catch-up on a Saturday night, but it is still a lot of fun.

The burgers arrived hot, well-done, and topped with just the right amount of veggies. They had a very smoky, rich flavor, although the sauce was a bit salty for my taste. Would I return on my own? Probably not. Shake Shack is still my fave place for burgers along Connecticut even though their patties are smaller. Still, I might take a dining companion with a larger appetite, particularly an eating-challenge-sized appetite, to BGR.