Top O' the Morning
39 ways to rise and shine and start the day right at the best breakfast spots in town!
Edited by Kathryn RobinsonWith contribution from Wilson Diehl, Stefan Durham, James Ross Gardner, Carolyn McConnell, Steve Wiecking, and Naomi Zeitlin
The Stack
Chace’s Pancake Corral
Proof aplenty that Bellevue is not entirely shiny and polished, Chace’s is ancient, tiny, crowded, cramped, and loaded with character. The pancakes and other stock breakfast items are just exactly what you would expect, God love ’em.
CLAIM TO FAME Fifty years and still in the Chace family.
BEST-KEPT SECRET Arrive before 8am and you probably won’t stand in line.
POURING Boyd’s drip, no espresso
BREAKFAST IS SERVED Mon—Fri 6am—2:30pm; Sat 6am—3pm; Sun 6:30am—3pm
Chace’s Pancake Corral, 1606 Bellevue Way SE, Bellevue, 425-454-8888
Cyndy’s House of Pancakes
You know the feeling. You’re motoring down Aurora, weary and famished, in profound need of the twin comforts of light buttermilk pancakes and the decor of your childhood (red Naugahyde, fake wood paneling). And then you spot it! Cyndy’s with two y’s!
CLAIM TO FAME None of the three syrups is real maple. But one of them’s coconut!
BEST-KEPT SECRET Ask nicely, and they’ll put gravy on anything.
POURING Farmer Brothers drip, no espresso
BREAKFAST IS SERVED 7am—2pm daily
Cyndy’s House of Pancakes, 10507 Aurora Ave N, Greenwood, 206-522-5100
Original Pancake House
All knotty pine and gingham-checked curtains, this freakishly popular Portland-based national chain is like a 31 flavors for pancakes: buckwheat, coconut, blueberry, Swedish, buttermilk, chocolate chip, Georgia pecan, you get the idea—respectably made and served in staggering proportions.
CLAIM TO FAME OPH’s Dutch baby—a plate-sized eggy baked confection to which you add butter, lemon, and powdered sugar—has a following larger than some religions.
BEST-KEPT SECRET Five kinds of omelet, six kinds of crepe, seven kinds of waffle—life ain’t all pancakes at the Original.
POURING Metropolitan French Roast blend drip, no espresso
BREAKFAST IS SERVED Mon—Fri 6:30am—2:30pm; Sat & Sun 7am—3pm
Original Pancake House, 8037 15th Ave NW, Ballard, 206-781-3344; 130 Parkplace Center, Kirkland, 425-827-7575; www.originalpancakehouse.com
Now looking to lunch? Check out our favorite downtown spots.
Published: January 2008
