Whoopie! My Last Pancake of the Week

I’ve now reported on a pancake of the week for one full year. That is a lot of pancakes! Not 52 different cakes, but probably more like 40 since I did have the same one more than once. Here’s my report on the very last.

Pancake of the Day: Banana batter with walnuts inside, a honey cream cheese drizzle and cinnamon butter.

What I had: The above.

What I thought: The batter was tasty, the drizzle delicious, the cinnamon butter good. Overall an enjoyable last pancake for this blog, although I have to say it was a little dry. I could have asked for extra butter, but I didn’t. A bit more butter would have counteracted the dryness but might have hid the yummy flavor of the drizzle.

The Summary and Honor Roll of Pancakes:

I just read over my entries, and it seems like my most constant comment was the pancake was too sweet. That makes it sound like I didn’t like my pancakes, but I almost always did. I don’t know if there was one I truly didn’t like. At one point, I did ask the staff if people complained that the pancakes weren’t sweet enough and was told that many do ask for syrup. But really, with the number of choices offered, it should always be possible to find a pancake that suits your tastes. And as mentioned, the kitchen is very accommodating.

I love that there is a pancake of the day and that the menu changes seasonally. I love trying new things, even when I don’t end up liking them. I thought it would be interesting to list some of my surprises, as well as my favorites.

Biggest Surprises:

1. I really liked the Earthday pancake covered with crushed Oreos. (April 22)

2. I love peppermint or mint in my pancakes: The pre-Christmas Cake with peppermint (Dec. 23rd) and The Espresso Cream with mint mascarpone (Nov. 7.)

3. Sometimes chocolate IS the best at breakfast: Chocolate Molten Pancake with tangerine Cream (Feb 28th)

My Favorites: Looking over my list and comments, it is obvious that I really like fruity pancakes. My #1 favorite, which I was lucky enough to score twice, is the Raspberry Jalapeno (Oct 23), followed by anything else raspberry. I also loved the Strawberry Malted pancake (June 19), and the Strawberry Rhubarb cake (May 24).

Raspberry Jalapeno

Strawberry Rhubarb

Strawberry Malted

Best Savory Pancake: I think I only had one this year, and it was a good one, Fort Fun. This was a buttermilk pancake with maple-bacon gravy, topped with candied bacon and cheddar crisps. It was super yummy but also super filling.

At some point in the past, instead of a pancake of the day, the cook concocted a savory bread pudding, which was also very delicious. I’d love to see savories on the menu more often.

My Favorite Post:  I found tying the pancake post to something else was, other than the actual eating, the most fun part of this challenge. I liked the mention of my hometown when reviewing a strawberry pancake, but my favorite entry was for the one I dubbed The Union Cake for the first college I attended. I happened to be having breakfast with a college representative and the pancake just fit since Union’s colors are garnet and grey and the most interesting building on campus, the Nott Memorial,  has 16 sides and could be represented as the blob. Union had recently won the D-I National Hockey Championship, too.

What makes the pancakes so good? For me, it’s the variety and the constant change. Some days are less interesting than others, and sometimes I wish old favorites would be recycled–Sunshine Wheat pancake anyone? The butters are outstanding, and one of my favorite parts of the toppings. They always have cinnamon and ginger butter, but have also featured lavender butter! The mascarpone toppings are almost always interesting and delicious, as are the sauces and drizzles, especially those in the citrus family.

All in all, I think you should try one of their many branches. (http://snoozeeatery.com/ )If you’re in Fort Collins, I very well may see you there!

The Pancake Before the Party

Pancake of the day: chocolate chip and almond pancake covered with vanilla sauce with a blood orange mascarpone whipped.

What I had: the above, minus the chips, of course.

What I thought: Good. Almost anything with the orange mascarpone is going to be good!

Other news: The Snooze crew is partying tonight so I’m glad we chose to have breakfast today! Hope they all have a good time.

The Winter Menu is Here.

Pancake of the Day: something with a honey chai glaze.

What I ate: The featured Winter Pancake, which is a buttermilk pancake with caramelized apples, a caramel syrup and mascarpone whipped.

What I thought: It doesn’t quite come up to the Spiced Pear Pancake, which was one of the best concoctions, but it’s good.

Other info: Snooze tweaks the menu seasonally, usually totally changing out a bene and pancake and making a few other changes. Of course there is still a pancake of the day.

For those of you who don’t know, Snooze is taking over the western United States. Although, in general, I’m not fond of chains, I hope that people will appreciate Snooze and that as it gets larger, it will not decrease in quality.  I’m going to include a link to a video for a news feature from Phoenix.

http://www.fox10phoenix.com/clip/11007995/corys-corner-snooze-am-eatery

Bananas! 1st Pancake of the Year and Starting the Countdown to the End.

Pancake of the Day: Bananas in the batter, browned butter, whipped caramel mascarpone, and pecans.

What I had: The above.

Why I had it: Although bananas aren’t my favorite, one does have to suffer for the story!

What I thought: Not bad. I rather liked the browned butter sauce. I’m more about the butter than the sweet, and this was a change for me since I don’t think I’ve had this on a pancake that I remember.

A Month of Pancakes

Abandon format! I’m going to do something different for December. Here are pictures of all the pancakes I ate. I probably don’t remember enough about each one to write about it individually. But I WILL highlight my favorite of the bunch.

It looks like the top was something with a sweet sauce and cinnamon butter. Obviously, I asked for extra of the latter. The next was a coffee or mocha concoction, which I’m sure I enjoyed. Not sure what the middle pancake was, but it looks like it had a caramel drizzle.

See the pancake with the pink flecks? That was on Dec. 23rd, a pre-Christmas peppermint pancake with minty mascarpone. THIS was my favorite. I know that peppermint isn’t something you usually associate with pancakes, but I, unexpectedly, find it delicious. The original pancake also had white chocolate chips in it, and if you like sweet, I’m sure it enhanced the flavor.

The last is the last pancake for the year for me. Apples with caramel sauce, which I asked for on the side. There is an almond streusel topping with a cinnamon dusting and mascarpone whipped topping. This was good, if a bit sweeter than my favorites.

One more month to go to finish out my  year of a weekly pancake!!

Which, if any of the above, would you have chosen as appropriate for the month of December?

Am I Falling Down on the Job?

Pancake of the day: Orange cream in the center with chocolate sauce and candied almonds.

What I ate: A half order of the Spuds Deluxe. My add-ins: caramelized onions and roasted garlic.

Why I ate it: I went out to breakfast yesterday and had a pancake and just didn’t feel like more sweet.

What I thought: Spuds Deluxe is good! The pancake of the day sounded fine but I didn’t want sweet.

Clarification: I DID have a pancake last week, just forgot to post. My pancake yesterday was a raspberry concoction at Butters. They have a sour cream topping that is good (instead of butter!), but not quite enough so I have to ask for me. The 9-year old had the Early Bird Special #2 that included the choice of a pancake. She ordered the Oreo pancake and declared it delicious. It was HUGE. Too big and too sweet for me. I should have taken a picture!

Vanilla cream with cinnamon butter.

 

Winter Retread, but So Appropriate

Pancake of the Day: Some kind of white chocolate with butterscotch sauce and lemon cream

What I ate: The pear pancake.

What I thought: The POD sounded way too sweet. Spiced Pear Pancakes
Buttermilk pancakes filled with roasted Anjou pears and topped with honey-chai glaze, candied-walnuts and whipped mascarpone. That’s straight off the menu and just right for today since the outside temperature when we entered the restaurant was 3 degrees!

Blood Orange and Mint?

Pancake of the Day: Sugar in the raw batter, blood orange puree, chocolate drizzle, and mint mascarpone.

What I had: I was daring and tried the above.

What I thought: The mint mascarpone was absolutely delicious. The blood orange crush was also yummy, but mostly soaked into the pancake. You can see a bit of it on the righthand side of the plate. I’m still not sure of the combo, but since the orange flavor got lost in the mint, overall it was fine. Occasionally there was hint of another flavor.

Note the blood orange in the lower right of the plate.

Other thoughts: As I’ve said, I’m not really wild about chocolate in the morning, but I do think a thin mint pancake would be outstanding. If I were making it, I’d use a quality dark chocolate cooked in the pancake interior with the mint cream on top. Sounds yum to me!

Once Again Blueberry

Pancake of the day: Chocolate chip with an orange and vanilla topping.

What I ate: The Blueberry Danish, blueberry coulis with lemon cream cheese

Why I ate it: Once I asked to have the chocolate chips removed from the pancake of the day, it didn’t sound all that exciting.

What I thought: The blueberry pancake is good, the cream cheese filling yummy, although I truthfully wanted the pear pancake because that’s the seasonal one. I think I reported on that one recently, though. Maybe I should have just had a flight?

Wonderful Raspberry Repeat and the Saga of the Cell phone.

Pancake of the Day: Buttermilk batter with cream cheese inside and a raspberry jalapeno  topping.

What I ordered: This! My wait staff was as excited about this pancake as I was. I loved this last time so was perfectly happy to have a retread, something that doesn’t happen often.

What I thought: I think this should be a candidate for at least a seasonal selection, if not a permanent fixture. Since I only have three more months to go to complete my year of pancakes, I’ve been thinking about my top ten, and this one, if not #1, is certainly included in that group.

My server said she loves this, too, but some people don’t like the mix of sweet and spicy. Of course, that shouldn’t matter since there are always at least five other choices.

Other info: Although I am never sitting at the table I selected today again, frequenting the same restaurant has come through for me once more. The last time I sat at that table, I was credit card and cashless. Because they knew who I was, they trusted me to come back with payment.

Today I lost my iphone. I thought I’d left it at home since it wasn’t where I thought it would be prior to my taking my pancake picture. I wasn’t too concerned about the picture as I knew I had one already. Well, it wasn’t at home and I couldn’t figure out how to get to Find My iPhone, which WAS installed but wasn’t showing up for some *#&#$ reason. Snooze called to let me know they had the phone. They said it was “on top of the newspapers.” I’d picked up and read various pieces of the paper during breakfast, and I’m sure I would have seen it. I’m wondering if the next occupants of that table found the phone on the floor or tucked back in the booth seat, and placed it on the paper? Anyway, I’m thankful to have my phone back and glad they knew how to call my husband to tell him they had the phone. The mystery now is, how did they get his cell number?