Dinerwood on the Road International!: Melbourne's Pancake Parlour

I recently had the good fortune of going to Australia to indulge in my other hobby. As soon as I found out that I was going, I looked into possible places I could review. Being on someone else's schedule and without a vehicle of my own meant I was going to be limited to places near where we would be staying. I made a list of places that given the opportunity I could make a try for. I wasn't having much luck until halfway through the trip an opportunity finally arose in Melbourne. Early one morning and I was able to strike out on my own.

Before we get into the review, I should mention some of the related culture shock I experienced while on this trip. Like Vincent Vega said in "Pulp Fiction," "it's the little differences." Free internet access is nearly non-existent. List of places with reliable free wi-fi: McDonalds, Starbucks. End of list!
Breakfast is referred to as "brekkie." All coffee there is espresso--ALL OF IT.

That last one is a big one. I'm a simple man, I like butter on my toast and coffee in my mouth--regular filtered coffee. You order a regular coffee there and they will bring some watery instant stuff from a packet. They have their espresso drinks dialed tight (I have come to enjoy a 'flat white' espresso when the opportunity presents itself), but regular coffee not so much. Refills were not free and in an already expensive country, my habit was severely denting my per diem. I had taken to carrying a travel mug with me so I could refill with the instant coffee packets found in my hotel rooms.





My destination that morning was The Pancake Parlour. I should say, it is a chain in Australia. I think it was okay to break my "no chain" policy while on another continent. This location, in downtown Melbourne, was actually on the lower level of a shopping complex. It was located across from The Reject Shop, which the name alone made me so want to shop there after my "brekkie." Turns out that The Reject Shop is just the Aussie version of Big Lots. Honesty, pass it on.

Traveling down the escalator I was greeted by this wonderful Victorian-esque mural. I don't know what a "pancake tossing race" is but I'm pretty it was the sexiest thing since exposed ankles at the beach.

This photo doesn't sell it as much as I'd like but The Pancake Parlour is like a bizarre mash-up of an IHOP and an old-school Shakey's Pizza.



Checking out the menu I was a little surprised that so much of the focus was on pancakes. I know that sounds weird, but I expected a scatter-shot menu--"family restaurant" style--an Outback Jack-s Of All Trades, if you will (yes, I did just make that joke). This was all about pancakes, both sweet and savory and then a few token salads and egg breakfasts.

Within seconds of scanning the menu my jaw dropped and I heard a hosanna from the angels.

Bottomless. Filtered. Coffee. Hell. Yeah. I would have stayed all day if I could.



Everything is better with a monkey on it.



I couldn't decide between the Jamaican Banana or the Hot Buttered Walnut pancakes. That's when I saw it.

This was "It." And "It" was good. It's the banana and the walnut together. I rarely go for this kind of dessert for breakfast since it can be overwhelming, but I was on a vacation of sorts. I was going to live a little. This combination worked really well. It was sweet but not too sweet. The bananas still tasted like bananas and the walnuts complimented them well. I opted for whipped cream over ice cream, because being on vacation is one thing, going whole hog is something else. 8am definitely sounded like too early for ice cream. Maybe I should have just gone for it, I probably wasn't thinking straight. It had been so long since I had had...






...SWEET, SWEET REGULAR OLD DRIP COFFEE.

I can't really evaluate if this was good or not...but it was hot and familiar and it definitely was good at the time. A tiny taste of home that served its purpose.



In fact, as I was finishing up and the waitress came by to ask if there was anything else she could do for me, I asked her if she could refill my coffee one last time.  When she came back with the pot, I asked if she could just pour it directly into my travel mug. She seemed confused but she did oblige.

Food: Good
Price $18-22--yes expensive, but you don't tip in Australia so it balances out a bit.
Service: Good.
Pie: No pie. 

The Pancake Parlor
Bourke Street Mall
Melbourne, Australia
Pancake Parlour website

Pig'N Pancake, Seaside OR--The Taste of Nostalgia

Pig'N Pancake is a chain of family restaurants in Oregon. In fact, on Diner-Honeymoon, #1DW Antoinette and I saw four out of the six locations. Each one is a little different and is really catered to fit into the town where it resides. For example, the one in Astoria, which is more of an industrial port-city, looks more rustic with a log cabin look, while the one in Cannon Beach, a more affluent beach town, looks much fancier with vaulted ceilings and large glass windows. The people in Astoria called the people in Cannon Beach yuppies. The people in Cannon Beach wouldn't talk to us so we have no idea what they call people in Astoria.



The Pig'n Pancake in Seaside, Oregon is a very special place for me. I can't remember the first time my family ate here, but chances are, I hadn't even started elementary school yet. There's pictures of us in Seaside where I still have blonde hair. Antoinette doesn't believe that that's me. She believes that I was switched in at some point with the skinny blonde kid that is in those Tanner family pictures.

Seaside is a classic tourist trap beach town. The main drag in town is just a stretch of salt-water taffy shops and gift stores that sell seashells and sweatshirts. The Pig'N Pancake always fit perfectly into the beach town atmosphere.



I hadn't been back to Seaside in over ten years, and I was afraid that the town itself might have changed and Pig'N Pancake might have changed with it. Luckily, neither had changed a bit. Well, the elephant ears places now sells gourmet cupcakes, but other than thatn nothing changed!

Now, although I have fond memories of Pig'N Pancake, I have no recollection of the food quality. Not to get too granola Oregon on you guys, but Pig'N Pancake is a feeling, man. I just hoped that the feeling was "tasty."

We started with some coffee and we were both impressed. This coffee was nearly as good as House of Pies coffee, which is our benchmark for good coffee.



I had to cover both pigs and pancakes with my breakfast. Anything less would have seemed wrong.

I ordered the Banana Pancakes. Mostly because I was intrigued by the pineapple orange sauce. Note--not a syrup, but a sauce. The pancakes on their own were very good and the sauce was excellent. It was a sweet sauce but not too sweet. I tried the huckleberry syrup (it's an Oregon thing) and the regular syrup and both were delicious. The ham steak I ordered as a side was decent, if not a little fatty.

Antoinette ordered the pecan waffle with bacon. We've been burned before so we asked if the pecans were just a topping or actually cooked into the waffle. We were assured that they were in the batter as well as on top. Antoinette was also asked how she wanted her bacon cooked. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been asked that. It seems like it should be asked more even if there are really only two ways to cook it--crispy or not crispy.

The waffle was good, and although there were pecans cooked into the waffle, it just didn't have a strong pecan flavor to it. It was a decent waffle, but nothing to really make you sit up and take notice. The bacon was very good.



After our meal, we headed into the adjacent gift shop. There they sell the expected seashells and sweatshirts and the standard gift store junk--personalized license plates for kids, but never one that says "Antoinette." I'll be husband of the year if I ever find one for her.

They also sell stuffed pigs carrying plates of pancakes. I had to get one to take home with me. I also bought a Pig'N Pancake t-shirt. This is like my Disneyworld!

Up at the counter, I paid with my debit card and signed the receipt with a pink-capped Pig'N Pancake pen. Antoinette asked if we could buy a pen and the waitress just told us to keep it.

Pig'N Pancake was a pretty big dose of nostalgia for me. I loved the whole experience but it didn't blind me to the quality of the food. It was perfectly good, but nothing special. I wouldn't make a trip to Seaside (or Astoria or Cannon Beach, etc) just for it, but if you are there, Pig'N Pancake helps complete your experience.

Food: Good.
Service: Good.
Price: $7-$10
Pie: They make their own!



It's like a stained-glass window at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Porcine Flapjack.