Author: tastystacks

Eat Local: Dutch Baby Travel Edition

Nestled in Prescott, Arizona among a sea of ponderosa pines is the restaurant The Local. If you visit in the winter you could be treated to a gorgeous snow cover and winter wonderland aesthetic that most people are unaware Arizona is capable of. 

No matter when you visit The Local, you can experience some of the best fucking Dutch Baby Pancakes I’ve ever had. These might have been the first Dutch Baby Pancakes I’ve had, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are the best. 

Dutch Babies, also known as German Pancakes, are baked rather than pan fried, and their sides rise up in the oven like a popover. The batter is made with eggs, flour, milk, and sugar, and is poured into a hot cast-iron skillet and baked in the oven until puffed and golden brown. The texture is slightly crispy on the edges and soft and custard-like in the middle. Their taste, if done correctly, is somewhere between a custardy crepe and a pancake.

The Local definitely gets the Dutch Baby done right. Appearing as an unassuming menu item, their menu describes the “Dutch Cake” as a baked light fluffy pancake served with fresh lemon curd. I loved that it was lighter than a standard pancake with an emphasis on a sweet eggy flavor. The lemon curd accompaniment elevated the Dutch Baby to a delightful level. They also offer old fashioned pancakes and blueberry spelt cakes, but I don’t think I could branch out beyond their Dutch Cake, it’s just too good to stray from. 

JUST THE STACKS – 9/10 TASTY STACKS

Overall Taste: Slightly sweet, slightly eggy, overwhelmingly delicious.

Mouthfeel: Surprisingly light, luscious, and scrumptious.

Size: Medium-large, which turns out be just right, Goldilocks-style.

Presentation: Golden yellow eggy center with delicately browned edges, powdered sugar on top, and a side of creamy lemon curd and fresh fruit. 

Price: $13.75

Location: 520 W Sheldon St, Prescott, AZ 86301

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Jacob’s Pickles: Fried Chicken With a Side of Pancakes

New York City is known for a lot of fun food things: bagels the size of your face, pizza that people argue about, and delicious corned beef sandwiches. They are not known for their pancakes. But that didn’t stop me from trying to quench my pancake cravings. 

Jacob’s Pickles was a restaurant name that came up when I asked about pancake/breakfast recommendations. I read several rave reviews and saw they had pancakes with fried chicken, a seemingly elusive menu item that I think should be much more common, and so off I went. 

Visually, Jacob’s Pickles pancake platter did not disappoint. Two luxuriously sized pancakes were covered in honey and heavily sprinkled with bacon bits. They were topped with two beautifully crispy pieces of fried chicken on top. This was a stunning plate you couldn’t help but admire. 

The fried chicken was hands down delicious and the clear star of this dish. It was crispy, juicy, and meaty – everything you want in fried chicken. (Nighthawk could learn a lot from this place.)

The pancakes on the other hand were just ok. They were soaked in honey, which created a weirdly cloying sticky taste in my mouth that I didn’t care for. I think that had the pancakes been served by themselves, they would have scored even lower on the Tasty Stacks scale. The plate was so well presented it made me want to give these a higher rating but I just couldn’t. I would definitely come back here for their fried chicken and any number of other delicious items on their menu, but would likely not repeat a pancake order here. 

JUST THE STACKS – 7/10 TASTY STACKS

Overall Taste: Amazing fried chicken, mediocre pancakes.

Mouthfeel: Sticky and slightly confusing. 

Size: Two huge pancakes topped with two huge pieces of fried chicken.

Presentation: Beautifully adorned with buttermilk fried chicken, bacon bits, and honey (but too much honey).

Price: $17

Location: 509 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10024

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Petit Soleil: Central Coast Delight

If you were to take Amtrak’s Pacific Coast Starlight (or Surfliner) train from LA up the coastline to San Luis Obispo, you too might find your face in front of some of the most delicious melt-in-your-mouth pancakes you’ve had in a long time. You would also have to have booked a room at the delightfully charming bed and breakfast – Petit Soleil, where if you are lucky enough or maybe mention your penchant for pancakes, they will whip up a batch of banana chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.

My pancakes were served as a modest stack of two regular sized pancakes, with fresh strawberries and powdered sugar on top. One bite and I was hooked. The pancakes had an almost creamy texture, likely due to the perfect melting of chocolate chips and bananas baked inside. I can’t even recall another place that has done banana chocolate chip pancakes (with a strawberry bonus) on top as well as this. 

They received an equally high complement from my dining companion, who doesn’t even like any “detritus” on his pancakes. Some might say he is a pancake purist, so when he likes a pancake with three different ingredients all up and around the pancakes, you know this is a strongly positive review.

Bonus points: If you happen to be here celebrating a special occasion, they might give you a complementary tiny bottle of prosecco and colorful glass of juice for a mimosa with your breakfast.

I often think about skipping work and hopping a train back to this place, just to get these pancakes again. 

JUST THE STACKS – 10/10 TASTY STACKS

Overall Taste: Sweet, creamy, and delicious. 

Mouthfeel: Fucking luscious. 

Size: Two modestly sized pancakes.

Presentation: Charming, delightful, mouthwatering.

Price: Included in your stay.

Location: 1473 Monterey St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

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Does Crunchy Food Belong in Pancakes?

Marmalade Café, a local chain whose El Segundo location I visited, has a variety of interesting sounding pancakes: Dark Chocolate Macadamia Nut, Pineapple Upside-Down Pancake, 7 Grain & Almond Granola Pancakes, and Buttermilk. My gut told me to go with the pineapple pancakes, but since I had recently had pineapple pancakes at Shoop’s (pancake mecca), I opted to go for the 7 Grain & Almond Granola pancakes. They are described in the menu as being “Smothered in crunchy granola & sliced bananas.”

I don’t think anything crunchy should ever (with very rare exceptions) go on top of or inside a pancake. It ruins the dream of pretending the pancake you’re eating is a fluffy pillow of deliciousness. Pillows aren’t crunchy. But for some reason I wanted to challenge myself and was curious how this pancake interpretation would play out. 

The pancakes arrived as described, with a heap of granola scattered on top, and a large sliced banana. A questionable presentation decision was made by whoever sliced the banana but I wouldn’t hold that against them. The pancakes smelled like freshly baked banana bread hot out of the oven. 

All in all they were soft, fluffy, mildly sweet, and pretty good. The granola was not crunchy but had softened up under the heat, which was good for me but I actually think a little more crunch contrast would have been nice. The granola also had raisins, which did not thrill me.

If I had not taken half of the pancakes home for later the TastyStacks rating would likely be better. They became very dense and heavy pancake discs. I warmed them up and they were almost slightly soggy, and no one likes a soggy pancake. Still, I would go back here to try the pancakes that caught my eye in the first place. 

JUST THE STACKS – 6.5/10 TASTY STACKS

Overall Taste: Fluffy and mildly sweet, strong banana bread aroma.

Mouthfeel: More dense as more time passed, beginning bites were nice.

Size: The short stack has 2 sizable pancakes.

Presentation: Nice display of granola sprinkling, questionable banana tip display.

Price: $10.99 – $16.99

Location: Multiple, I visited the El Segundo location: 2014 Park Pl, El Segundo, CA 90245

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Shoop’s Part Three: Pancake Mecca

Mouthfeel: FUCKING LUSCIOUS.

It has been over a year since I last reviewed Shoop’s, and because they have clearly usurped my old favorite Nighthawk for best pancakes – this was the obvious choice for birthday pancakes in order to carb up for a hike (humble hike brag). 


As a bonus, it’s clear all those mediocre pancake dates back in the day paid off – I found someone happy to drive the opposite way of his work on the 405 at 7am to take me out for breakfast, and then drive all the way back on the 405 during rush hour. LA people will understand this as the definition of love.


Shoop’s lets you mix and match items on the regular pancake list, so we chose buttermilk, bacon, and pineapple. We also ordered one of their savory pancakes: Pastrami and Swiss. 


My 405 guy, famous for historically declaring he doesn’t like “foreign objects” in his pancakes, thought the savory pastrami and swiss pancake was delicious. Delicious may be an understatement. It was an unexpected joy to eat. Composed of one giant pancake, the batter is mixed with chopped up bits of pastrami and swiss cheese, and topped with fried eggs and grilled onions. The top of the pancake was lightly crisped, the inside was mouth-happy and marvelous. Imagine pastrami pancake angels dancing on your tongue, encased in warm buttery fluff. Even better, go eat these and experience pancake fluff heaven for yourself. 


The bacon pancake, while still excellent, almost pales in comparison to the magic of the pastrami and swiss pancake. The pineapple pancake, which is stuffed with caramelized pieces of pineapple, and one that I’ve had several times before, held up to the standard of excellence I have come to expect from Shoop’s. If you’re into (or curious about) savory pancakes, Shoop’s has several other varieties: Tomato Basil (fucking fantastic), Bacon Cheddar Jalapeno, and Savory Salmon. The latter two are on my list to try as ASAP as possible. 

  • Birthday breakfast of champions
  • Bacon, Buttermilk, Pineapple
  • The glory of pastrami swiss
  • Pastrami swiss and stack of tasties
  • Tomato Basil from a previous visit
  • Tomato Basil plus pineapple from a previous visit

JUST THE STACKS – 10/10 TASTY STACKS

Overall Taste: Sweet & savory pancake fluff heaven.

Mouthfeel: FUCKING LUSCIOUS.

Size: Goldilocks would say these are just the right size. Savory pancakes comes as one extra large one.

Presentation: Humble and unassuming. Shoop’s has no need for faff.

Price: $11.95-$17.50

Location: 2400 Main St A1, Santa Monica, CA 90405 (Blocks from the beach! Ample cheap parking in back!)

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Just The Cutest: Dunkin’s Pancake Minis

Dunkin’ – my East Coast Coffee Love, recently announced a new menu item: mini pancakes! Not only that, but mini pancakes with 10 grams of protein! That’s basically the same as 1.5 eggs! I fondly remember drinking Dunkin’ iced hazelnut coffee during the winters in Boston. Because I was such a hearty New Englander back then, I insisted on drinking it during 20° degree days as well. Now, if you take me camping in Mojave in April, amidst the most gorgeous desert bloom and night stars, I will shiver at night when drops to the high forties. That desert cold hits different.

Back to the pancakes – I was excited to try these. Luckily, Dunkin’ exists on the West Coast too – though not in the same substantial numbers. I hopped to my nearest Dunkin’ and ordered a tiny stack of six super cute pancakes with a side of dipping syrup for under $3.

These were solidly good. In all honesty I found them a little dry, but it’s hard not be swayed by the adorableness of these. They are so cute they get an extra point on the TastyStacks scale. Where else can you grab coffee and a tiny stack of pancakes? Other online reviews of these says they taste like mini pancakes you can buy frozen in the grocery store. That’s probably true, but in that case I’d rather just make my own pancakes at home, and completely avoid the grocery store all together – I buy my pancake mix in bulk online.

I speed watched three YouTube videos reviewing Dunkin’ Minis and learned that 1) watching people eat online is annoying and weird and 2) the consensus is definitely “dry but cute.”

JUST THE STACKS – 7.5/10 TASTY STACKS

Overall Taste: Solidly good.

Mouthfeel: A little dry.

Size: So tiny! So cute!

Presentation: Tiny pancake sack.

Price: $2.29-$2.99

Location: Somewhere near you! Maybe!

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Hustler Casino Cakes: Don’t Bet On These

One Sunday afternoon, I found myself at Larry Flynt’s Bar & Grill located inside the Hustler Casino in Gardena, CA. I was in search of breakfast in the South Bay area that didn’t also come with a 45 minute wait. What I got was a relatively quiet place to eat amidst the gentle clinking of chips, an $8 mimosa, and pancakes that were pretty bad. At the time of eating here, everything was served in takeout containers due to covid policies. I also ordered eggs and bacon which were slightly below mediocre. The real standout of the meal was the bread served on the side. This wasn’t the usual trash toast you get on the side, this was real, bakery-fresh, thick cut bread.

The pancakes were a different, sadder story. The first indication was that they were hard to cut into. This is an immediate warning sign you are about to eat sad stacks. The only thing you can really do with pancakes like this is douse them in butter and syrup and hope for the best. Even sugar and fat weren’t much help. About 90% of the pancakes ended up in the trash.

I guess I might come here again if I had a hankering for a table game and didn’t want to make the hop over to Vegas.

JUST THE STACKS – 2/10 TASTY STACKS

Overall Taste: Sad.

Mouthfeel: Not enjoyable, hard to chew.

Size: Large but useless.

Presentation: These definitely looked like pancakes.

Price: Do not recall, but not expensive.

Location: 1000 W Redondo Beach Blvd, Gardena, CA 90247

More Casino Cake Reviews!

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Marcy’s Diner: TSA Approved

These were, in short, fucking delicious.

On a recent trip to Portland, Maine, I had a chance to try Marcy’s Diner – an adorably tiny but mighty gem.

It was the final stop before my flight back to LA, and because it was raining and there was talk of a city-wide hornet problem, I chose to take my stack of pancakes to go. In this case, that meant to the airport and through security, one of the ultimate travel tests for pancakes. In case you’re wondering, yes you absolutely can take your pancakes through security (domestic US flights). If you happen to have four sizeable pancakes in three different containers (bacon, coconut, and plain), your bag will need to be hand searched by TSA. My pancakes were inspected to make sure they were actually pancakes and happily passed with flying colors.

  • Image via TastyStacks
  • Image via TastyStacks
  • Image via TastyStacks
  • Image via TastyStacks
  • Image via TastyStacks

Takeout pancakes are an inherently risky business. Temperature variation, packaging consideration, and fluff deflation may all come into play. Marcy’s Diner had zero issues with these potential pancake pitfalls.

These were, in short, fucking delicious. All three kinds were perfectly fluffy, another hard to attain goal. The plain pancakes were slightly sweet just on their own. The coconut pancake had little flakes of coconut cooked right in and tasted like a kind of subtly sweet coconut heaven I didn’t know existed until just then. The bacon pancake had ample bacon pieces mixed in the batter – evoking that special salty-sweet tastebud dance in my mouth.

These aren’t pancakes that are trying to do too many things. They don’t offer an avalanche of unnecessary toppings or a whole other meal on top of them. They are high caliber, delectable pancakes that stand on their own.

I’m giving these stacks a coveted 10/10 on the TastyStacks scale. For any of my New England readers out there, I highly recommend stopping by Marcy’s Diner on your next Portland outing. If pancakes aren’t your thing, the Hobo Hashbrowns (with onions, peppers, jalapenos, eggs, and cheese) were also delicious.

JUST THE STACKS – 10/10 TASTY STACKS

Overall Taste: Fucking delicious.

Mouthfeel: Slightly sweet and dreamy.

Size: Large, fluffy, extra thicc.

Presentation: Takeout containers – these did their job of keeping the pancakes from deflation and general sog.

Price: $3.50 – $7.00 (More for extra toppings)

Location: 47 Oak St, Portland, ME 04101

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Semi-Annual Nighthawk Review

I last had Nighthawk pancakes nearly a year ago during peak pandemic. They were takeout pancakes and they “were excellent, but not outstanding.  They were perfectly fluffy, perfectly moist with an on-point mouthfeel, but something was missing.” I recently revisited Nighthawk in Venice Beach, in-person, and dined at their newly expanded outdoor back patio.

I had just come from a particularly treacherous kayak outing, where the winds picked up just as my dad and I turned around at the jetty and created impressively rough waves for being inside the marina. A sailboat lost control and very nearly careened into us, then regained steering at the last moment. So I was covered in ocean crud and extremely ready to eat pancakes.

Nighthawk currently has a one-hour dining limit, so the food came out pretty fast. The first thing I noticed about the “Big Bird and Short Stack” was that the fried chicken, which on several past occasions has been disappointing, looked much more robust and crispy. The second thing I noticed was the scallions. Sure, scallions are a tasty addition to fried chicken, but I just don’t agree with them being sprinkled on pancakes.

  • Image via TastyStacks
  • Image via TastyStacks
  • Image via TastyStacks
  • Image via TastyStacks

The pancakes were good, but not great. The taste seemed a little off to me, and they were slightly overcooked. The dish is served with a plate drizzle of “apple-cinnamon gastrique” which I forgot to ask they omit, because I don’t enjoy the taste of it. It adds a cloying sweetness that is not complementary to the already sweet pancakes. They were not the “perfectly fluffy” pancakes I was expecting, and the mouthfeel was a little disappointing.

In a role reversal, I thought the fried chicken was better than the pancakes this time. I ate all the fried chicken, and took half the pancakes home for “the leftover test.” I am saddened to report that they did not pass. They got worse when I reheated them, and were too dense in the middle.

I feel bad giving Nighthawk anything less than an eight on the TastyStacks scale, especially given pandemic restaurant challenges, but I know these pancakes could be better. The Candied Bacon Mary on the other hand, gets a 10/10 every time.

JUST THE STACKS – 7.5/10 TASTY STACKS

Overall Taste: Good but not great. Very good fried chicken.

Mouthfeel: A little disappointing, dense bites.

Size: Three good looking pancakes that looked fluffy but weren’t quite there.

Presentation: Excellent, even despite my scallion criticism. This looks like a stack you want to sink your mouth into.

Price: $17

Location: 417 Washington Blvd, Venice, CA 90292

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Tasty Stacks Turns Two – A Pancake Celebration!

What better way to celebrate moving to LA than driving all over the LA freeways in search of a food trend you saw online?

I celebrated my third year LAnniversary and the second year blogiversary of TastyStacks the best way I know how –  Pancakes. And not just any pancakes, but mini-pancakes drenched in almost offensive toppings. 

You may remember mini-pancakes from Early Pandemic Times, when “pancake cereal” made the TikTok rounds. To be honest, it looked like a painstaking pain in the ass. If I’m making pancakes, I’m making one giant pancake because I am efficient. 

Street vendors have now taken up this idea and streamlined it in an Instagram-worthy and tasty way. If something isn’t Instagram-worthy can you even eat it? If you live in LA, the answer is no. Even if you’re vegan. Or maybe especially if you’re vegan. 

The mini-pancake food trucks near me, which I had to find mainly through TikTok without rolling my eyes too much, were actually not near me. The closest one with the cutest name was Delicious Minis in Echo Park. My handsome pancake-partner-in-crime and I drove out there on a Friday night. It only took us 45 minutes from the South Bay which tells you that LA traffic still isn’t back to normal.

Unfortunately for everyone’s pancake plans, upon arrival we were informed their generator was broken. There would be no pancakes from this tiny pancake enterprise. I was crestfallen, mainly because I knew this meant we would now have to drive to North Hollywood and I was hungry. But what better way to celebrate moving to LA than driving all over the LA freeways in search of a food trend you saw online?

Ms. Mommy Stacks, the next closest option at that point, had a similar setup: food truck style serving with speedy pancake turnaround. They offer three sizes: Kiddystack (12 minis), Mommystack (25 minis), and Daddystack (60 minis!)

  • Image via TastyStacks
  • Image via TastyStacks
  • Image via TastyStacks
  • Image via TastyStacks
  • Image via TastyStacks

We opted for two different Mommystacks – one with strawberry, banana, and Nutella; the other with a caramel drizzle and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Other absurd pancake topping options include Fruit Loops, Fruity Pebbles, Oreos, ice cream, and a variety of syrups.

You might be thinking Cinnamon Toast Crunch doesn’t really belong as a pancake topping, and you might be right. For the sake of pancake research, we decided it was important to double check. 

They were fucking delicious. I was ready to tear these apart and categorize them as Pancake Crimes. That many ridiculous toppings?! And some of them are crunchy?! But these were great. The pancakes themselves had the most perfect fluffy mouthfeel. The fresh fruit and Nutella? You can’t go wrong there. And the caramel drizzle and Cinnamon Toast Crunch? My pancake partner in crime, who historically hates foreign objects in his pancakes, thought these were the best. We didn’t even mind that they were crunchy.

 If you’re craving super cute, super tasty, and super fun pancakes, (and also happen to find yourself in The Valley), you can’t go wrong at Ms. Mommy Stacks. 

JUST THE STACKS – 9/10 TASTY STACKS

Overall Taste: Scrumptious – slightly buttery, sweet, and elevated by ridiculous toppings.

Mouthfeel: Perfect miniature pancake fluff fairies in your mouth. 

Size: Mini! You can’t get cuter than these. 

Presentation: Messy, but nicely contained.

Price: $7-$20

Location: 6138 Vineland Ave, North Hollywood, CA 91606

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