Tag: best pancakes

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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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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Protein Pancake Series: Updated Birch Benders Review

Pandemic or not, I’ve been eating a fair amount of protein pancakes. Sometimes the commute from my bed to my desk seems insurmountable and then fast, delicious protein pancakes are the way to go. 

Before I met my favorite protein pancakes – Kodiak Cakes, my jam was Birch Benders. I gave them a 9/10 at the time and described their mouthfeel as “sweet fluff and protein fairies dancing on the tongue.”

I thought they missed the mark (egregiously) with their instant Keto Cup Pancakes, and gave them the harshest TastyStacks rating of Not Pancakes. But I still assumed their regular protein pancake mix, my old tried and true, were reliably delicious.

I tried them side by side with Kodiak Cakes for a real-time comparison. I even made the Birch Benders pancake second, giving them the preheated pancake edge. Aesthetically speaking, the Birch Benders pancake looked more golden brown when I flipped it. But that’s where the positives stopped.

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

They were fine, kind of. If our definition of “fine” means unfluffy pancakes that do not make my mouth happy. They were more dense than Kodiak Cakes, which are perfectly fluffy every time. Their texture paled in comparison.  They were dry and disappointing. I ended up freezing the Birch Benders pancake for some day when I’ve run out of Kodiak Cakes at the same time as a zombie apocalypse and really need an emergency pancake. 


JUST THE STACKS – 5/10 TASTY STACKS  

Overall Taste: Dry and flat and boring but not terrible.

Mouthfeel: Disappointing. I cheered myself up making pancake fruit faces. Cute, right?

Protein per serving: 16g

Carbs per serving: 26g

Price:  $4+ per box

Available at: Birch Benders and Amazon. But I suggest Kodiak Cakes instead.

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Protein Pancake Series: Flapjacked

The Banana Hazelnut flavor is excellent, it’s slightly sweet and slightly nutty (much like myself).

Flapjacked was the first protein pancake brand I discovered when looking for something better than my two ingredient egg & banana pancakes. A lot of people rave about egg and banana pancakes and while it’s nifty you only need two ingredients for them, I need that perfect pancake fluff. 

Along came Flapjacked! They started off strong, with a great name, emphasizing the “Jacked” in their logo. Their mix doubles as a baking mix and I have made some delicious protein donuts from them. (You have to think about them as protein donuts and not real donuts, otherwise you’ll be disappointed.)

  • Image via Amazon.com
  • Image via TastyStacks.
  • Image via TastyStacks.
  • Image via Amazon.com
  • Image via TastyStacks.

All you need to add to the mix is water, but you can use an egg or milk instead. Versatile! I have fond memories of making these in my tiny basement apartment in Boston especially during the occasional snow day. Snow day pancakes are a delight best experienced and not described. 

Flapjacked was my favorite until I discovered Birch Benders, which I find to have a bigger fluff factor. I recently tried the Flapjacked mix again in the name of pancake research. Also, Birch Benders doesn’t have a Banana Hazelnut flavor (hint, hint).

Half a cup gives you 20g of protein, which is plenty, unless you want to make a giant pancake. Then you need a full cup and an activity planned to put all that protein to good use. I used the Banana Hazelnut flavor and added chocolate chips. Flapjacked also has Buttermilk, Carrot Spice, and Cinnamon Apple mixes in addition to a line of Mighty Muffins, Protein Cookie Mixes, and Cookie Bars.

My pancake was not as giant as I would have liked, but that’s hardly a criticism. The Banana Hazelnut flavor is excellent, it’s slightly sweet and slightly nutty (much like myself). It’s also slightly grainy, so if you don’t like that in pancakes you might not love this mix. They’re fluffy, but Birch Benders still exceeds them in the fluff factor. Something about the texture didn’t thrill my mouth, but overall Flapjacked is a solid and sturdy choice for a protein pancake mix.

JUST THE STACKS – 7.5/10 TASTY STACKS  

Overall Taste: Slightly sweet, nutty, & grainy. Good but not outstanding.

Mouthfeel: Something was a little off in this department.

Protein per serving:  20g per 1/2 cup.

Price: $6.99 – $12.99

Available at: Amazon, the Internet at large, grocery stores.

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Nighthawk Returns…Or Does It?

If you’ve ever thought you could lay your head on a soft stack of perfectly shaped pancakes, these would be it.

After my disastrously disappointing Nighthawk experience, I wasn’t sure when I’d be ready to go back. The opportunity presented itself to me in an unlikely way. To make an awkward story short, a guy came up to me at a show, introduced himself, and asked me out for pancakes. He was wearing shoes and everything so I said yes. Then he suggested…Nighthawk.

Before I broke up with Nighthawk, I would have agreed instantly. Was I ready to go on another date and have more sad, deflated pancakes? Even if the guy was wearing shoes? I decided that yes, this would be a good opportunity to see if my previous experience was more of a fluke than a regular thing. Sure, it helped that the guy was cute too.

I told my date about my previous disheartening Nighthawk experience, which heightened the pancake anticipation. What would the Big Bird and Short Stack be like this time? Would I get heaven cooked in batter form or a sad stack of mediocrity?

I was dumbfounded when the pancakes arrived. They were large and fluffy, with crispy fried chicken on top. If you’ve ever thought you could lay your head on a soft stack of perfectly shaped pancakes, these would be it. They looked like an old love returned to me, but I was suspicious. 

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

I usually refrain from taking food photos on a first date, but I couldn’t help myself this time. This was a good looking stack that needed to be documented. Luckily, my date was similarly photographically inclined. We proceeded to engage in an eye-rolling, “very LA” display of food photography.  

I couldn’t get over how perfectly sized and fluffy these pancakes looked compared to last time. As I usually do, I tried them without butter or syrup first to determine their natural mouth feel. They were good, but the magic was gone for me. Even after adding syrup and butter, I just wasn’t getting that surge of exploding pleasure. And the butter Nighthawk uses is fucking delicious. The fried chicken was also good, it was substantially crispier and more flavorful than last time. 

Unfortunately, the X factor that pushed these into a 10/10 rating previously was missing. Once your pancake crush crushes you, there’s just no going back (though you’ll notice these are still rated highly).  This is sad, but there are other pancakes out there. I know, I already found them. 

JUST THE STACKS – 8.5/10 TASTY STACKS

Overall Taste: Pretty good, objectively tasty, but not outstanding.

Mouthfeel: Fluffy & pleasant.

Size: Perfect.

Presentation: Really fucking good looking.

Price: $17

Location: 417 Washington Blvd, Venice, CA 90292

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