Tag: ocean views

Uncle Bill’s Pancake House: Searching for a Taste of Fall

I was hoping for an explosion of fall in my mouth. I wanted to be reminded of crunchy leaves and impending snowstorms.

Uncle Bill’s Pancake House in Manhattan Beach, CA has appeared on several of my “best pancakes in Los Angeles” google searches. They’re blocks from the beach with an ocean view and a variety of pancakes: Buttermilk, Buckwheat, Blueberry, Cinnamon Apple, Banana Nut, Macadamia Nut, Chocolate Chip, Strawberry, and Pumpkin Spice. With fall right around the corner at the time of this tasting, the Pumpkin Spice caught my eye. 

As a former East Coaster, the fall season in LA is hard for me. Fall is delightful on the East Coast, especially in New England. The air is crisp and cool (eventually), and the leaves turn colors that make that landscape so visually pleasing not even the ocean and palm trees can compete. You start craving homemade chili, slightly less iced coffee, and pumpkin flavored foods.

Pumpkin flavored food is fucking everywhere in the fall, even in warmer LA-esque climates. I used to be irritated by all the pumpkin flavored items but now that I live where summer never really ends, I appreciate the autumnal enthusiasm and actively seek out pumpkin tastes. This led me to order Pumpkin Spice pancakes on a gorgeous summer day up the street from the ocean. 

  • Image via Tasty Stacks.
  • Image via Tasty Stacks.
  • Image via Tasty Stacks.
  • Image via Tasty Stacks.
  • Image via Tasty Stacks. Boston Public Garden.

The pancakes arrived and they were the wrong pancakes. The waitress caught it before I did due to the fact that I was busy photographing them. So I have photos of their Buttermilk and Pumpkin Spice pancakes. The Buttermilk photographed better. 

Without any butter or syrup I found the pancakes a little gummy. This is worse than chewy. Gummy pancakes are not a great mouthfeel. I soldiered on and spread butter and syrup on them. Either I was very hungry or these additions made them pretty good, because I devoured them. 

Let’s talk about the pumpkin flavor! It was mild. I was hoping for an explosion of fall in my mouth. I wanted to be reminded of crunchy leaves and impending snowstorms. It was a nice change from regular Buttermilk pancakes, but just too subtle. Put some more allspice or New England air in there! 

I don’t agree that these pancakes should be on a “Best Pancakes in LA” list but a lot of people on Yelp disagree with me. If you want cute ocean view pancakes (and who doesn’t) you should go here but temper your pancake expectations. 

Also, if you know of any great Pumpkin Spice pancake places or tried and true recipes please send them my way! (pancakes@tastystacks.com)  

JUST THE STACKS – 7.5/10 TASTY STACKS

Overall Taste: A hint of pumpkin spice, just enough to intensify my cravings.

Mouthfeel: Gummy without the help of butter and syrup.

Size: Reasonable.

Presentation: A stack of two, as part of a combo plate served with eggs and bacon.

Price: $8 – $15

Location: 1305 Highland Ave, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

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Erewhon: Are These Even Pancakes?


Pancakes should bring joy and delight, and maybe evoke pleasant memories of smiley-face chocolate chip pancakes.

I have been irritated by these pancakes ever since Erewhon started selling them. They’re tiny. They cost $10.95 and don’t even have any gluten in them. Gluten is delicious but I understand some people can’t or won’t eat it. 

I gave these pancakes the benefit of the doubt. I put them on a real plate and heated them up, but not too much, because I didn’t want them to lose their “raw” integrity. I tried to eat them with an open mind and paired them with a good cup of coffee.

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

I felt like I was eating mashed up fruit & nuts sculpted into a circular shape. They tasted exactly like their ingredients: pecan, cashew, banana, apple juice, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, Himalayan salt, red maca. This wasn’t necessarily bad, but it did not delight my taste-buds. I felt cheated out of a pancake experience.

These mini “pancakes” come with syrup and a coconut cream spread. The coconut cream was pretty tasty and added an interesting layer of sweetness but didn’t do much to improve my opinion. The syrup was a nice touch but didn’t make me feel like I was eating pancakes. 

Do these even meet the definition of a pancake? 

Merriam-Webster defines a pancake as “a flat cake made of thin batter and cooked (as on a griddle) on both sides.” I don’t mean to be a pancake militant, but according to this definition and my gut feeling, these aren’t pancakes. Pancakes should bring joy and delight, and maybe evoke pleasant memories of smiley-face chocolate chip pancakes. These did none of that for me.

If I wanted an expensive fruit nut mush snack, I might get these again, but I doubt it. I think there are better vegan, gluten-free pancake options out there. But if you are desperately craving pancakes and you pretend real fucking hard, these might work for you.

Just the Stacks – 2/10 Tasty Stacks 

Overall Taste: These had a definite health bar taste to them.

Mouthfeel: Sweet and mushy, but the coconut cream had a very nice texture to it.

Size: Perfect for a dollhouse.  

Presentation: Not the most aesthetically pleasing.

Price: $10.95

Location:  585 Venice Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

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C&O Trattoria: Go With the Garlic Knots

So many things are pretentious in Venice, but also delicious, so this is a poor battle to wage.

I came to C&O Trattoria in Venice Beach on a date with a guy who was a twin, which was maybe the most interesting thing about him. He first suggested Great White, which is also blocks from the beach, and at the time had recently opened and was super popular. I’ve still never been; it’s probably still super popular. I suspected we wouldn’t be able to get a seat anywhere on a weekend morning, but since I had recently moved and he should have done his homework better, I agreed to meet there. It was packed. I suggested we look elsewhere, and led him to Nighthawk, despite knowing that would be packed too. I’ve stopped by Nighthawk a few times without a reservation on a weekend morning and it’s never worked out for me, but I like to be hopeful.

Image via TastyStacks.

We took a look at the Nighthawk menu (or I pretended to, knowing it already), but he vetoed the place after reading the “Duck, Duck, Goose” dish (Fois gras). He was a sometime vegetarian so I thought that was the issue, but he commented the place was a little too “pretentious.” I found this incredulous coming from someone who had first picked Great White. So many things are pretentious in Venice, but also delicious, so this is a poor battle to wage.

Increasingly hungry, we picked C&O Trattoria (yes, an Italian restaurant), on a strip a block away from the beach, and very touristy. I was not expecting great pancakes. I was surprised they even served pancakes but decided that was one of the safest options. Of their 3247 Yelp reviews, there are two that mention the word pancake, and I disagree with both of them. Perhaps the problem was that we didn’t get a side of garlic knots? The pancakes were okay. They were structurally sound and topped with slices of strawberries and bananas which was nice, but lazy looking. This isn’t even a breakfast place though, they are just capitalizing on all the tourists hanging out by the beach desperate for weekend brunch. Anyway, my date ordered the crêpes and didn’t like them, but why would anyone order crêpes from a place like this?

Just the Stacks – 5/10 Tasty Stacks

Image via TastyStacks.

Overall Taste: Fine, unremarkable.

Mouthfeel: Mediocre.

Size: Average.

Presentation: Simple, they tried to make the fruit on top look somewhat nice, but it looked slightly sad to me. Maybe I just really wanted Nighthawk?

Price: $11 for three pancakes.

Location: 31 Washington Blvd, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292

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