Let the Breakfasting Begin

The idea for this blog originated with my friends in Grand Rapids, Brad and Thad. They were keeping a bar book in which they recorded a proscribed list of observations about every bar they went to (price of a pitcher, ambiance, cleanliness of the bathroom, as well as general observations). Beth and I are not people who spend much time in bars, but we do spend a lot of time eating breakfast. Since Beth moved to town for graduate school in 2000, we have met at the Original Pancake House for Saturday morning breakfast. Many fine librarians (and others) have joined us over the years for pancakes and coffee (below we have Jay, Dana, Beth, Melina, and Suzanne celebrating Beth's birthday in 2004).



Our intention on this blog is to keep track of our breakfast experiences both at our regular pancake location as well as our breakfasts abroad. When reporting on breakfast we will always include:

• the price of a cup of coffee
• our assessment of the coffee
• what was eaten and by whom
• general ambiance
• quality of service
• any general observations

This morning, Beth and I breakfasted at the Original Pancake House where Beth ate cherry crepes (inspired by Rick Steve's travel show on French food), I had a half order of sourdough french toast with strawberry syrup (a past favorite that I had briefly forgotten about) and we shared patty sausage. Our server was new to the pancake house and quite attentive. As soon as our coffee was empty, she was there to refill and even replenished our cream without our asking. A cup of coffee at OPH has recently gone up to $2, but it is worth every penny as they are the only place in town that serves their coffee with heavy whipping cream, rather than half and half (a decadent move that the OPH in Madison does not replicate, but more on the differences between OPHs in a later post).

The decor at OPH in Champaign consists of a heady combination of exposed brick, horizontal wood paneling, decorative collectible plates, a giant stained glass apple window ornament, fish tanks, and a working fireplace. During this, the holiday season, there are poinsettias on display as well as several dozen mini stockings hung on the mantel of the fire place (I secretly hope there is one for each pancake house employee and that when they have their work holiday party they find a cash bonus and a mini candy cane folded inside). While every element of the decor is confusingly unrelated to every other element, it is familiar and soothing and much more interesting than the dull mauve and turquoise early nineties decor of the OPH in Madison. Food is also delivered on china, rather than plastic, which makes for much more enjoyable dining. OPH is always crowded and there is often a wait for the tables, made much more bearable by the selection of trashy magazines and real estate books in the waiting room. Today we were seated before we could finish reading US magazine and ate our breakfast amongst young couples, a group of fake baked ex-cheerleaders (or so we imagined), and several cute babies. All in all a fine foray which we followed up by a trip to Deals where we found Gummy Breakfast Foods, which seemed only fitting on this inaugural day of Pancakes Make People Happy!