Richard Walker’s Pancake House

The Happy Hour Reviewer

By The Happy Hour ReviewerPublished 05/07/2009

Richard Walkers Pancake House I headed downtown to Richard Walker’s Pancake House for a late breakfast on a sunny spring afternoon and was gratified to encounter tasty coffee, flavorful food and on-point customer service.

My dining partner and I both ordered coffees, which arrived piping hot but in smallish cups, tasting bright and clear. We stirred in creamer from a tiny ceramic jug and were both happy with the results.

Richard Walker himself made it a point to stop by our table, pulling up a chair and recommending the Santa Fe Omelet and Walker’s Apple Pancake. Done and done, but we added a side order of bacon and hash browns.

Our server, so accomplished and confident that she didn’t need to write down the order, cleverly suggested that we swap out the hotcakes that come with the Santa Fe Omelet for hash browns, since we had already ordered the apple pancake.

At Walker’s suggestion, the kitchen sent out the omelet, bacon and hash browns before the apple pancake. The bacon arrived room temperature: long, elegant strips with a tender texture and slight crunch. Our hash browns were fairly average, with a crisp browned surface and buttery underside.

The Santa Fe Omelet was huge, so we sliced it down the middle and scooped it onto smaller plates to share. It was a perfectly circular omelet packed with fresh onion, cilantro, tomato and jalapeno peppers and oozing melted jalapeno cheese from the center. The jalapenos packed a fresh punch, and the seemingly homemade salsa we piled atop the omelet added an herby zing. At $8.95, it was a sizable deal that could easily be shared by two people for breakfast, especially with the side order of three hotcakes or toast that accompanies the dish.

Richard Walkers Apple Pancakes I had to blink twice when the Walker’s Apple pancake arrived. My dining partner remarked that it looked like an entire Thanksgiving pie, covering the plate from rim to rim and puffing up a good three inches with squishy dough and sticky apple filling. Apple fritters gone wild. It was truly a diet-wrecker, but for those dedicated breakfast diners who check their diets at the door, it was a delicious, dessert-like treat. We thought that it would have made an excellent starter or after-breakfast treat, paired with coffee and good conversation. A table of four or five could order this for a sweet wedge of apple-and-cinnamon sunshine each before enjoying the rest of the meal. At $8.95, it was a lot of food for the dollar.

Other interesting items on the menu:

The outside patio where we dined was clean and spare, with classical music as a faint backdrop. Our fellow diners were a cheerful, efficient bunch that worked through their pancake-laden plates with ease.

Although I’ve heard that Richard Walker’s is notorious for long lines, we were pleased to be seated rapidly and without fuss on a Thursday afternoon. Extra points for Marcela, our especially professional server who anticipated every coffee refill, extra napkin and water refill before it even crossed out minds. She was extremely well spoken, familiar with the menu and offered up genuine smiles alongside the food.

The pancake house doesn’t feel like a chain, at least on the pleasant outdoor patio where we dined. But Richard Walker started his original restaurant in Chicago, and the family restaurant roots extend to the 1940s.

Walker, a self-proclaimed contrarian, is kicking off a “Sad Hour” to counterbalance the ubiquitous Happy Hour promoted by so many venues around the U.S. Individuals can bring in a copy of this magazine and receive $5 waffles between 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on weekdays. Coupons are good for individuals only, but a party of four can bring in four coupons and each person can cash in on the deal, which runs until June 30.

“I’m doing this because I’m a maniac,” Walker explained. “I think it’s hilarious. I mean come on, everyone talks about Happy Hour, but let’s have some fun. What about Sad Hour? Why not?”