Week 4: Change of Plans - Pancakes

I was supposed to go cross-country skiing this weekend, for my week 4 adventure, but that didn't happen. Apparently, there wasn't enough fresh snow, so they closed the trails. What is one to do when you don't have the option of exercising in the crisp, winter air of mid January in Wisconsin?

You eat pancakes, naturally.

My good friend (and former Nashville roommate...longish story here, since she also lives in my area of Wisconsin now), Genessa, was planning to be my skiing buddy. Instead, she suggested that we try out Blueberry Hill Pancake House on College Avenue in Appleton. As it turns out, I had never eaten there before, only driven by many, many times. I faintly recall asking someone if the food was good there, years ago. I believe the unimaginative critique was that it was "okay". Unfortunately, I let that simple response keep me from trying the establishment until this past Saturday.

In many ways, the place reminds me of some great breakfast joints in the south. If Waffle House and the Pancake Pantry in Nashville had a love child that grew up and moved north, its name would be Blueberry Hill. Considering Jay-Z and Beyoncé just named their first child Blue Ivy, this possible baby name doesn't stretch the modern imagination too much.



The key difference between this pancake mecca and its southern cousins could be the fact that the hostess successfully turned "booth" into a two syllable word. As in, "Would you like a table or a boo-uth?" I normally make fun of Wisconsin accents, which you might think I'm doing here. In this case, I thought it was cute and friendly. Genessa and I opted for a scaled-down, two person boo-uth. Gen makes a good menu model, doesn't she?

Genessa went for a Swedish classic. She ordered Swedish pancakes (which I think are basically crepes, which are French....I suppose there's a lot of similarities in Europe with certain foods) with lingonberries. They put lingonberries on most things in Sweden. Ketchup is to Americans, as lingonberry sauce is to Swedes. Or at least, that's what I believe to be true. Those little berries are fantastic though. YUM.

I, on the other hand, went full on pig out mode. I ordered their pecan pancakes meal deal, which included eggs how you like 'em and bacon AND sausage. I know. OINKfest...literally. But oh so good. I also had coffee and orange juice. Yes, this is an abundance of calories, but I've been eating much healthier lately, so I let myself have the breakfast buffet for one. My only feedback is that they really do need to include the pecans in the batter, like the menu said they would. It'd be GREAT that way. With pecans just on top, I'd give those cakes a B+.

Also, when I try out a new place, I kinda want to give them a shot at making a good first impression. If you order a lot of food, then one thing might not be great, but a few others might be good.....oh who am I kidding? I just wanted to order it.

No regrets.

The food was as much the daughter of Mr. House and Ms. Pantry (see above) as the ambiance. So, not exactly AMAZING, but definitely an experience worth repeating. It was warm, quick, and friendly. According to Genessa, though, the place would have been vastly improved had they left a carafe of coffee on our table. Personally, I liked the old fashioned visit from the waitress for the refill. It's friendlier than self-serve.

I will definitely return to The Hill. How do you like the new, hip nickname I have spontaneously given this unassuming little restaurant? Let me know if you want to meet up there. Next time, I'm gonna try the chocolate chip pancakes. YUM 2.0.



BTW - I couldn't eat that second sausage. Genessa took care of it, though.

Second BTW - I couldn't eat for the rest of the day.

Third BTW - worth it.