Fine Dining - Shrekfast! The Original Pancake House History feat. Chad Opitz (Stand-Up Comedian) [Part One]

Episode Date: May 29, 2024

Get in mah swamp! Stand-up comedian Chad Opitz (recurring guest on Doug Benson's podcast "Doug Loves Movies") not only tolerates, but embraces me this week (literally) as I go to The Original Pancake House in full Shrek make-up with him to make good on the bet I lost last week We cover the history of not just this week's restaurant, but the concept of pancakes in general, going wayyyy back The Secret Menu minigame category of the week: Breakfast Cinema Chad sells Michael on injera bread from Ethiopia Michael opens up about his first kiss in 6th grade while seeing Shrek in theaters A woman poverty-shames anyone who doesn't give the Original Pancake House 5 stars in this week's Yelp from Strangers "Fine" Dining is now on video! Head on over to our YouTube to watch this episode! Make-up by: Mattea Ghaffary Music by: James McEnelly (@Ramshackle_Music) Theme Song by: Kyle Schieffer (@JazzyJellyfish) Segment Transitions Voiced by: Sandy Rose "Fine" Dining is on Patreon! Get an extra episode every month (In just two days, I'll be dropping May's exclusive episode, the #7 seed for this year's upcoming Septemburger tournament: Rally's Drive-In with special guest Steve Moulton), extended Yelp from Strangers segments every other week, merch discounts, download access to our music including the 7 singles from our Olive Garden musical, and more! Patreon Producers: Sean Spademan, Joyce Van, & Sue Ornelas   Get the 5 Survival Tips for Casual Dining at www.finediningpodcast.com!   Send in your Original Pancake House stories at [e-mail].   Follow the show on TikTok and Instagram @finediningpodcast Follow Chad on Instagram @chadopitz   Let me know where I should go next by leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, PodcastAddict, Overcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. I read every one!   Next week on "Fine" Dining: The Original Pancake House Review [Part Two]! Chad Opitz is back, and it's time to talk about Shrekfast! The food and service were both wonderful, and breakfast is both these boys' favorite cuisine. Ever work at The Original Pancake House? Send your stories to [e-mail].

On this unprecedented episode of the Fine Dining Podcast, a poor person downing a pancake is not the same as a wealthy... Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true. If I could meet one person, alive or dead, it would be Jonathan Davis from KORN. My first kiss was during Shrek. What? Hello, and welcome to the Fine Dining Podcast, the search for the most mediocre restaurant in America. I'm your host, Michael Ornelas, and I look like Shrek. And I'm not thrilled about it, but I lost a bet in my last episode.

I had a little bit too much hubris that I knew all of the scores of the restaurants on the Chachki of mediocrity. So I'm going to push through. You can see this abomination on YouTube or on my social media. But I had to go to the original pancake house dressed fully in Shrek makeup. makeup. And I brought along a guest who before this meal, I have maybe interacted with six minutes in my life in person. Tops, Chad Opitz. Hello. Thanks for coming on. Thank you for having me. I feel bad that I'm not dressed like Donkey. I actually had it in the back of my mind as a possibility. I was like, he might surprise me.

Do you have a Donkey suit that you could- He would make a great Fiona. Yeah, well, come on, man. But you bared traffic? You bared, I don't know, were you embarrassed by- No. No? Not at all.

It's the city. People loved you, by the way. Nobody was like that put off by it. People were like, let's get a picture with him. I did try to own it. Shrek is a beloved figure. We might've gotten better treatment at the establishment because of it actually.

For those of you watching or listening to this podcast for the first time, this is the search for the most mediocre restaurant in America, that perfect five point double zero dining experience out of 10. And I'm doing this because, you know, people say something's good, something's bad, but like, where does it become one or the other? There's a threshold in the middle that needs to be defined. And I'm there to find it so that we can properly speak the language of comparing restaurants.

Currently it's Applebee's. But yeah, this is part one of a two-part episode. We're going to learn about the history of this restaurant and we're gonna read some Yelp reviews. So, you ready to jump on in? Let's do it. Let's do it. Go in the swamp. ["The Swamp"]

["The Swamp"] Your table is ready, follow me. Have you tried our chicken breast? Serving pancakes and ribs, I recommend the spaghetti. We're here to satisfy, not to impress. Your table is ready, complimentary butter and bread These walls have growth signs Knick-knack, cowboy hat, good luck hat

Altograph, guitar, some crap from your city Behold the tchotchke of mediocrity Fine dining, just fine dining, fine dining Two letters on the sign are shining Neon flickering, irregular timing Identify the perfect fine Fine dining! Fine dining!

Fine dining! Fine dining! Fine dining! Fine dining! Well, Chad, we're gonna talk about what we thought about the restaurant next week, but I feel like before we can do that, we need to set the table and kind of look into the background of this franchise

and kind of learn where it came from to get to a place that a man dressed as Shrek would be interested in going there to review it. Okay. So would you be interested in going there to review it. Okay. So, would you be interested in hearing the history? The origins of the original Pancake House? Of course I would. All right, we're going to jump into this week's Eat Deets. Eat Deets. Eat Deets.

Eatery Details. Eatery details. The original Pancake House was founded in Portland, Oregon in 1953 by Les Hyatt and Irma Hewnake? I can't read. By 1958, one of the earliest franchised locations emerged in Anaheim, California. I like that it emerged. Yeah, it just popped out of the ground. Just came into being.

The chain expanded into Canada in 1959 with a location in Winnipeg, Manitoba. So they literally became an international house of pancakes six years into their run. It spurred it, then it expanded. But they don't claim to be the IHOP, that is somebody else. Okay. Old fashioned sourdough yeast is used in all of their pancake batters.

Grown in their kitchen from a culture of potatoes, flour, and sugar. Many of their recipes are sent in from people with many different cultures and nationalities which inspires them to create authentic and diverse dishes. So they're always asking for different types of recipes. Who's got a pancake-y thing? What did your grandma make? Yeah. That sort of thing? They did have a wide variety of options which was pretty great. They really did like name drop the

specific cultures. Like they had a Swedish pancake, a German pancake, a Dutch baby, you know, they had options. Whole bunch. Yeah. Yeah, they did not have a, they should have had like some sort of a Nicaraguan, nothing like that though.

Unfortunate Peruvian ones. Well, they had like potato pancakes, which I do tend to, I guess, affiliate as a little bit more of a South American thing Maybe that's Ireland or something like that. I don't know. I mean, maybe I'm incorrect. It's just my brain Maybe I'm uncultured as hell. Yeah, and then they had the corn pancake as well. Cakes. Mm-hmm corn cakes I expected to be more like corn flakes, but no You know, it's literally just had pieces of corn in them. Yeah. Yeah the band corn played in the corner You know, Jonathan Davis was just popped up and with his like HR Geiger Mike. I'm sorry

Is there a dreadlock in my pan? Yeah, I worked with somebody in Washington at a video store Who was like if I could meet one person in alive or dead it would be Jonathan Davis from corn She was obsessed with corn that can't be a real opinion that I like if I could meet one person in alive or dead, it would be Jonathan Davis from corn. She was obsessed with corn. That can't be a real opinion that a person had. It was, and I couldn't believe it either. I was like, that's the one person. Jonathan Davis from corn.

He's top four, but. I don't know about that one, buddy. Whoa, Shrek has some hot opinions about corn. Woo. Among their famed dishes are the apple pancake. Which you got. Which I got, the Dutch baby, the German pancake, and omelets, which, you know,

they put pancakes in the name of their restaurant, but, you know, they do breakfast, like just all around. All of them. They do breakfast. Yep. With over 100 franchised locations across the United States from Seattle to Honolulu, the chain has a widespread presence. So like how do we know which one's the original?

They literally all say it and they all have their own website domain. Yeah. Like there is no central hub for the original pancake house. Like each location has its own URL. Really? Each, really? So there's a hundred different websites dedicated, that's crazy. It is. That's very weird. Why do they do that? SEO? That's bizarre.

I don't know. I don't understand technology. There's a hundred websites, but yeah, it really like, you create digital competition for yourself by yourself. That doesn't make any sense. The Hyde Park, Chicago location garnered fame as Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley's

preferred breakfast joint, hosting interviews with prominent personalities like Anchorman Walter Jacobson. Holy Lord, who is that? That's a weird pick. I don't think, I don't know anyone who would know who that is, I don't think. I'm saying he's not famous right now.

Look directly into that mic. He's not famous. I don't know who that is. I don't think anyone'm saying he's not famous right now. Look directly into that. He's not famous. I don't know who that is. I don't think anyone knows who that is. I don't think he ever existed. Now it doesn't matter. Not real. He's not Shrek.

Shrek is established. The only famous you are treated like a king there at the original Pancake House. They did it up. We'll get all into that next week when we talk about Atmosphere, but they rolled out the. The green carpet. I was gonna say the Royal Swamp. The Anaheim, California franchise,

dating back to the early days, remains under the ownership of the family of employees from the original Portland location. Really? Yeah. Cause you know, there's a lot, there's a very heavy stripper culture there. I wonder if they got a strip pole in there. It's wild as hell in the Portland pancake house.

You order a Dutch baby and like, they bring it out in tassels. There's going to be a stripper dressed like Shrek, for sure. Which I would be into. Genuinely? I would hate that. I would hate that so much.

What about that Shrek rave? Did you hear about that? No. Oh, there was a Shrek rave. And I knew somebody who went. I don't know if anyone can tell, but I just emoted. I tried to scrunch my face,

but I have so much prosthetic makeup on that I genuinely don't know if I'm emoting. I know someone who went, and he was like, it was pretty cool, but there was no Shrek based music. I was like, I don't think there's any Shrek. Fresh mouth.

That's about it though. Yeah. Like how are you gonna fill up two hours like club time with I guess you could just do a remix of that song over and over. There's literally an album. There's a guy named Neil Ciserega who does. Oh yeah, I know him.

He's great. He has an entire album called Mouth Sounds. Yeah. And it's like he sampled All-Star through... See, they needed to take that time and energy to create music for the Shrek. They did not do that. No.

You took more time into what you're doing today than they did for the Shrek rave. Than they put curating their Shrek rave. And it's just like, eh, just throw in a couple Eddie Murphy sound bits and call it a day. I appreciate the dedication to the Shrek stuff here. I have to like, type my password into my phone every time it falls asleep to get back into these eat-deeps because it doesn't recognize my face.

Oh, yeah. There's no facial recognition. I'm glad it's doing that though. That's how you know it's a solid security. I know that it's secure. It's like, mm, that ain't you. And I was like, look behind the eyes. I'm still alive in here.

Look into my soul. I'm not dead. In 1999, the original Pancake House in Portland earned a James Beard Foundation Award as an American classic. Whoa. Okay, who's James Beard though? Is he in there?

Look into that camera and tell him how famous he's not. James Beard is not famous, unless he's a member of ZZ Top, then I'm wrong. He might be, but if he's not, then who the hell's James Beard? How many people do you know? I know about 30 to 32 people. And how many people do you know of? Of?

Five or six? James Beard ain't one of them. You know of fewer people than you know personally. I know RoboCop. You buds. I know Beverly Hills Cop. I know Beverly Hills Ninja. Yeah, that's another good one. Yeah.

Of course we do. We've gotten so far away from this restaurant. Whatever. That's why. We've gotten so far away from this restaurant. Expanding globally, in May 2013, OPH opened its inaugural overseas branch in Seoul, South Korea. Whoa. So they are international. They were interna- Does Canada not count to you? No. come on. Just a month later in June 2013, it extended its reach to Kichijoji Tokyo. Wow.

I speak Scottish. I don't know. Yeah. Kichijoji! Yeah, there was none of that in the original Shrek. Was that a close... Kichijoji! Kichijoji Tokyo in Japan. For fans of bacon, they have bacon pancakes

and bacon waffles. The bacon pancakes are buttermilk pancakes filled with real bits of bacon, served with whipped butter and hot syrup, while the bacon waffle is a golden brown waffle baked with real bits of bacon, served with whipped cream and hot syrup. The bacon was exceptional.

Yeah. That was was exceptional. Yeah. I'm like. That was Footloose bacon. That was not like Hollow Man bacon. It was the good bacon. Oh, that like, my brain went through like three steps of getting that. Cause it was like, oh yeah, Footloose is just a better movie than Hollow Man. And then I was like, Oh, but bacon, cause Kevin Bacon is an actor that

was in both of those movies. You took me on a ride. That was a thinker. That joke had layers. That's right. Like onions, like ogres, six layers of Kevin Bacon. You've seen Shrek, right? I have, which was, I was very excited to have a Shrekfest today. Shrekfest today. Shrekfest today. Oh! Chad, what have you done? Oh my God, that was alarming.

You set off the secret word you sent us to the secret menu. Oh wow, okay. The secret menu, a new addition to the fine dining podcast. It is a mini game. I love a mini game. You wanna learn about this mini game? I would love to learn. That you definitely didn't prepare for in advance?

Absolutely not. I'm gonna give you a topic that has to do with today's dining experience and you're going to give me or slingshot back and forth with me as many jokes that fit that topic as possible. Okay. There is no winner between you and I. However, you in the comment section, you comment your own entry to the category

I'm about to mention and I'll read out my favorite one on a future show. And if it's you, I'll send you a fine dining t-shirt. That's fun, right? That's amazing. And the winner from the previous episode for P.F. Chang's is at Scott Bennett, six, six, seven, one, with his tasty tourist trap, Big Ben. Yay. I was trying to think of one for Big Ben and I couldn't. So kudos to you.

Go ahead and DM me on Instagram at fine dining podcast or email me fine dining podcast at Gmail dot com. And I will on Instagram at fine dining podcast or email me fine dining podcast at gmail.com and I will send you a fine dining t-shirt. Everyone else thanks for playing and this is across all platforms, tick tock, Instagram, wherever you see this game clipped, you can play and good luck with this episode secret menu game. This week's secret menu topic is breakfast cinema. That's like Rudy, tooty, fresh and fruity or the theory of everything bagel.

That's good. You ready? Yes. We're gonna put one minute on the clock. We didn't plan this at all. We didn't plan this at all. We didn't plan this at all. Write these on notepads.

I'll let you start. We're gonna get going in three, two, one, go. Bacon Air. The Little Marmalade. Ooh, I like that one. Night of the Crepes. Killers of the Flower Moons Over Miami. Ooh, that one's really good.

Omelet the Right One In. I like, and I love that movie. It's great. Shrek's Benedict. Ooh, okay. The Mask of Chorizoro. That's maybe my favorite one. Harry Potter and the Half and Half Blood Prince.

Oh my Lord. That one's so good. Thank you. To Skillet a Mockingbird. Frittata Tooie. Ooh. Okay. Holland Dazed and Confused.

True Grits. Cradle to the Gravy. Ben Yabey Driver. God, this one's, this is so stupid. Space jelly. Not jam. Jelly. I just.

The brave little toaster strudel. That's good. Okay. The sausage of innocence. That one sucks. That one sucks. Sausage of innocence. Continental breakfast at Tiffany's.

Oh, that one's good. God, that one's so good. Man, okay. So pick your favorite. Pick your favorite. Pick your favorite. Who won? Let us know in the comments and submit your own.

And if I like yours best, I'll send you a t-shirt. I can't believe I didn't think of Continental Breakfast at Tiffany's. It was right there. It was right there, dude. It was there for the taking. All right. I guess we'll go back to reading the history

now that we're done with the secret menu. They also have a dish called Three Little Pigs in a Blanket. Who do? The original pancake house? So basically they had an entry into our game. They did, oh my God. Which has three sausage links wrapped in buttermilk pancakes dusted with powdered sugar.

Sounds delicious. It really does. There's so much of that menu that we didn't get to explore. This is like a place where like you have to go to multiple times to get like a full lay of the land. You know, we had a table of four, so we were able to sample a little bit more than if you and I had just gone on our own,

but like I feel like- There's plenty options, especially in the pancake realm. We, we, we just, we tip of the iceberg did. Yep. Yeah. Many of the franchises across the country have won numerous awards. Some of these accolades include recognition from restaurant guru, the best of Las Vegas, USA Today, the food network, and many more.

And shockingly best actor at the 1998 Academy Awards. It was kind of a weird pick. Yeah, yeah. I remember when the original Pancake House came up to give its acceptance speech, I was like, wow, what a bizarre choice. Yeah, I know. The fact that they like made it all about Native Americans.

That was, I mean, pretty progressive for that time too. Not to stand state. The original Pancake house. For shame. The original pancake house has teamed up in recent years with Deneen Pottery, a company which specializes in crafting high quality customizable mugs to create a line of original pancake house mugs. Those were cool, too. I noticed it for sure.

Yeah, I got I got a hot chocolate and it was in that mug and I wanted to buy one, but I was so, this is very just mind consuming. Like I didn't have like a default relaxation, get to sit here and enjoy it at all mode. And it was just, my nose is itching. I have paint on my, like everything I touch, I feel like I'm getting paint on right now.

So you're gonna get paint on that beautiful mug, and you don't wanna do that. I don't wanna do it. You want a clean, pristine mug. They were beautiful. But it's such a drive now if I wanna go back and get one of those mugs. That's true. Is that the closest one to you? There's one that's from this apartment the exact same amount of miles in Redondo Beach. Redondo.

And I think the Anaheim one, I believe, is still there. All right. So there's a few options. There's a few options. That's a track for sure. None of them are close. That's a track. It's a bit of a track.

Can we cut the lights? Sorry. Oh, that face was incredible. For folks with dietary restrictions, the original Pancake House offers gluten-free and vegan pancakes. And they also offer a bucket to vomit in. I thought that was very giving of them.

I did too. And I, you know, I gave them a little tip. I thought that was very nice of them to offer. Put a little tip in the bucket. For anyone who ignores dietary restrictions, they have Nutella stuffed pancakes. Which, upon first reading, I thought it said Nutter butter stuffed pancakes, which actually sounded less crazy than what I still ate. Yeah.

Yours was nuts, dude. My, I had an insane concussion. You even like, I remember you saying like, 1850 calories. Oh, like that was a, and then we saw it and I was like, ah, it looks like more than that. It was, it looked huge. Dude, that was a, yeah. And then we saw it and I was like, ah, it looks like more than that. It was, it looked huge. Dude, it was a big meal. Conservatively 1800 calories.

Easily could it be split with two people, easily. Possibly three people could eat that. I think a soccer team that like did good and got to go out after the game, they would share one of these. The waitress said it's basically like a pie. Yes. Which was not a lie. It was accurate.

Yes. Yeah. Pie, isn't it? Well, we're recording this on pie day. Oh yeah, we are. Sorry. And it'll be out two and a half months from now. But disregard.

Yeah. Never mention the date. I don't want to. How dare you? Don't talk about current events. You know the future, bring it up. Let's talk about future events. I know the future bring it up future event What's gonna be going on in man? My birthday is it? Yeah

My birthday is May 18th. That was my time around then very first dogs birthday. May 18th. May 18th Oh, wow, the tourist Chad and cuddles Chad and cuddles Man that just goes together so well. Yeah You do seem like a cuddly guy. I'm not gonna ask to cuddle you, but. That's fine. That's okay. You're missing out, but that's okay.

Do it. Oh yeah, they, oh yeah, Shrek. Shrek, I cuddled with Shrek. Oh God, I forgot I looked like this for a second. You managed to distract me enough to forget this. That's pretty powerful cuddle right there. Damn, I'm good. Most locations offer seasonal pancakes such as pumpkin spice pancakes in the autumn or

cinnamon apple in the winter. The pancakes can vary in calorie counts depending on the flavor and size. On average, a stack of pancakes contains around 500 to 800 calories. That feels low balling. And also, didn't they come in six? Like it was six pancakes per order? Not from the specialty pancakes, but just from the normal pancake menu,

you get six and you can subtract $1 if you would like only three. What a value. Half the amount for a dollar less. But it makes sense because that's a shitload of pancakes, man. It's hilarious to me because most restaurants will be upcharging you, and they were trying to down sell you. They were like, look, we're going to overload you for just a buck less. We can not do that.

While many flavors may contain added sugars, OPH also offers options without them so you can add healthy toppings like fresh fruits to plain pancakes. That's a good option. I love a blueberry. Most dishes on the menu allow for substitutions so you can trade whipped cream and syrup

for berries, nuts, yogurt. You can also ask for a whole wheat or multigrain batter at a nutritional value. Damn. I didn't even see that advertised. Yeah, it might be like a secret menu thing where you just like, if you know, you know. Yeah.

I feel so weird just having just like an earnest conversation with Shrek. Well, you were telling at breakfast, he's dressed as Shrek and he's telling like a sad family story. And I was like, this is so, it's hard to take, because it was a sad story, but he's dressed as Shrek. So I'm like, I can't, you know, he's doing okay.

He's dressed as Shrek, he's doing fine. He's doing all right, he can't be that sad when he's dressed as Shrek. I mean, maybe I should get gotten. I masked to hide the pain, literally masked. I should have gotten dressed as like Puss in Boots and told my sad family story. That's all I have for the history of the original Pancake House, but I want to actually go into

the history of pancakes themselves. Go for it. Around 500 BCE, Athenian poet Cratonus penned the earliest known reference to pancakes, describing them as a flat cake, hot and shedding morning dew. They were created at BC time? Yeah. By Creightonus? Well, they were referenced in a poem

by a poet around 500 BC. I wanna see this in the next Bill and Ted movie. They go back in time, get Creightonus. Cook up some cakes, bro. Let me tell you about this. Bro, Creightonus is, and his name even sounds like something they'd say. It really does.

Creightonus, dude, whoa. Making up them cakes, bro. In the late second century, Greek physician Galen, or Gollin, provided a recipe in his work similar to today's Russian blinis, or Canadian griddle cakes, made with olive oil and enjoyed with honey. That sound good.

All of these sound good, I'm gonna be honest. Between 500 and 300 BC, millet pancakes were discovered in excavations at the Subexi cemeteries in what is now Xinjiang, China, contemporaneous with Creightness's time. I love the idea of like excavations, like it's Jurassic Park, and it's just like a George Foreman waffle maker.

We found it, and there's like like a George Foreman waffle maker. And there's like a pancake. Yeah. Like we did it with the earliest pancake of the era. Oh man. And then you've got like a smart ass kid be like, I'm not afraid of no pancake. Yeah. Like you're getting a talking to.

Slices. You have some respect for this. Yeah. For this cake. The term pancake emerged during the medieval era derived from Middle English pennecake or pun cake with a K as documented by the Oxford English Dictionary. Did you ever play like Guitar Hero and rock band? My rock band band name was always Pancocky.

Damn, so this is all coming full circle if it's involving your Guitar Hero rock band stuff. It's coming full circle intentional. Oh no but come on. I should have lied. Yeah like I thought you were just like breezing past it like he'll pick up on it. Nah I'm not that smart dude. Anything I say is funny is kind of an accident. And then you decided to make a career about that. Yeah it's kind of weird, silly of me. And then you decided to make a career about that. Yeah, it's kind of weird. Silly of me.

In the 15th century, Thomas Austin's two 15th century cookery books offered instructions on making pancakes poured into a pan over the fire. Hmm, that's just true. Cookery books. Cookery books. Whittled it down to cookbook. We made an improvement.

Yeah, save some time. In 1750, William Ellis's cookbook praised pancakes as a cheap and practical dish for farmers utilizing readily available ingredients During the Prussian siege of Paris in 1870 1871 Crepes a much thinner lighter cousin of the pancake became a staple for the lower classes when flour became scarce I call them o Ozempic cakes. That's a crepe. It's an Ozempic cake. You want Ozempic?

No. I know. People have asked me though, cause I've lost a lot of weight recently. I'm like, doz, and I'm like, no. It's just the martial arts. Just, you do martial arts, right? Well, I'm not like that.

I know that you post a lot of kicks. But I honestly, I don't like exercising. I'd rather go to the pancake house. I hate exercise. A walk, I go on a lot of walks. I do too. I like that. But that's about it. And like kicking every now and then.

Yeah, yeah. I ran the Honolulu Marathon last year. The Honolulu, see I've never done a marathon. I literally only did it because I was like, I'm 35 or I'm turning 35 at the time, and I feel my body getting older, and I was like, there's no other time I'll be able to do it.

Okay. Why the Honolulu one? Because I said it as a New Year's resolution that by the end of the year, and it was like the last marathon in the country, chronologically. Wow. So it was like December 10th.

Cool, okay. And, you know, it was very December 10th cool, okay, and You know, it was very pretty. Yeah, you're like running along a beautiful place to do a marathon It was great, but you are fighting the humidity. Okay, like kind of like crazy one and done not doing another one. I Barely ever here's like another marathon. Yeah, I don't want to do another one. Okay I'm all right. I got a medal for it and I was like, Great. Confirmed I've done one. Yeah, I'm like, I'm done.

I'm done with this. Okay. You're like, so it's not, you were not really a fan of it. No. All right. No, I hate it. Well, I definitely never do anymore. I hated it.

All right. But I loved the feeling of accomplishment. I like that review. Just as much as the original pancake. Don't do it. Don't do it. Marathon review, it sucks. Yeah. Zero't do it. Don't do it. Marathon review, it sucks. Yeah.

Zero out of 10. I'd say two and a half out of 10 just for the endorphin rush you get when you finish. And the scenery of Honolulu, I'm assuming. And that added another like two points to it. And after at the very end, they just give you a bunch of spam. They give you a malasada.

What's that? Which is like a Hawaiian native donut. That sounds delicious. I think it's Hawaiian. But yeah, it's like a filled puff pastry basically. That is like it's doughnut-y in texture. You can get like a chocolate filling. You can get a guava.

You can get like a coconut or a cinnamon. There was a few pancakes at the original pancake house that had tropical syrup. I was very intrigued by those. Yeah, there was like a coconut or a cinnamon. There was a few pancakes at the original pancake house that had tropical syrup. I was very intrigued by those. Yeah, there was like a pineapple pancake that has tropical syrup. There were a few of them that were like,

that was the, that sounded delicious. The description was tropical. Tropical syrup. Yeah. Which is just, you know, cane sugar. Bougie. Yeah, it's not a, I don't know. It's probably not as.

It's from the islands. Yeah, it's authentic. No, it's probably not at all. Yeah. Throughout history, pancakes have been associated with the working class due to their simplicity and quick preparation. They have served as a staple food for miners, lumberjacks, cowboys, and urban workers, providing filling sustenance for labor intensive activities. I think it's one of those foods that transcends the class barrier.

Yeah. Cause like every, I think everybody eats one of those foods that transcends the class barrier. Yeah. Because I think everybody eats pancakes. Sure. It doesn't seem to be one of those things that only poor people eat or only wealthy people eat. Everyone eats pancakes. But it looks different. A poor person downing a pancake is not the same as a wealthy person. Yeah, that's true. They're different experiences.

There's a different urgency to the eater eating a wealthy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true. They're different experiences. It's a different urgency to the eater eating of it. Yeah, yeah. During the late Victorian era, English citizens occasionally ate caviar pancakes as part of the savory course. Okay, that's different, for sure. It's not like poor people are not eating caviar cakes. That's not a thing at all.

Are you enjoying your salmon cake, your lobster cake? Sounds horrible. It does. Crab cakes, though. That's true. Crab cakes are fine. Oh, your lobster cake? It sounds horrible. It does. Crab cakes though. That's true. Crab cakes are fine. Oh, shit, but crab cakes. Many cultures enjoy their local variety of pancake before gatherings.

In Ethiopia and parts of Somalia, injera, I think is how it's pronounced. Yeah, I know what that is. Is served at weddings, birthday parties, and family gatherings. Have you had that? Uh-uh. It's really good.

I've never heard of it. It's really tasty. It is made using teff flour, which is ground up from a local cereal grain. Is it what, Ethiopian like bread, right? Yeah, Ethiopian and Somalian. Very kind of crepey. The texture's really interesting. I've never had bread like it before.

I think it's phenomenal. Other cultures' breads are almost always such like an epiphany when you have them. You're like, oh, we all do this so different. Yes. But the common thing is like, just bread is so good. Yeah. It doesn't, because when it was described to me,

the injera bread, I was like, that sounds gross. Cause it's like spongy and stuff. And I was like, that's going to be nasty. But I loved it. Really? It's so good. I will seek some out. Please do.

There was a, it didn't, it wasn't this, but there was an Ethiopian food place I tried last year at the LA County Fair that was, it was like samosas almost. Okay. But it was like an Ethiopian booth, like stand selling like meat filled pastries. Savory, like pie sort of things. Very tasty. Meat pies. One of the few things I had at the fair

that I would be like, it was good and didn't feel like it would kill me. Yeah. Cause at fairs are not, I'm not going there for a health kick. Like you know, you should. No, but like if you're going there to try as many different things like I was.

Yeah. Boy does it wear on you. Of course. I thought I was. Oh God. I thought the county fair was trying to kill me. Sorry, I just feel like there's mileage to be gotten out of staring down the barrel of the lens as Shrek.

I get it. Especially when you're accusing the fair of murder, attempted murder. Yeah. Getting the point across. They wanted me out of their swamp. They wanted to kill me. And also county fairs. You sounded like Bane just there. I sounded like Bane? Yeah. They wanted to kill me. They wanted to kill me. And also, the county fair.

You sounded like Bane just there. I sounded like Bane? They wanted to kill me. They wanted to kill me at the county fair. And also the county fair, you could run into a Smash Mouth band playing, which did the song for Shrek. So, it also comes- It had All-Star and Believer.

Yep. Very Smash Mouth heavy soundtrack. They bookended Shrek They did. Yeah, they closed open and closed that MF. It's beautiful. Thank you smash mouth Three contributions on core that I didn't stick around for probably. Yeah, the after credit sequences Yeah, smash mouth will be back there's three two they were right I don't think so they not they Shrek 2. They were, right? I don't think so.

Were they not? They, mm, it might have ended with the first one. Did Smash Mouth play Shrek 2 at all? Were there any Smash Mouth songs? You've seen Shrek 2 a bunch, right? I think so. Let me see. That's so sad, because they were such a big part

of the first one. Maybe, I'll check. Okay. Yeah. It's pertinent. This is pertinent info. We need to know. Whoa, they got some off. Mesh Mouth will not be back in Shrek 2.

That ain't right. That ain't right. I guess that was toward, even the first one was towards the end of their like, reign of greatness. Reign of fire. Cause like, I remember they were in like, three movies in like 1999.

And then cause Shrek, the first one is 2001. Yeah. So that's like kind of- My first kiss was during Shrek. What? Do you wanna talk about this? Do you wanna hear the story of my first kiss? This is huge.

So this is bringing back a lot of memories. Yeah. This is incredible, dude. Fully Shrek. He's been horny as hell this whole podcast. So my first kiss was a girl who definitely wore the pants in our relationship. She was my first girlfriend. I was not her first boyfriend.

Uh-oh. So, you know, an experienced woman. Oh, shit. Okay. I was 12. She was also 12. But she had like 13 year old experience. And so it's like the scene where it's nighttime and Fiona's locked herself to not be seen as like,

you know, we don't want to reveal her ogre form yet. And this girl, who I, you know, I'll keep her anonymous. Don't want to blow up her spot, you know? I think was expecting me to make a move throughout this movie. In Shrek? I don't... It was our first, like, date after being coming officially boyfriend and girlfriend. We went to see Shrek. Okay.

And we get to, like, you know, the three quarters or two thirds point in the movie. It's like end of act two. And you had never kissed anyone at this point? No, never. Wow, this is awesome. And so... I'm on the edge of my seat here. Yeah, and we're, like, holding hands, but, like, never. Wow, this is awesome. And so- I'm on the edge of my seat here.

Yeah, and we're like holding hands, but like even that was like kind of a bold move for me and she initiated. Oh man. Yeah, yeah. So for you that's like, you're on my second base right now. Oh man, dude.

She leans over, just envelops my mouth and just starts like licking back and forth. That's how you do it initially, yeah. Yeah, there was no, and I did nothing. What? So you're just like- I just went-

What, not even like opened your mouth or nothing? No. I just received it. What the hell? Look, so she just like, basically she applied chapstick to me. What the hell? And then- Wow. Cause you're like, I she applied chapstick to me. What the hell. And then, wow. Cause you're like, I'm invested in this motion picture.

Have some respect for the art form. Jesus. Good Lord. DreamWorks is really breaking out right here. We're seeing a star being made. I'm waiting for this Fiona reveal. Yeah. And you're trying to get some tongue action.

Come on. Yeah. And so a week later, she invited me over to her house. An entire week goes by. Well, we had school. We had school. Face licking. Weekends. Okay. And you know, I still had class.

I had seven out of eight classes with her. What? Yeah. You know. That's unheard of. It's like when you end up with someone out of circumstance. That's crazy. Yeah. The next weekend, she invites me over. We watch a movie and she's like,

do you want to try this again? And I was like, yeah, very much please movie and she's like, do you want to try this again? And I was like, yeah, very much, please. And she's like, are you going to do anything? I was like, yeah, yeah. And then I actually like kissed her back. There we go. And then it was just both of us going, ah. Do you remember that film?

I don't know if it was to a movie. Oh, what? I just like went over and we just sat on the couch and made out. Oh, that's, yeah. She was like, I'm not even going to try. I'm not even gonna try. I'm not gonna put a movie on

because this guy gets too emotionally invested. I'm so invested in Shrek that I'm dressing as him 23 years later. That's wild as hell. I wouldn't even call that your first kiss because you didn't do nothing back. I don't know if that's the bar. Man, no, you got assaulted basically.

Yeah. And you're like, I'm not reciprocating this. I don't know if this is okay. Yeah. Was it at a movie theater? Yeah. Wow, dude. In Indonesia, Sarabi Kuah pancakes

feature a vibrant green hue from coconut milk and pandan flavoring. Sounds good. Showcasing the unique ingredients and flavors of the region. That does not good. That's not good. In the Netherlands, Pannenkalken are,

how would you say that? What is it? Yeah, Pannenkalken. Pannenkalken are enjoyed throughout the day akin to Korea's, oh my gosh, buchimgai, while farinata, a chickpea flower flatcake, serves as an appetizer in Liguria, Italy,

known as sacca in France. Ooh. The origins of farinata are steeped in legend, while tales suggesting its accidental creation during a storm in the 13th century when jars of pureed chickpeas spilled and cooked in the sun. What a happy accident.

Providing sustenance for surviving sailors. Almost sounds like something would happen in like a cartoon. Whoopsie, whoa! And a plot point you don't buy. Yeah. You're like, hmm. That would have never happened.

It's like, no, that's a true story. That's the actual origins. They turned into a cartoon tale. Yeah. Across cultures, pancakes hold a special place, not only as a culinary delight, but also as a symbol of resilience and innovation in the face of adversity. Ah, pancakes. Praise be to pancakes.

And that'll do it for this week's Eat Deeps. All right, Chad, we've covered the history of the original pancake house. We have a review to give of this place. But before we do, I want to go to Yelp and see what other people are saying about the original pancake house in this week's Yelp from Strangers. We need a little Yelp, a little Yelp, a little Yelp from Strangers A one star, two star, three star, four bi-yay

So get a little Yelp, a little Yelp, a little Yelp from Strangers A little Yelp, a little Yelp Give us those complaints while you literally whine and die Yelp! Alright, this is Yelp from Strangers, our segment where we turn to Yelp and read out our favorite one, two, three, four, and five-star Yelp reviews of the very restaurant that we dined at.

Chad, do you mind if I get us kicked off? Absolutely. Five-star review. I'm going to start with a five-star review. Five stars. Okay. And I have a very specific reason for this because they have somehow managed to praise the restaurant

and shit on other people. Uh oh. And I ended up doing a deep dive on this Yelper. Okay. So this is from Marie V from Whittier, California, September 30th, 2015. Okay. Five stars. Dee Lish.

To see horrible service at all is laughable and couldn't be more off point. This staff is so friendly and helpful, not only to myself and family, but to each other. How did she know that? She was there a while. I was there for weeks at a time. I was a documentarian.

I was blown away by our bubbly server court. Court? They all looked like a family and they're all clearly happy to be there. So do the rest of us a favor, negative Nancies, do not go hungry, then nitpick over dumb things. Smart. Like she's mad that anyone else

has ever given a critical review. She's very upset that anyone would not like the place. You have been warned there is a wait sometimes, but that it is worth it. Not really a good reason to dock stars because they are busy and doing well, LOL. Look, you don't know what's coming. I do. There's such a chip on her shoulder that like, this is insane. It's a personal thing, for sure. If you don't want slash can't afford a $2 sign price rating plus tip,

as clearly indicated above, out of $4 signs, go to somewhere cheaper or realize you don't have enough funds this week to go out and die. Yeah, you poor piece of shit. She's like just kicking, kicking the, the under earners of our society. Remember you're paying for outstanding service and fresh made to order food.

I personally got that each time so far. And so has everyone I've spoken with. I love the German pancake and 49 flapjacks. Oh, and that bacon yum yum. Some of these Yelpers shared that they can cook better at home. Haha. Please do so we can enjoy the homey atmosphere and not your crappy outlook slash bad day broke ass attitude. Oh Lord. She's yeah, this is really personal.

She hates the poor and she hates people who have anything negative to say. Yes. LOL go through a drive-through breakfast losers. Real foodies love and appreciate Whittier's best breakfast spot. Nuff said, much love OPH Whittier. See you again next week. I love the Stan Lee, Nuff said. Nuff said.

Wow. Marie V five stars. Now you'll notice Marie V has only ever written two Yelp reviews. I see that. I clicked on her account to see what the other one was. Yeah. It was a five star review of Black Bear Diner.

Oh man, okay. And their waitress was court. Oh, what? Eight years later. This is eight years later. Eight years later, 2023, 2023. So I think there was moved from the OPH. I think this is just like an inside job from like a parent or a relative or a friend of court. Yep. Absolutely. 100%. And they got so aggro.

Maybe because maybe there was like a negative view about court and court was like, but they didn't single that person out. They weren't like courts, the best and anyone who says otherwise is a piece of shit. How did they mention? She took issue. I was blown away by our bubbly server court. So it's definitely a pro court, but she didn't go negative against people who were anti court is what I got you. I got you. Okay. But she did go real negative against a bunch of different positions.

Definitely. Okay. So anyways, I, yeah, court for sure was like, right. A good review. And if you bring me up, maybe, maybe bubbly, maybe a word and punch down a little while you do it. Also make fun of the pores. If someone can't afford this place fully, let's make them feel real bad. Absolutely. If they can't afford OPH or Blackbird Diner, then get out of Whittier. Four star review. I'm gonna do a four star review from Brandon D, who's a far more seasoned reviewer than Marie V.

Does this mean he's got 100 reviews, 157 photos uploaded, and 37 friends on Yelp? And he includes two photos. One of them is the mug, which is beautiful. Honestly, I would have bought it. I'm not gonna lie, it was a beautiful mug. And then he got a picture of a Western mug. Looks like this beautiful mug. which is beautiful. Honestly, I would have bought it. I'm not gonna lie, it was a beautiful mug. And then he got a picture of a Western mug. It looks like this beautiful mug.

It's a B, it is. And it, yeah, yes. If I could get that mug in green, I'm getting it in green to match the Shrek face. Picture of a Western-style omelet. This is a four-star review. Brandon D says, "'I've been wanting to come here for a very long time.

"'Finally decided that today was the day. Workers were really friendly, maybe court, and the menu was full of really good choices to choose from. I agree with that. Yeah. First things first. Coffee was served in a really cool coffee mug, personally speaking. I like the mugs because I feel it keeps the coffee hot

due to its shape. Very specific. I know it sounds weird, but just my opinion. Yeah, it does sound a little bit- Literally, that's my favorite part of the review, is just like, look, this mug keeps the coffee warm because of this science that I'm saying is my opinion. This ergonomic opinion. Let me have this opinion on how he traps.

Yes. Yeah. I ordered the Western omelet and buttermilk pancakes. The wife- The wife. Ordered the Swedish pancakes. That's her role. The wife. She is the wife. The wife.

Oh my gosh. The omelet was huge. I didn't realize it was four eggs, but I took it on like a champ. Good for you, Brandon. Took it on like a champ. He's reviewing himself. Like this sounds like he like,

he had to like brace himself. Yeah. Crack his neck. I ain't no wimp. Do some stretches, some pre-marathon stretches. Yeah, dude. That's his marathon as the OPH. The presentation of the omelet was beautiful.

I had to take a picture. The only problem I had, well, the problem I've been seeing in a lot of places these days is why do restaurants only give you a knife and fork? I ordered coffee. How do I stir my sugar and creamer in? That's true.

Where's the, where's the, where's the, I actually never got a spoon. They gave me a little wooden stick, but that did the trick. I'm not gonna complain. I'm not gonna do what Brandon does. Or what about iced tea? I might need to add sugar.

Come on, guys. So what I've been having to do is use the knife. Like a, what? It works. Come on. It works. I don't having to do is use the knife. Like a, what's, it works. Come on. It works, I don't know. Anyhow, the prices are good and I'd like to come back again soon. Food was delicious.

So I'm assuming the one star he knocked off was because, which is a crazy move. I wouldn't knock off an entire star because of that. And they gave me a stick. But Brandon D has faux science in his blood. He really does. Dude, he's gave me a stick. But Brandon D has foe science in his blood. He really does. Dude, he's like, if I put the stick in,

if I use a stick, it's not gonna be as hot. Just my opinion. Just my opinion, but you know. So Brandon D still loved it though. He said the food was delicious. Yeah. You can go download our full Yelp from Strangers segment at our Patreon.

The link for that is in the description of this episode or you can go to patreon.com slash fine dining podcast. And we're now offering a one week free trial. So what do you have to lose? Go check it out. People have wild opinions and we get to read. Oh, so many of them. Thanks. All right, Chad.

Well, we've covered other people's Yelp reviews. We're going to review the place next week. One week's time, you're going to hear what we thought of the original Pancake House. Thanks so much for joining and coming on the podcast. You're welcome. Do you have anything you wanna plug? Social media, just meet at Chattopits on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, all those things.

Yeah. At Chattopits, just my name. Great. Well, thanks for coming on. Thank you, this has been fun. Hang tight, sit here for one week's time, and yeah, we'll get back to it. But in the meantime,

we're just gonna be waiting on our table. Excellent, see you in a week. See you in a week. Have a fine day. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table The step is done and we had some fun Now we're waiting on our table, waiting on our table Join us next time, we're stuck in line Waiting on our table, waiting on our table We're so hungry, tummy's grumbling

Waiting on our table, waiting on our table We gotta continue our search for mediocrity Yeah Waiting on our table, waiting on our table We'll be waiting and dissipating Waiting on our table, waiting on our table We're sleeping in between, we're digging in Waiting on our table, waiting on our table We've got an appetite for just sit tight Cause we're waiting on our table, waiting on our table

Search will continue when we see you next week He he he he Brother, we'll never know Waiting on our table, waiting on our table Waiting on our table, waiting on our table Waiting on our table, waiting on our table Waiting on our table Waiting on our table, waiting on our table

Waiting on our table, waiting on our table Waiting on our table, waiting on our table Waiting on our table, waiting on our table, waiting on our table, waiting on our table, waiting on our table