Pancake Parlour's Red Dawn. A breakfast review

poetix said :

By the way, excuse my ignorance, but what is that drink photographed in nearly every RA review these days?

And are you making lots of dosh through charging for product placement?

or endorsing Mark Webber? who endorsed Canberra Milk.

poetix said :

By the way, excuse my ignorance, but what is that drink photographed in nearly every RA review these days?

A new type of koko-koala? (Like root bear, but caffeine enhanced.)
Or some energy drink that keeps one almost hip? (Barcham’s flower essences and herbal elixir.)

And are you making lots of dosh through charging for product placement?

How you can eat these things for breakfast and lunch and not put on about five kilos a week is a mystery.

Perhaps they ride their bikes to each venue the long way…

MsCheeky said :

I’m with Mothy on this one. We used to think it was the height of sophistication to go to the Pancake Parlour in Adelaide when we were teenagers. Loved the stack with maple syrup and creamed butter. But I also don’t wish to contribute to the coffers of the CoS, so

I loved going there in Adelaide as a kid, also something about about that lane-way.
Mixed them up with Sanitarium, so damn, maybe no more blueberry or ITs for me 🙁
Never the encountered the sticky tables, possible a timing thing ?

DrKoresh said :

tonkatuff82 said :

So do you boycott places like the Southern Cross Club because they are owned by a homophobic, There are certain sects though, like HillSong, which I personally think is just as bad as Scientology, not for their beliefs but for their insular methods of indoctrination.

So I’m guessing you don’t buy coffee from Gloria Jeans then? (Not that I would call what they serve “Coffee” though)

Reading the posts here has been very interesting as I, like others here, recall PP as being a place of wonder and laughing family dinners with maple syrup running off my chin and stacks of pancakes that Superman couldn’t hurdle. Alas the modern day version is a sad rendition of the days of old.

Also, I don’t understand the sticky tables either but definitely have experienced them all to often?

By the way, excuse my ignorance, but what is that drink photographed in nearly every RA review these days?

A new type of koko-koala? (Like root bear, but caffeine enhanced.)
Or some energy drink that keeps one almost hip? (Barcham’s flower essences and herbal elixir.)

And are you making lots of dosh through charging for product placement?

How you can eat these things for breakfast and lunch and not put on about five kilos a week is a mystery.

I went there last week with my daughter and found the coffee and pancakes and fudge absolutely delicious. I also enjoyed my trip back to the 70s with the decor. Not every cafe needs to be hipster bait.

tonkatuff82 said :

Well… maybe the JW because they try to wake me up in the morning…

You’d think they would just let themselves out quietly and catch a taxi home.

Last time (and I mean the last time I went there it was filthy. The tables were covered in what I assume was synthetic maple syrup. Disgusting.

poetix said :

Mothy said :

… a root bear….

Root bears are addictive. Can lead to bi-polar disorders.

Careful, or you’ll be grizzling away in the corner.

Drop it will you, this is unbearable.

I’m with Mothy on this one. We used to think it was the height of sophistication to go to the Pancake Parlour in Adelaide when we were teenagers. Loved the stack with maple syrup and creamed butter. But I also don’t wish to contribute to the coffers of the CoS, so don’t go along. Also, I’ve learned how to make great buttermilk pancakes myself, and those babies with a little swipe of butter, a rasher of bacon and maple syrup keep me happy at breakfast time.

Pork Hunt said :

poetix said :

Mothy said :

… a root bear….

Root bears are addictive. Can lead to bi-polar disorders.

Careful, or you’ll be grizzling away in the corner.

I’m scared…

You two are unbearable!

poetix said :

Mothy said :

… a root bear….

Root bears are addictive. Can lead to bi-polar disorders.

Careful, or you’ll be grizzling away in the corner.

I’m scared…

Mothy said :

… a root bear….

Root bears are addictive. Can lead to bi-polar disorders.

Careful, or you’ll be grizzling away in the corner.

tonkatuff82 said :

So do you boycott places like the Southern Cross Club because they are owned by a homophobic, misogynist multinational that believes in and promotes a soul-saving space ghost?

I’m not having a go at you because you don’t want to give the CoS any money. I applaud that. I’m just wondering if you also avoid all other religiously funded enterprises?

As far as I see it, a pancake is a f****** pancake. I also don’t care if I buy petrol from a Hindu, or alcohol from a Jehovah’s Witness. Well… maybe the JW because they try to wake me up in the morning…

It’s mainly because I perceive the CoS as an actively malevolent institution, which doesn’t apply to most mainstream religions. There are certain sects though, like HillSong, which I personally think is just as bad as Scientology, not for their beliefs but for their insular methods of indoctrination.

neanderthalsis said :

Is that large yellowish globule on top of the pancake a ball of butter? You could choke a dozen donkeys on that.

It’s creamed butter, so not the same volume as solid butter.

Is that large yellowish globule on top of the pancake a ball of butter? You could choke a dozen donkeys on that.

DrKoresh said :

Look, I can respect a lot of what I consider to be somewhat nutty beliefs but Scientology is not one of them. The idea that there is a type of mind that can be swayed into believing the tenets of Scientology fills me with pity and sorrow. These are exactly the kind of people who need the psychological help that the CoS inaccurately (and in my opinion, deliberately dishonestly) claims is an invention of some nebulous society of malevolent doctors.

So do you boycott places like the Southern Cross Club because they are owned by a homophobic, misogynist multinational that believes in and promotes a soul-saving space ghost?

I’m not having a go at you because you don’t want to give the CoS any money. I applaud that. I’m just wondering if you also avoid all other religiously funded enterprises?

As far as I see it, a pancake is a f****** pancake. I also don’t care if I buy petrol from a Hindu, or alcohol from a Jehovah’s Witness. Well… maybe the JW because they try to wake me up in the morning…

I can still remember trips to the Pancake Parlors around Melbourne regularly as a child – the place was a goddamn wonder, principally for items like “the it”, a root bear (a drink that tasted EXACTLY how Deep Heat smelled) and the hot ball – I mean, come on, your own little jug of fudge? Bring that on.

There was one in a laneway somewhere between Bourke and Collins Street. It seemed huge and cavernous to me then. When I was older there was the one above the Cinema in Chadstone, a great way to wait out the time before a movie started. And then when older still, the 24 hour (or something similar) one out at Doncaster which worked well when I was doing shift work.

All of them are memories that are horribly besmirched the moment I walk down the perilous staircase into the den that is the Canberra Pancake Parlor. Make no mistake, I’ve been disappointed by them, but still gone back, in the hope of finding similar enjoyment to what I remember from my youth. But each time is the same. The machine at the top of the stairs is no longer an item of wonder, but instead an indication of the sad mimickery that lies within.

The pancakes are still there. The same menu is still there. The root beer is missing but I can source that elsewhere now when I want a fix. But something is MISSING. The interior feels dark, and dated, and not in a “harking back to a bygone era” kind of dated – I know that is what that kitsch is trying for – but more a “we haven’t had a marketing department or hired someone to apply a fresh coat of paint in 20 years” kind of dated.

The food dished out by the Canberra store follows the formula. But somehow it does so poorly. Somehow, it comes off as second rate. Flat not fresh. Yes, the cheese and potato pancake is what it sounds like – a magnificent plate of heart stopping stodge. But buy one of the crepes and you feel like you have tested the kitchen, and they have been found wanting.

If anyone can point me to somewhere to have pancakes and something the equivalent of a Swiss Mountain Malt, please do. Because then I can be done with this place.

In short, this old grey mare just ain’t what she used to be.

And until i noticed your “Hail Xenu” closer, I’d never known they were associated with Scientology. I learned something today.

If only I lived in Port Macqaurie. But that seems a bit far to travel really.

DrKoresh said :

Look, I can respect a lot of what I consider to be somewhat nutty beliefs but Scientology is not one of them. The idea that there is a type of mind that can be swayed into believing the tenets of Scientology fills me with pity and sorrow. These are exactly the kind of people who need the psychological help that the CoS inaccurately (and in my opinion, deliberately dishonestly) claims is an invention of some nebulous society of malevolent doctors.

So people weren’t brought to this planet by Aliens and thrown into volcanos before climbing out and establishing colonies?
I’m with you 100%.

Oh I know they’re not running as a front for a brainwashing facility JB, the idea of putting money into the pockets of the CoS, even indirectly, just gives me the heebie-jeebies.

As such, I can’t bring myself to go there. Obviously I’d have to go against my principles if She Who Must Be Obeyed decided she wanted to go there for ice-cream. Thank Glob for the recent introduction of Ben & Jerry’s into the Territory, is all I can say.

DrKoresh said :

Look, I can respect a lot of what I consider to be somewhat nutty beliefs but Scientology is not one of them. The idea that there is a type of mind that can be swayed into believing the tenets of Scientology fills me with pity and sorrow. These are exactly the kind of people who need the psychological help that the CoS inaccurately (and in my opinion, deliberately dishonestly) claims is an invention of some nebulous society of malevolent doctors.

I went in I got shown a table, the staff brought me what I wanted when I wanted, I paid and left (they gave me a peppermint candy).

My morning there had no religious overtones or implications.

Look, I can respect a lot of what I consider to be somewhat nutty beliefs but Scientology is not one of them. The idea that there is a type of mind that can be swayed into believing the tenets of Scientology fills me with pity and sorrow. These are exactly the kind of people who need the psychological help that the CoS inaccurately (and in my opinion, deliberately dishonestly) claims is an invention of some nebulous society of malevolent doctors.

I can’t get past the sticky tables… I don’t know how they do it, but every table, every time.

and might just be re-emerging into the warm sunlit uplands of cool

Based on my last experience PP is continuing on a steady decline into the shadowed valley of mediocrity. Although I suppose in hindsight their tired and lackluster advertising does accurately reflect service and product, so there is probably no excuse for disappointment.