Fireside Chat with Melodie Polidori of Polidori Sausage
We love our Polidori Sausage links any time of year, but one of our favorite holiday special menu items is the Polidori Sausage holiday links! As the holiday links recently made their annual debut on our holiday special menu, we thought it might be fun to sit down with Melodie Polidori and learn a bit more about sausage!
Q: Polidori has a long history in Denver, can you tell us a bit about how Polidori Sausage began?
Polidori Sausage just celebrated its 90th year in business. It all began back in August of 1925 when my great grandmother Ana Polidori and her husband Rocco bought a grocery store in North Denver. My grandmother was the butcher at the store while my grandfather ran the grocery part of the store. When my grandmother was not busy cutting pork chops and steaks for customers she would cook up her family heirloom Italian sausage for customers to sample. The aroma of the sausage made customers curious how to get Polidori Sausage. She would sell the sausages from the butcher case. 90 years later we still make her family Italian sausage recipe the same as she did back in 1925.
Q: What are some of the Polidori Family favorite holiday traditions?
Food---Having stuffed shells with Polidori sausage at my grandparents’ house for Christmas and eating turkey with a to die for stuffing with Polidori Stuffing!! Another favorite tradition was making Pizzel’s with my grandmother!!!
Q: Can you tell us what special ingredients make your holiday links so delicious? Or is it a family secret?
It starts with the finest cuts of pork and fresh spices. Cinnamon and nutmeg are two special ingredients as well as fresh currant berries!
Q: What is your favorite breakfast meal?
A breakfast soufflé with Polidori Sausage.
Q: Other than at OPH, where can people find Polidori Sausage in Denver if they need to feed their sausage fix at home? Do you make other types of sausage in addition to breakfast links?
Polidori Sausage can be found at King Soopers, Safeway, Albertson’s, Spinelli’s Market and Max Market. We do make maple sausage links as well commonly used at breakfast restaurants.
Thanks Melodie! The next time you join us for breakfast in Denver, definitely try the special holiday sausage links! You won’t be disappointed. Have a wonderful holiday season!
What Does Brock Osweiler Eat for Breakfast?
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially if you are Brock Osweiler and you’ve just been named the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos while Peyton Manning recovers from a few mid-season injuries. So what does Denver’s second quarterback eat to start his day? We were curious and did a bit of research on the subject. 
As with most athletes, Brock Osweiler needs to eat a mix of lean proteins, carbs, and of course fruits and veggies. After a bit of research we found, with no surprise, that Brock loves eggs in the morning. Omelets, fried eggs, and eggs benedict all fit into the athlete’s morning meal. He typically adds a side of fruit and light carbs such as home fries to round out his plate. It sounds like Brock needs to come into the Original Pancake House if he’d like breakfast out in Denver! We have over twenty egg dishes to choose from and would be excited and honored to fuel one of our favorite athletes before a big game.
In addition to enjoying eggs for breakfast, Brock usually fuels up with a healthy meal a few hours before each game. From your friends at the Original Pancake House, good luck this weekend in Chicago, Brock! And don’t forget to eat a big breakfast before you take on the Bears!
Pumpkins and Spice and Everything Nice
Halloween is here and Thanksgiving is just around the corner! At The Original Pancake House we’ve been eating Sara’s Pumpkin Pancakes almost every morning, they are so good and we just can’t get enough pumpkin! If you are like us and have pumpkin on the brain, you’ll love these ideas to incorporate this favorite fall ingredient (plus the cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg!) into as many meals as possible. Read on for some pumpkin-filled food ideas!
Pumpkin Chili Bowls:
Scoop out a mini pumpkin as use it as a “bowl” for your favorite chili recipe. You can even add a bit of pumpkin to the chili itself to add that special sweet flavor of fall!
Pumpkin Casserole Bake:
Choose miniature pumpkins like 'Small Sugar', 'Little Boo', or 'Jack Be Little' to act as individual casserole dishes in which to bake your favorite casserole recipe. One of our favorites is a mix of fresh pumpkin, Israeli couscous, sausage, apples, onion, and cranberries.
Spiced Pumpkin Waffles or Pancakes:
Simply add ½ cup of pumpkin puree to the wet ingredients in your favorite waffle or pancake recipe to make a wonderful pumpkin breakfast at home. We like to add a bit of cinnamon and ginger to the dry ingredients as well to really bring out the pumpkin flavor!
And don’t forget, we’ll be open on Halloween, so bring your family over for a sweet breakfast out in Denver this Saturday! We’ll be there to say BOO!
Spooktacular Healthy Breakfast Treats!
It’s the time of year when ghosts and goblins pop up everywhere, pumpkins abound, and everyone is excited for Halloween! To get in the mood, we like to make all sorts of fun Halloween breakfasts treats at home. Here are a few healthy ideas to add a little BOO to your breakfast!
Candy Corn Fruit Parfaits
- 1 can (11 ounce) mandarin oranges
- 1 can (20 ounce) pineapple chunks
- 2 6-ounce containers of low-fat vanilla yogurt
- candy corn pieces - for garnish
This is a fun and festive breakfast idea for the fall season - especially around Halloween. It’s ultra-fast to prepare and a healthy way to start the day. Fresh fruit could definitely be used in place of the canned fruit. Depending on the size of your glasses, this recipe makes 2 to 4 parfaits. Layer 1/3 of each glass with pineapple pieces, followed by an equal layer of mandarin oranges. Top each serving with a generous dollop of vanilla yogurt and a decorative piece of candy corn.
Terrifying Toast:
Trim a slice of toast to resemble a hand, foot or finger and then dollop strawberry or raspberry jam so it looks severed and bleeding. You can do the same thing with waffles and pancakes. For a quick, edible ghost, rip a small hole in a piece of toast to act as a mouth and then use chocolate chips or berries to make eyes.
Apple Monster Mouth!
These apple treats make a great Halloween-themed breakfast or snack – and they are healthy! To prepare, cut 
an apple into quarters and then take a slice out of each quarter. Next, poke in almond slivers for the teeth. Alternatively you can spread peanut butter in the inside of the “mouth” and use marshmallows as the teeth.
Every year at The Original Pancake House we like to dress up for the holiday, so if you join us for breakfast in Denver on the 31st, don’t forget to wear your costume! Have a safe and happy Halloween, Denver!
FALLing In Love With Apples
When golden fall leaves start to pop against bright blue skies, we know fall has arrived in Colorado. And when we think of fall at The Original Pancake House, we think of apples! Apples signify the beginning of harvest season and bring a delightful range of flavors to any fall meal. Our favorite fall breakfast in Denver is our Apple Pancake with oven baked fresh Granny Smith apples and pure Sinkiang cinnamon glaze. Read on to learn how to bring the flavors of fall to your breakfast table with this recipe for Apple Pancakes.
Apple Pancakes
2 eggs, well beaten
1 ½ cups of milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup sugar
3 medium apples, peeled and coarsely grated
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Vegetable oil, for frying
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting
- Mix the eggs with the milk in a large bowl.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and sugar together.
- Combine the wet and the dry ingredients and stir in the apples and whatever other flavorings you see fit.
- Heat a thin layer of oil in a skillet over low to medium heat. Drop large spoonful of batter into the pan and cook until golden brown underneath. Flip the pancakes and cook them for an additional two or three minutes.
- Either dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately, or keep on a tray in a warmed oven until you are ready to serve them.
From our kitchen to yours, we hope you enjoy this season of sweater weather! Bon Appetit!
Pardon Our Dust
Dear OPH Customers,
Our Cherry Hills location at University Boulevard and Orchard Road will temporarily close Monday, September 14 for our landlord to complete necessary repairs. We apologize for the inconvenience! We expect to reopen Saturday, October 3. In the meantime, please visit our Denver Tech Center location where the griddle is on and the pancakes are hot! You can find us in the Denver Tech Center at 8000 E. Belleview Ave., Greenwood Village, CO 80111.
Check our Facebook page @OPHDenver or our website OPHDenver.com for updates on our Cherry Hills location. Please visit us in the Tech Center to fulfill your breakfast cravings during our brief construction project at Cherry Hills. We hope to see you soon!
Cherry Hills will remain open through Sunday, September 13. This closure does not affect the DTC location on Belleview Avenue in the Tech Center, only Cherry Hills will be closed temporarily.
Make it at home: Bacon Pancakes!
Bacon and pancakes are two of the most popular items people order when they go out to breakfast in Denver. 
What could be more delectable than a stack of warm pancakes and a side of bacon? The answer: Bacon Pancakes! We receive many requests for our Bacon Pancake recipe at The Original Pancake House. Read on to learn how to make this decadent breakfast treat at home.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- 8 slices bacon
- Pure maple syrup, (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, melted butter, and egg. Whisk flour mixture into buttermilk mixture just until moistened, with small to medium lumps remaining.
- In a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet or on a griddle, cook bacon over medium-high until fat is rendered and bacon is browned on one side, 5 to 6 minutes. Flip and cook until golden and crisp on underside, 1 to 3 minutes. Drain bacon on paper towels; pour off all but 1 teaspoon fat from skillet (reserve for another use). Finely chop bacon into small bits and mix into existing batter.
- Heat skillet over medium. Pour 1/4-cupfuls batter into skillet. Cook until some bubbles appear on top of pancakes and a few have burst, about 2 minutes. With a spatula, carefully flip pancakes and cook until browned on underside, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a platter and loosely tent with foil. Keep pancakes warm in oven and repeat with remaining batter, adding more bacon fat if needed. Serve with pure maple syrup if desired.
From our kitchen to yours, bon appetit!
We’re nutty about Pecans!
At The Original Pancake House we go nuts for pecans! We love them in our Banana Praline Crepes, we enjoy the crunch they add to our Pecan Belgian Waffle, we can’t get enough of their toasty goodness in our Georgia Pecan Pancakes, and they certainly add a special something to our Banana Praline French Toast. YUM! To celebrate this special nut, we’ve collected a few fun facts about pecans.
Did you know?
- The name “pecan” is a Native American word that was used to describe nuts requiring a stone to crack. There are over 1,000 varieties of pecans. Many are named for Native American Indian tribes, including Cheyenne, Mohawk, Sioux, Choctaw and Shawnee.
- The pecan capital of the world is Albany, Georgia, which boasts more than 600,000 pecan trees.
- Pecan trees are native to North America and over 80% of the world’s pecan crop comes from the United States. Some of the larger pecan shellers process 150,000 pounds of pecans each day. That’s enough to make 300,000 pecan pies!
- Pecan trees only produce nuts every two years. Pecans come in a variety of sizes – mammoth, extra-large, large, medium, small and midget.
- The pecan pie was created by French people who had settled in New Orleans.
- The pecan is heart healthy and contains antioxidants, 19 vitamins and minerals and healthy fat. Pecans are also high in zinc and provide 10% of daily recommended value per serving.
- In 1995, Georgia pecan wood was selected by the Atlanta Committee to make the handles of the torches for the 1996 Olympic Games. The torches were carried in the 15,000-mile U.S.A. relay and in the lighting of the Olympic flame in Atlanta on July 19, 1996.
- About 78 pecans are used in the average pecan pie.
- Pecan trees can live to be over 200 years old. The largest and oldest trees can have a trunk that is three feet in diameter and can be over 150 feet tall.
- One ounce of pecans provides 10% of the recommended daily fiber intake.
All of these fun facts are making us hungry; time to get cracking on our next batch of Georgia Pecan Pancakes. Next time you are out for breakfast in Denver, come join us and try one of our delicious pecan breakfast dishes!
DIY: Homemade Granola
In the heat of summer, one of our favorite breakfast items is our homemade granola with milk or our Fiesta Bowl which includes granola with fresh fruit and yogurt. Granola makes a nice light breakfast when you are short on time or looking for a healthy start to the day. Here is one of our favorite homemade granola recipes. It is a great item to have on hand in the pantry when you don’t have time to join us at The Original Pancake House for breakfast out in Denver!
Homemade Granola
Ingredients
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
2 cups sliced almonds
¾ cup vegetable oil
½ cup good honey
1 ½ cups small diced dried apricots
1 cup small diced dried figs
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup roasted, unsalted cashews
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Toss the oats, coconut, and almonds together in a large bowl. Whisk together the oil and honey in a small bowl. Pour the liquids over the oat mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until all the oats and nuts are coated. Pour onto a large cookie sheet pan. Bake, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until the mixture turns a nice, even, golden brown, about 45 minutes.
Remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool, stirring occasionally. Add the apricots, figs, cherries, cranberries, and cashews. Store the cooled granola in an airtight container.
We like to get the kids involved when we make this recipe; everyone enjoys stirring the granola and licking sweet and sticky oats off their fingers! From all your friends at The Original Pancake House, have a wonderful summer!
Top 5 Reasons to Take Your Family Out to Breakfast
Aside from being the most important meal of the day, breakfast with the family has many other important benefits for you and the kids. Here are our top five reasons to take your family out to breakfast in Denver.
- Time to talk.
Family meals give children and their parents time to focus on one another, talk about their days, and bond as a family. Further, studies show that family meals give children an opportunity to have conversations with adults, as well as to pick up on how adults are using words with each other, which may explain why family meals can help build a child's vocabulary.
- Expose kids to new foods.
Eating out together can be the perfect time to introduce new foods and expand your kids’ palates. After all, who can resist a delightfully fluffy omelet filled with garden veggies or a golden waffle topped with fresh berries? You might be surprised to find fruits and vegetables go right down the hatch when presented in a new way.
- Someone else does the work.
There are so many rewards of going out to breakfast! No last minute trips to the grocery store, no scrambling to get a healthy and filling meal prepared for starving tots, and no dishes! Let us do the hard work while you enjoy time with your family.
- Reduce stress.
Sharing a meal can help reduce stress by giving you a few moments to slow down and enjoy the coffee. When your hardest choice is between crepes and pancakes, you can really relax and enjoy a few moments of downtime.
- Treat yourself!
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and The Original Pancake House has a plethora of scrumptious choices to delight your taste buds. We guarantee a hearty plate of Bacon and Eggs or a Dutch Baby will brighten your day so don’t be afraid to treat yourself!
We hope you have the opportunity to enjoy a special breakfast meal with your family in the near future. We will be happy to host and let you sit back, relax, and enjoy bonding with your kids. Stop in and see us at The Original Pancake House sometime soon!
Peanuts & Cracker Jacks: Funny Food Superstitions of Major League Baseball
Baseball season is in full swing across the country! We love to take our family to Coors Field each summer t
o cheer on our Colorado Rockies and check out the fun and crowds in downtown Denver. On a recent trip to the ball park, we got to talking about Major League Baseball players and their superstitions. Many players have a special song that they play before each at-bat, or a routine that they follow before each game. One of our favorite (now retired) Rockies players, Todd Helton, used to start a game with a full beard. If he didn’t get a hit by the fifth inning, he would shave his beard to a goatee. If he still didn’t have a hit by the seventh inning, he would shave his beard entirely!
We also learned that some players have a special food or meal that they must eat before every game. Hall of Fame third baseman Wade Boggs used to eat chicken before every game. Retired Chicago Cubs pitcher Lee Smith used to sleep through the first four innings of every game and have his teammates wake him up before the fifth inning with a cheeseburger. Drew Storen, relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals, had a grilled cheese sandwich and glass of milk every day during the 2011 season.
Our favorite superstitious player is C.J. Wilson who plays for the Los Angeles Angels. On the days that he is scheduled to pitch, Wilson eats a very specific breakfast. His game day menu includes a vegetable omelet with an English muffin. However, he is allergic to butter, so his English muffin has to be served without! Next time C.J. is in town, we hope he joins us for breakfast in Denver. We would be happy to serve him a lucky veggie omelet and English muffin without butter.
To all the superstitious Major League, Minor League, and Little Leaguers, we wish you luck this baseball season. We are happy to serve you a lucky breakfast before any game, just swing on in to The Original Pancake House!
Fit For a Celebrity - What Do Famous Dads Eat For Breakfast?
On Father’s Day we have the opportunity to celebrate some of the most important men in our lives –Dads! Though the fathers in our family often have celebrity status, we thought it would be fun to look at a few other famous dads and see what they eat for breakfast. Read on to see what we found out:
Brad Pitt:
This super-star celebrity is a father to Maddox, Zahara, Shiloh, Pax, Knox and Vivienne, what a crew! Brad Pitt is known for his abs and spends a lot of time in the gym. Reportedly, Pitt eats a very healthy diet full of lean proteins and whole grains. One of his favorite breakfasts is six eggs and oatmeal porridge with raisins.
David Beckham:
A famous soccer player, model, and husband to fashionista Victoria Beckham, David Beckham has his kids' names - Brooklyn, Romeo, and Cruz -tattooed on his back. David Beckham also works hard to stay in shape and eats a very healthy diet. His favorite breakfast item is a tomato and cheese omelet. Yum!
Will Smith:
Will Smith is father to Jaden, Willow, and Trey, and keeps the family entertained with his jokes and musical stylings. Will Smith is another celebrity dad who has to eat a healthy diet to keep up his physique, but he and the kids like to eat chocolate for breakfast when wife Jada Pinkett Smith is out of town.
Will Ferrell:
You can bet his sons Magnus, Mattias, and Axel never stop laughing with father Will Ferrell around. And though Will’s famous character “Buddy the Elf,” from the movie Elf, enjoys spaghetti, sugared maple syrup, sprinkles, mini-marshmallows, Hershey's chocolate syrup, M&M's, and Frosted Chocolate Fudge Pop-Tarts for breakfast, in real life Will and the kids enjoy eggs and pancakes like the rest of us.
We think each of these celebrity dads could find something to fill their bellies at The Original Pancake House; hopefully they will stop by if they are ever out for breakfast in Denver. And if you need to treat your own dad to a breakfast out, we will be happy to serve him a meal fit for a king. From The Original Pancake House family, we would like to wish all the dads out there a very Happy Father’s Day!