Spring Eggstravaganza!
Join us this month as we celebrate the incredible EGG with our Spring Eggstravaganza! With the arrival of spring and Easter on the way, April is the perfect month to celebrate our favorite breakfast staple. Did you know that the Original Pancake House menu offers over 20 different egg dishes?
This month, visit our Facebook page to vote on our weekly Egg-off! Tell us which featured egg dish is the most eggcellent and you’ll be entered to win a $25 Original Pancake House gift card! We’ll choose one lucky winner each week during the month of April. Simply vote via the comments section on our weekly Facebook Egg-off post, and you’ll be entered to win. If you haven’t visited our Facebook page yet, click here to be our friend!
What else makes eggs so incredible? Follow us on Twitter @OPHDenver this month for fun egg trivia and OPH Egg Favorites! We’ll share fun facts and recipes each day during the month.
And of course, the best way to celebrate our Spring Eggstravaganza is to come on in to Original Pancake House and try a few of our egg favorites. Bring your whole family for the best breakfast in Denver; we look forward to seeing you soon!
Breakfast of Champions: What are Olympic athletes eating?
With the 2014 Winter Olympics underway, we were wondering, what is the true breakfast of champions? With nutrition being just as important as the innumerable hours spent training for the Olympic Games, what do Olympic athletes eat for breakfast? With a bit of research, we found some astounding facts. Did you know that many Olympians, especially those in endurance sports, require 9,000 to 12,000 calories per day?! Amazing! If we were so lucky as to have one of these athletes join us for breakfast in Denver, we might have to serve them one of each item on The Original Pancake House Denver menu!
For a day of training and competition, we found that Olympians focus on a substantial, yet healthy, breakfast. After all, this first meal provides the foundation of energy needed to go for the gold. In general, Olympians start their day with a healthy mix of carbohydrates, fruits and protein. Many will combine a large bowl of whole grain oats with fresh fruit, and milk or yogurt. In addition, you will likely see athletes enjoy eggs, a great source of lean protein, with toast or a bagel for additional energy. Some athletes are reported to eat a whopping 12 eggs for their first meal of the day! And because they continually burn so many calories between training and competition, you will often see competitors munching on bananas and enjoying a glass of chocolate milk to keep their energy high.
From The Original Pancake House Denver, we wish all the athletes on Team USA “good luck” in the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games. And for the twenty Coloradoans competing in Sochi, we would love to have you stop by for an Olympic-worthy breakfast in Denver when you return home!
Heart-friendly Breakfast Ideas
With the start of the New Year, we all strive to make healthy decisions and fresh starts. Thankfully, breakfast is one of the best ways to kick start healthy habits. If you start the day on a good note, it is much easier to continue the trend throughout the rest of your day, week, month, and year. Here are a few breakfast ideas to get your day, and New Year, off to a heart-healthy start.
Breakfast Smoothie
– Combine one cup of low fat milk or soy milk with frozen strawberries and a sliced banana. Blend in your food processor or blender until smooth and frothy. For extra protein, add a scoop of protein powder. Create variety by mixing and matching your fruits.
Incredible Egg-white Sandwich
– Assemble this delicious morning meal with a toasted whole-wheat English muffin, scrambled egg-whites and a slice of tomato. For extra protein, add smoked salmon and you have the perfect brain-boosting breakfast.
Spunky Oatmeal
– Spruce up your oatmeal with the addition of fruit and nuts. Adding tangy rhubarb, blueberries, raspberries, currents, or cranberries can add a much needed zip of flavor to this pantry staple. By adding nuts you’ll get an extra boost of protein, healthy fats, and vitamins to help keep you full and feeling great all morning.
And when you are heading out for breakfast in Denver, try The Original Pancake House Denver’s “Lighter Side” menu. We offer breakfast favorites like Old Fashioned Oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, Scrambled Egg Whites, and Homemade Granola, to name a few. With these heart-friendly options, you can enjoy a delicious, guilt-free breakfast out with your family!
Summer Favorites
Temperatures are rising, the flowers are in bloom, and flip flops abound - summer is here! At The Original Pancake House Denver we like to enjoy the season with a few breakfast items that celebrate summer from beloved vacation destinations. So though you may be dining on breakfast in Denver, your taste buds will be on a summer vacation!
COCONUT BELGIAN WAFFLE –
Dreaming of warm sand between your toes? Take a summer beach vacation with the Coconut Belgian Waffle. Our golden brown Belgian waffle is filled and topped with toasted coconut and lightly dusted with powdered sugar. Served with whipped butter and warm tropical syrup…can you hear the waves and music of the ukulele?
CONTINENTAL CREPES –
If the art and culture of a European adventure are more your style, then slip away to Paris with our Continental Crepes. Enjoy three delicate crepes rolled with sour cream, tempered with Triple Sec and lightly dusted with powdered sugar. Topped with our warm tropical syrup, you’ll be touching down at Charles de Gaulle in no time!
BLUEBERRY PANCAKES –
When it’s a “sco-cha” in Colorado, you might want to head up to Maine! This beautiful northern state is filled with cool lakes, fireflies, campfires and blueberries, yah? To show our appreciation of summer in Maine, we love to dine on Blueberry Pancakes! These classic buttermilk pancakes are filled with plump blueberries and lightly dusted with powdered sugar. Each order is served with whipped butter and warm blueberry compote syrup. It’s wicked good!
Who knew you could travel the world while eating breakfast in Denver? Pack your bags and slide on into a booth at The Original Pancake House Cherry Hills or Denver Tech Center location…your flight will be boarding soon.
Throwback Thursday: Back to Our Roots
Let’s take a little walk down memory lane today, and discover how we got started serving breakfast to Denver.
In the beginning…
Sara’s great-aunt, Erma Hueneke, and her chef partner, Les Highet, purchased the very first location in Portland, Oregon in 1953. Back then, it was known as The Pancake House.
There at The Pancake House, Erma and Les introduced their now-famous traditional recipes which remain largely the same to this day.
Then in 1958, Sara’s grandparents, Ferdinand and Genevieve Hueneke, purchased the first official franchise of The Pancake House from Ferd’s sister Erma and her partner Les. They opened up a new location down the road in Salem, Oregon.
That same year, the franchise re-branded as The Original Pancake House, a name which continues today across the country at more than 120 other franchise locations.
Ferd and Gen continued to operate their restaurant until 1970 when their son Tom Hueneke took over. Tom later opened two more locations in Oregon and continued active operations well into the 2000s.
In 1975, Tom brought his 11-year-old daughter in to help out as a coffee girl. That coffee girl worked at The Original Pancake House in many roles for more than 10 years, plus another three years as sous chef in New York before heading out west to open two Denver locations in 1996 and 2000.
Today, we know that coffee girl as Sara Hueneke Ernst – owner, operator and living legacy.
Even as the years have passed, we’ve made sure to stay true to our roots – both in our family tree and in our recipe books. We welcome you and your family to enjoy the same home-cooked dishes we’ve been serving for 60 years, because tradition is delicious. Start yours today.