Thursday, January 12, 2012

Sanborn's

Sanborn's is a breakfast-only restaurant located on SE Milwaukie Ave., near the Aladdin Theater, in Portland, Oregon. Here, people can get their favorite breakfast items...pancakes, waffles, corned beef hash, French toast, etc.

But at Sanborn's, one of their signature items has to be the German pancake (a.k.a. a Dutch Baby pancake or a "Bismarck"). It's a sweet, almost deep-dish-like pancake, baked in a metal dish. It can be eaten plain (as in just with the usual butter or syrup condiments) or can be filled with fruit.





I was stoked to try one of the German pancakes, and the server recommended the German Apple Pancake ($8.79). A German pancake is baked, filled with sliced apples (using Braeburn this time) caramelized in sugar and a boatload of cinnamon. My pancake came fresh from the oven, piping hot.

Menu cover
Types of German pancakes on the regular menu
More German pancakes! These probably change regularly, though.
(German) Apple Pancake
(Sanborn's)
Sliced apples in the pancake!
This was basically like eating an apple pie on steroids -- both in size and flavor. I tasted some slight charred spots that formed on the edges, but that's minor. I could tell just from looking at the apples...perfectly cooked (enough structure to hold its shape, but soft when eating it). I consider myself a "cinnaholic," so anything with cinnamon is really a win here. The sugar, on the other hand, really got to me as I noshed on this mammoth pancake. The pancake was virtually flawless in execution. I felt it also gave me enough sugar for the rest of the week. Now I know how Furious Pete felt after eating just a few scoops of Nutella.

Sanborn's is a great place for breakfast. I'll try something more savory next time. Maybe a Kelly Street Special or the Eggs Benedict, I guess. 7.75/10

1 comment:

  1. Is this connected to the Sanborn's Restaurants that exist throughout the Southwest and have been in Mexico at least since the early 1900's? Were there ever any Sanborn's Restaurants in the deep south?

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