Jim and Nancy do not disclose the fact that they will review a restaurant before they attend, ensuring their reviews are unbiased and uninfluenced by their position with the Sun Day.
We haven’t reviewed a brunch venue in a while, even though there are so many typical greasy spoon diners around. These places are known for serving a typical assortment of breakfast items with varied degrees of success. We could review a typical breakfast joint, but we are sure you would fall fast asleep before you finished reading the article. In an attempt to shake things up a bit, we traveled to Crystal Lake to try Richard Walker’s Pancake House.
Richard Walker’s Pancake House
5680 Northwest Highway
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
(815)479-9000
www.richardwalkers.com
Directions: Take 47 North to Algonquin Road East to Pyott (turn left) to Northwest Highway East to restaurant.
Estimated Travel Time: 24 minutes
After parking our car I knew we were in the right place. I looked at Jim with his nose stuck up in the air like the dog in the commercials heading for the door saying, “Bacon, Bacon, Bacon.”
As you enter you wonder if you are in the right place. It doesn’t look like your run of the mill breakfast establishment. Instead it is richly decorated with wooden accents and stained glass. It is a large restaurant, but the high backed booths and the cleverly placed walls give it a “homey” feel.
Nancy had a sweet tooth today, so she chose the Baked Pecan Pancake ($11.95), which was Georgia pecans and pure imported cinnamon glaze, baked to perfection. To break up the sweetness she wanted a side order of their thick sliced bacon (3 strips) for $4.75.
Jim tried their Dutch Harvest Oven Baked Pancake ($11.95). This is topped with fresh broccoli, onion, tomato, and fungi and Havarti cheese from Denmark. To counteract all those healthy veggies, he also ordered a side of bacon. Please note that all of their baked pancake specialties take 20 minutes to prepare.
We waited patiently sucking down our caffeinated beverages and gazing into each other’s eyes, when at long last our waitress appeared with our food. Mine looked fantastic, but Nancy took one look at hers and said, “That’s not what I ordered.” Our waitress mistakenly brought the regular pecan pancakes instead of the baked specialty pancake. Now we were faced with a dilemma. Our waitress apologetically said she would go back and order the right one, however, it would take another 20 minutes to prepare. Nancy, being the kind, loving, person that she is said, “No, because my husband’s breakfast would be cold by then.” I personally think she was just hungry and didn’t want to wait another 20 minutes. She remembered they had a Turkey Club Sandwich on special that day ($8.95) and since it would be quick to prepare, she went with that. This sandwich came with a giant pickle and French fries.
After my second order was placed, the manager came over and profusely apologized for the mistake. He said he knows how disappointing it is to have a taste for something and not get it. For this reason, he told us there would be a Baked Pecan Pancake waiting for me to take home at no charge. Like the saying goes, “One Baked Pecan Pancake $11.95, keeping the customer happy, priceless”!
The Dutch Harvest Pancake was well worth the wait, it was something totally different and very delicious. They weren’t skimpy with the ingredients either.
My Turkey Club was a deal. Their bacon is out of this world and made the difference in an otherwise mundane sandwich. Jim and I enjoyed my Baked Pecan Pancake as a snack that evening with my side of bacon. Yummmm…
If you have a taste for something out of the ordinary, or even the standard breakfast items, Richard Walker’s menu suits the bill. As you can tell, everything we ordered made us “happy, happy.”
FYI: Handicap accessible. We arrived on a Saturday at noon and there was a 15 minute wait, so be advised.
Our total bill including a FREE baked pancake was $35.93.
Jim’s take: Ask for some salsa to go with the Dutch Harvest Pancake, it’s a great combination. They cooked my bacon just the way I like it, flubbery.
Nancy’s take: That Baked Pecan Pancake is very rich. They made my bacon just the way I like it, crispier than Jim’s. It’s just not right eating flubbery bacon fat! Yuck.
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