Kelle King

IN THE MIX: Pancake Review with Special Guest, Actor, Michael King

January 9, 2013

Dec 23, 2012

Last weekend I was very excited to have Mike King join me as a Guest Reviewer for Ma’amCakes!

While some of you may know Mike from CSI, Up All Night, or Last Resort, I’m fortunate enough to call Mike a friend, AND he just happens to be the husband of former Guest Reviewer, Kelle King!

When attempting to choose a restaurant for the review, our options were pretty abundant considering, (similarly to Ma’amCakes), Mike has quite a sweet tooth. After finally settling on one place, Mike then changed his mind, and arrived at the perfect location: Kings Road Cafe!

Kings Road Cafe, located on Beverly Blvd. and N. Kings Road in Los Angeles CA, is actually a restaurant in which I’ve never been! As I hadn’t eaten pancakes in almost two months (I know, right?!), I was definitely in the mood for some good ye olde fashioned buttermilk pancakes.

Well. Not to be too critical, but I will give this a D for decor (what?! That’s what it starts with!). When re-looking at the photo, you know the pancakes aren’t that memorable when you want to lick your screen upon seeing the bacon and eggs, forgetting about the two buttermilk pancakes underneath. All in all, these pancakes were…decent. They were old fashioned, plain, buttermilk pancakes – or, plancakes, if you will. I have had good buttermilk pancakes before, (what up, Black Cat Bakery!), but these are nothing to write home about. That being said: if you are looking for pancakes when you are hungover, these should be your go-to breakfast. Because they’re plain – yet filling – the buttermilk pancakes at King’s Road Cafe are the perfect meal when you need something in your stomach, but also want to keep it down!

Hey Mike, you want a side of pancakes with that butter?

Mike decided to go with the Whole Wheat Granola Pancakes with blueberries inside – a combination Kings Road Cafe allowed him to order (nice job, KRC!). “These are freakin’ delicious,” yelled Mike, “I forgot how good they are.” Mike then continued as he said, “Unlike most granola pancakes that are very heavy and weigh you down, these are actually lite. These make you feel good about what you’re eating, and the granola combined with the whole wheat gives you energy for the rest of the day.” Hey fitness gurus, you hear that?? It is possible to eat something as heavy as pancakes for breakfast, and actually still feel making your Saturday productive. “Pancakes are great, but it sucks when an hour later you want to take a nap; I can hike after eating these! That is of course, unless I slather them in honey or syrup.” Na Mike, I think you have enough butter on those bad boys.

At the end of the day, while I’d recommend my buttermilk pancakes mainly if you’re hungover, Mike is ready to trek up Runyon after his. Overall, the pancakes Mike and I ate at Kings Road Cafe were fluffily delicious; some might even say… they were fit for a King!

Thanks so much Mike, for being a part of Saturday brunch with Ma’amCakes! Be sure to check out Mike on the last three episodes of Last Resort on ABC, beginning tomorrow, January 10th.

IN THE MIX: Pancake Review with Special Guest, Photographer & Equestrian, Kelle King!

July 30, 2012

Jul 18th, 2012

Last weekend Photographer/Equestrian Kelle Deeter – whoops, I keep forgetting she just got married and became a KING! – joined me as a guest reviewer for Ma’amCakes!

Kelle, Photographer and Owner of KelleDPhotography, has made quite a name for herself around LA. Shooting anyone from professional dancers, to up-and-coming actors, Kelle knows how to capture smiles of even the furriest friends! Although talented behind the camera, it is Kelle’s zealous passion for animals (in particular, horses) which has earned her a title of 5-Time National Champion in the Arabian Horse Division!

For our Ma’amCakes review, Kelle picked Toluca Lake joint Paty’s Restaurant, located on Riverside Drive.

For some reason I was expecting there to be only a couple of pancake options, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw this excitingly diverse menu:

Note to pancake lovers: when having difficulty choosing one dish… combine ’em! “I’m going to have the Multigrain Pancakes with Blueberries,” said Kelle. After taking a few minutes to decide, I went with the Bada-Bing Cakes, but asked for the chocolate chips inside the batter, and kept the bananas atop. Although re-looking at this menu… I think I’m gonna have to go for the Butter Me Not Cakes next time, right?

Anyway!

Bada-Bing Bada-BOOM! These pancakes hit the spot Friday morning. The chocolate chips were melted perfectly into these delectable pancakes, and the bananas were amazingly fresh. I wish the batter was a little less greasy, but other than that, these pancakes were great. The whipped cream topped on the side was a bit… strange. As this blog is PG I will try and keep it that way, but; based on this image, it looks like someone visited the actual Bada Bing and got a little too excited, if ya know what I’m sayin’! I do appreciate the creativity though. Maybe the whipped cream needs to be a little more “whipped” next time, and a little less runny? Onto the Multigrain Pancakes!

“The blueberries are as fresh as your meal’s bananas,” said Kelle, “and the pancakes are delicious and on the healthy side!” It makes me laugh when guest reviewers are surprised there can be healthy pancakes (see my review with guest star Helen Slater, for example). Being in Los Angeles, (one of the biggest locations with dieting “issues”/requests), the city is our oyster – er, pancake! And yes, health(ier) pancakes are possible!

After completing her meal (well, most of it), Kelle’s words of wisdom for future Paty’s visitors included, “You definitely need to come with an appetite! I kind of wish they had an option for two pancakes, instead of three. I hate wasting food!” While we all know which Ma’amCakes I’d get on my next outing, Kelle is interested in ordering the “Banana Berry next time!”

Overall, the pancakes at Paty’s were really good. That being said, the best pancakes I’ve had in LA with the chocolate chip batter + bananas-on-top-combination was at Jinky’s Cafe in Santa Monica. However, I definitely recommend Paty’s Ma’amCakes, and look forward to my next visit!

Thanks so much Kelle, for being a part of Friday morning brunch with Ma’amCakes! Be sure to keep a lookout for Kelle’s new business venture, a photo book combining her love of horses and photography called, Tails of the Ring! In the meantime, for anyone looking for amazing headshots of themselves, their children, pets, or families, reference this Ma’amCakes review and receive 20% off your first photo session! Just email Kelle at KelleDeeter@gmail.com.