pancake reviews

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.

Filed Under: Guest Reviewers, Michael King Tagged With: 3rd street brunch, Amy Poehler, Autumn Reeser, best brunch in los angeles, blueberry pancakes, buttermilk pancakes, Christina Applegate, CSI, CSI LA, CSI Miami, CSI NY, family pancakes, Healthy Pancakes, Kelle Deeter, Kelle King, KelleDPhotography, la breakfast, LA Brunch, LA food blog, LA Foodie, LA NEWS, LA Pancakes, LA Saturday, la sunday, Last Resort, los angeles brunch, los angeles pancakes, Ma'amCakes, Michael King, Mike King, pancake breakfast, pancake reviews, Scott Speedman, Up All Night, Will Arnett, yelp

Ma’amCakes Photo Shoot

January 7, 2013

In the spring of 2012 I was incredibly fortunate to shoot with Raul Villarreal of rAwkfoto and makeup artist Brittney Lee Winn, while wearing a vintage pinup outfit from Bettie Page Clothing. Below are some photos from the shoot in Downtown, Los Angeles. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Ma'amCakes Photo Shoot Tagged With: best brunch in los angeles, Bettie Page Clothing, Brittney Lee Winn, Celebrity Photographers, creative pancakes, cutefood, Downtown Los Angeles, Journalist, la breakfast, LA food blog, LA Foodie, LA makeup artist, LA Models, LA photographers, Ma'amCakes, Ma'amCakes Photo Shoot, Modeling, NYU Graduate, pancake reviews, pancakes, Photo Shoot, Pinup Girl, raul villarreal, rawkfoto, Twitter, Vanessa Fine, Vintage, Writer, yelp

Pancake Review at New York City Brunch Spot: GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT

September 5, 2012

Sept 5, 2012

Well, I made it back to New York City last week, and couldn’t wait to eat/review my first NYC pancakes since January (remember my Ditch Plains review?)! At the recommendation of a friend, we went to Upper West Side brunch spot Good Enough to Eat, located on 83rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue.

This cute little gem in my NYC neighborhood made me wish it existed when I was growing up – and that was before I even tried the pancakes!

I must say, I was pleasantly surprised to not only see multiple pancake-options, but to see a perfect combination of traditional and diverse pancake-options. While the waitress informed us the most popular pancakes on the menu are the Apple Pancakes, in honor of summer, I went with the Peter Paul Pancakes.

Based on the perfectly melted chocolate chips, the crispy edges, and the fluffy inside, I knew these pancakes would be Good Enough to Eat before my very first bite. When pancakes are made with more than one ingredient, it’s easy to add too much or too little of such ingredients; however, the Peter Paul Pancakes were cooked to perfection. My only recommendation for this dish would be to perhaps add a slice of pineapple on the side, instead of a lemon, to complement the coconut sprinkling. That being said, with all those chocolate chips, I needed a big glass of milk to accompany my breakfast – as I bet this is the case with most GETE patrons, perhaps the dish should be renamed Peter Paul and Dairy Pancakes!

For Ma’amCakes’ first summertime review in New York City, this restaurant was a fantastic recommendation by my friend Julie. And the best part is that Good Enough to Eat serves breakfast every day! Overall, I’d say the Peter Paul Pancakes are definitely Good Enough to Eat!

Filed Under: Good Enough to Eat, Pancake Reviews Tagged With: 83rd St Pancakes, Amsterdam Brunch, best brunch nyc, Best Pancakes NYC, buttermilk pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes, coconut pancakes, family pancakes, Good Enough to Eat, Ma'amCakes, New York Breakfast, New York City Brunch, New York City Pancakes, New York Pancakes, pancake reviews, pancakes, upper west side brunch, Weekday Brunch, yelp

IN THE MIX: Pancake Review with Special Guest, Writer & Director, James Gunn

July 30, 2012

Jul 26th, 2012

Last weekend I was incredibly fortunate to have Writer/Director James Gunn join me as a guest reviewer for Ma’amCakes!

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, followed by a brief stop in New York City to earn his MFA in creative writing from Columbia University, James moved to Los Angeles fourteen years ago to pursue writing and directing. Since his long trek across country, James has both written and directed major screenplays including Slither, and Rainn Wilson/Ellen Page comedy Super, and has written horror/sci-fi flick Dawn of the Dead, comedy Scooby Doo, and many others.

For his Ma’amCakes debut, James picked Studio City hot spot Hugo’s, located on Riverside Drive. Yes, I know what you’re thinking: I’ve already done a review at Hugo’s! Well True Ma’amCakes Followers, to switch it up a bit, I decided to get the wackiest pancakes on the menu! Can you guess which ones?

Uh, maybe a better question is… where the hell are the pancakes? “Do you know where the pancakes are on this menu,” said James, “I seriously can’t find them!” Well James, the only reason I knew where the pancakes were located is because I had the same issue five months ago. I’m so flattered Hugo’s took my suggestion of separating the pancake options from the eggs, instead of burying them on the bottom of page three.

Anyway!

If you haven’t already guessed, in honor of my obsession with summer and all-things tropical, I went with the Roasted Pineapple-Coconut Pancakes, while James went with the All-American breakfast of Buttermilk Pancakes and a glass of milk:

I figured since I was dining with such an artistic Director, I’d get the most artistic Ma’amCakes on the menu. After a few bites, I realized that the reason these pancakes were so good is because they contained the proper amount of ALL their ingredients. After using the Dewey Decimal System to find the ingredients on the menu, I re-read “topped with sliced bananas, toasted slivered almonds, and coconut.” I found it interesting that the roasted pineapple was cooked inside the pancakes, while the remaining ingredients were on top. I myself am shocked to say this, but guess what Hugo’s? I wouldn’t change a thing about the placement of these ingredients! The only suggestion I have about these Ma’amCakes is they should be fluffier – I personally would rather be more overwhelmed with pancake, than with fruit.

While James’ Buttermilk Pancakes (with a glass of milk) was very traditional, the side of raisins? Not so much. In fact, looking back now, it actually looks like there are bugs on his plate. “These pancakes are really good,” said James, “but yeah, I could do without the raisins.” Well apparently the pancakes were really good, because when I looked down fifteen minutes later, they were gone! “I can’t believe I ate the entire plate. That’s probably the most I’ve ever eaten in one sitting!” While the raisins were the only thing left behind, I do give Hugo’s props for trying to make a somewhat boring dish, interesting.

Overall, it was another successful Ma’amCakes review at Hugo’s. As far as the Roasted Pineapple-Coconut Pancakes: the fruit was fresh, the coconut did its job of bringing me back to a day on the beach, and the pancakes took me home. When asking which pancakes he’d try next time, James replied with “the pumpkin pancakes!” Good choice! In fact, I might have the same.

Thank you so much James, for being a part of Saturday morning brunch with Ma’amCakes! Be sure to check out James’ newest project, video game Lollipop Chainsaw now in stores.