Santa Monica Brunch

The Buttermilk Truck Pancake Event

June 20, 2013

Last week I was incredibly fortunate to personally get invited as a member of the press for The Buttermilk Truck’s pancake event at the Shangri-La Hotel in Santa Monica! Not only will their Red Velvet Pancakes be included in the Shangri-La’s brunch menu, but The Buttermilk Truck has also launched a dry mix of this flavor as well! On June 11th, pancake lovers, bloggers, foodies, press, and sunset enthusiasts gathered on the hotel’s rooftop to celebrate this exciting new venture. Check it out!

See this tray? There’s a good chance I was responsible for eating the missing pancakes on that platter…

Oh wait, yes! You can see in the background that it is me. What can I say, I’m obsessed with their red velvet pancakes!

The Red Velvet Pancakes from The Buttermilk Truck were truckin’ amazing – in fact, they might just be the best Red Velvet Pancakes I’ve ever eaten. These pancakes were the right amount of everything: batter, moistness, consistency, powdered sugar, and taste. Perhaps The Buttermilk Truck should serve these pancakes on actual red velvet pillows – they’re certainly worthy of the decadence!

I have to give a HUGE thanks to Shop Talk Los Angeles and The Buttermilk Truck for including me in such a fabulous event. Between the delicious pancakes, good company, beautiful views, and divine drinks, what more could a pancake blogger ask for?!

Filed Under: Press Tagged With: Beauty Frosting, best brunch in los angeles, CitySearch, creative food, creative pancakes, DIY pancakes, easy pancake recipe, Food Truck, HoopLA, LA Brunch, LA food blog, LA NEWS, Los Angeles Events, Ma'amCakes, pinterest, red velvet pancakes, Santa Monica, Santa Monica Brunch, Shangri-La, Shangri-La Hotel, Shop Talk LA, Skinny Fat Girl Diary, The Buttermilk Truck, yelp

Blue Plate in Santa Monica Tweeted Ma’amCakes this AM about their Mac & Cheese Pancakes. CRAZY! What do You Think of this Original Concoction??

July 29, 2012

Filed Under: Press Tagged With: Blue Plate, buttermilk pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes, creative pancakes, Santa Monica Brunch, Santa Monica Pancakes

Pancake Review at: JINKY’S CAFE

July 29, 2012

Feb 21st, 2012

-Hidden treasure people, hidden treasure.

After a 40-minute ride in traffic, followed by a drive through two full parking lots, I (finally) made it to Jinky’s Cafe on 2nd street and Broadway in Santa Monica, California. Fortunately for the sake of the restaurant (and the review) we didn’t have to wait in line upon entering. Based on the ambiance of the restaurant and the diversity in the menu, I had a feeling breakfast would be worth the trek. Well, not only was I right, I was very pleasantly surprised with the deliciousness of this entire meal.

The photo itself (see above) pretty much speaks for the decor of the restaurant, as well as the creativity in the menu. According to the blurb at the beginning of the menu (see below), the food is a “fusion of American, Southwestern, and international flavors.” It is this fusion which generates a delicious breakfast at Jinky’s Cafe.

When checking out the menu and attempting to choose from one of the 15 PANCAKE-OPTIONS (Jinky’s automatically gets major brownie – er, pancake – points for this alone), there were a couple of major pros I wanted to first point-out.

First of all, Jinky’s has pancake-options I have never seen before (i.e. Tropical Pancakes, Oaty Oaty Cakes, and Caramel Creme Pancakes). Between the creativity of the menu and the hippie coloring along the border, this read more like a menu of pancakes from Ben & Jerry. Uh, yes please!

Secondly, and major props to Jinky’s for this: per the menu above, the option to choose the location of your toppings (“Fruits inside the batter only on request”) is a major pro, and almost makes your breakfast customizable. This is a fantastic option, particularly if you’re a blogger, but also equally wonderful if you’re simply a pancake-lover. Now for the best part. Choosing my meal and enjoying every bite!

Besides pancakes, I was craving eggs as well – it was a long drive! – and luckily, Jinky’s caters to such cravings. I went with the 2+2+2 option of eggs, bacon, and buttermilk pancakes BUT for $2 more, you may also substitute for a specialty pancake. So, I substituted for the Banana Chocolate Chip Cakes. You should know that unless asked, ALL toppings remain on top of the pancakes. I, however, decided to put the chocolate chips inside the batter, and keep the bananas on top.

I must say, looking at this photo my mouth is watering again. From the second the plate was placed in front of me, the smell was overbearingly amazing. I was instantly tempted by this pungent scent of fresh bananas, warm chocolate chips, and homemade pancakes practically made by Aunt Jemima herself. Sure, the eggs and bacon were wonderful too; but these pancakes were just incredible.

The Banana Chocolate Chip Cakes were fluffy on top, yet soothingly crispy on the bottom. The chocolate chips appear as little dots in the pancakes, but instantly melt in your mouth within the first bite. When looking at this photo, you can see the morning glisten on the bananas atop of the cakes; as per my review from Blue Plate I explain how important this glisten is in determining the freshness of the fruit. Well, these bananas must have been collected directly from the banana tree – aka the local Saturday Farmer’s Market on 3rd Street – before being placed on my pancakes. And finally, the end of the meal was not capped with the button of my jeans flying across the room; these pancakes were not greasy at all, and they don’t cause you to faint upon completion. As I was smiling from ear to ear after the first bite, the Banana Chocolate Chip Cakes from Jinky’s are a wonderful way to say “Good Morning, Sunshine.” Jinky’s Cafe is now officially my second restaurant with a 5 star rating. It should also be noted that Jinky’s serves breakfast ALL DAY!

All in all, for a Cafe called Jinky’s, it’s anything but.

Filed Under: Jinky's Cafe, Pancake Reviews Tagged With: 3rd street brunch, best brunch in los angeles, buttermilk pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes, creative pancakes, families, family pancakes, Jinky's Cafe Santa Monica, pancakes, Santa Monica Breakfast, Santa Monica Brunch, Santa Monica Pancakes, Santa Monica Weekend

Guess Blue Plate Liked Ma’amCakes’ Review! Lovin’ the Re-Tweets

July 29, 2012

Filed Under: Press Tagged With: Blue Plate, buttermilk pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes, creative pancakes, Santa Monica, Santa Monica Brunch, Santa Monica Pancakes

Pancake Review at: BLUE PLATE

July 29, 2012

Feb 7th, 2012

Through the recommendation of a friend, on Sunday I visited a restaurant I’ve never been to called Blue Plate, located on Montana Avenue and 14th Street in Santa Monica. I’m always slightly apprehensive to try a new restaurant, particularly because we all have our go-to spots- especially for pancakes! However, it is important for me, as a pancake-reviewer, to try new places in unfamiliar territory. Well, this little spot in the heart of Santa Monica is certainly a prize!

Now, when a restaurant only offers basic pancakes (i.e. no specialty pancakes), it puts tremendous pressure on the quality of the pancakes available. After ordering the Strawberry Banana Pancakes, fortunately for Blue Plate, they succeeded in creating an incredibly tasty, yet basic, pancake breakfast.

My biggest compliment about the Strawberry Banana Pancakes is that, to my surprise, the bananas were baked into the batter, and decorated atop with fresh & juicy strawberries. The glisten alone on the strawberries is a key visual indicator of the freshness of the fruit. After seeing this breakfast option on the menu, I figured both the bananas and strawberries would rest on top of the pancakes. Kudos to Blue Plate for creating such a small, yet important, switch in the norm of pancake breakfasts.

While the pancakes themselves were fresh and tasty, the only comment I had about the pancakes was they were a bit dry. Typically, I barely put syrup on my pancakes; in fact, the true barometer of a tasty pancake is one that’s delicious enough by itself- without needing any syrup at all. Think of steak and steak sauce (see my Doughboy’s Review for reference). With my pancakes at Blue Plate, however, I found myself pouring way more syrup than usual.

All in all, the compromise of the bananas in the batter and the strawberries on top is what made this basic pancake dish special. Thank you Jillian for this great pancake-breakfast recommendation in Santa Monica!