If the small portions of upscale Los Angeles restaurants annoy you, a trip to the Griddle Cafe is well worth the money. The small cafe, nestled inconspicuously at Sunset and Fairfax, offers some of the largest portions in West Los Angeles and proves a must for any breakfast lover.
The Griddle’s interior is crammed with tables and red booths set against a backdrop of brick walls, which fits its casual diner atmosphere. A steady stream of blues music filters throughout the dining area, and from any spot in the restaurant diners can view cooks dishing out piled-high amounts of food at the main counter.
While the Griddle serves both breakfast and lunch, its specialties are its breakfast options. The pancakes, in particular, earn pages of space on the menu.
Prepare to take a few extra minutes ordering: The selection of pancakes and French toasts alone range from such unorthodox concoctions as “Hear Me Roar” (Frosted Flake and strawberry pancakes) to “Crème de la Crème” (graham cracker crusted French toast with cheesecake topping).
The Griddle also boasts a wide variety of omelet creations, along with lunch entrees such as burgers and sandwiches, but even in the late afternoon, the breakfast items offer the most tempting choices.
Those who come to the restaurant for the first time will probably gape when their food arrives: Just one order can supply several more leftover meals to bring home. The plates are completely hidden under colossal stacks of pancakes.
And with five pounds of flapjack goodness, it’s hard to go wrong. The item “A Time to Love” packs streusel, caramel, and butterscotch chips into its pancakes and tops the creation with whipped cream, caramel and a liberal dollop of pumpkin pie filling. The top coating of the pancake is crisp, but the inside is fluffy and light. Its rich caramel and butterscotch flavor render syrup unnecessary, and the meal provides the perfect weekend treat.
“Devil’s Daydream,” two stacks of chocolate-flavored French toast grilled and peppered with nickel-sized nuggets of gooey dark chocolate, is almost too much even for the most dedicated chocolate lover to tackle. The chocolate and heavy ladle of whipped cream on top make it a dessert rather than a meal. For this reviewer, it was like diving into chocolate cake ““ which was great at first, until I realized I couldn’t possibly eat a meal’s worth without getting nauseated. The breading was also a bit undercooked and soon grew soggy after the whipped cream began to melt into it.
“Sow Your Oats,” a honey, cinnamon and oats pancake, is a recommended entree for a visitor interested in a more traditional meal that won’t lead to cavities. Its cinnamon and honey taste is subtle, and it has a needed dose of nutritional value with the oats encrusted on top of each pancake. It is also the only entree that allows eaters to sample the rich Griddle-brand syrup, because the other meals are so sweet the syrup wouldn’t even register on a diner’s palate.
With its abundant portions and reasonable prices, the Griddle Cafe is the perfect stop for a treat; just make sure that you’re in the mood to let your sweet tooth run rampant.
““ Laura Picklesimer
E-mail Picklesimer at lpicklesimer@media.ucla.edu.