If you've ever visited Nashville, TN, the iconic Pancake Pantry on 21st Ave. was likely the first and last stop on your breakfast circuit. If you live there, you likely call it the most delicious tourist trap to ever grace the streets of Hillsboro Village. For all you former Nashvillians out there, you likely miss those pancake-serving little old ladies just as much as I do.
What is it?! What possesses hundreds of people to stand in a 45-minute line for PANCAKES on any given Saturday morning/afternoon, no matter the season? I'll be honest, I've done it. I once stood outside those deceptively plain bricks for 30 minutes in the rain on a 45ºF Sunday morning for those pancakes, and I would probably not do it again, but it was definitely worth it at the time! Is it the old(er) ladies who serve them? I would like to at this juncture point out that they are not "little" old ladies – those glorious pancake biddies come in all shapes and sizes, and boy are they great at what they do!
But back to the point – is it the ridiculously wide selection? Or maybe it's just that those pancakes are damn tasty. Somehow, in the six years I lived in Nashville and the dozens of times I visited the restaurant, I only varied from the Buttermilk pancakes once. I choose to believe that says more about the Pantry's magnificent original recipe than it says about my repetitive life decisions.
I'm on a quest, ladies and gentlemen! My mission, which I have chosen to accept, is to dine in every pancake restaurant within the Atlanta I-285 Perimeter until I find, or go broke trying to find, the next best thing to Nashville's (and Gatlinburg's) Pancake Pantry right here in Atlanta.
Wish me luck everyone, and please OFFER SUGGESTIONS for the next place to try! This isn't just for me. Well, it is. But there's no harm in the rest of Atlanta benefiting as well. After all, it's for the pancakes.
What's YOUR go-to place for local pancakes? (That's right, local. If you put an IHOP or McDonald's, so help me.)
