What is a Pannenkoeken?

This morning Jim and I had the good fortune to find the only Dutch Pancake Haus in all of Calgary.  This place has possibly the best pancakes I have ever eaten.  No....it definitely has the best pancakes I have ever eaten. They are more crepe than pancake, no fluffy pancakes here.  Let me start with a little "Pannenkoek" lesson. Pannenkoek, the Dutch word for pancake, is a delicious crepe with a variety of toppings cooked right into the batter.  In the Netherlands they are eaten primarily for lunch or dinner. They are 12" in diameter and sort of look like a thin crust pizza. 

The menu boasts several categories of pannenkoeken such as Classic Savoury Pannenkoeken, Speciality Savoury Pannenkoeken, Classic Sweet and Savoury Pannenkoeken, and Classic Sweet Pannenkoeken.  There serve over 40 varieties of pannenkoeken! And if you can't find what you want on the menu, well just make up any old combination and they'll serve it up!  I'll give you an example some of the combinations:  "Spek, gerookte worst en ei" (Bacon, smoked sausage and egg), "Spec, prei en champignong" (Bacon, leek, mushroom), "Spec appel en rozijnen" (Bacon, apple and raisin), "Citroen sap en bruine suiker" (Lemon juice and brown sugar) this one sounds delish!  

We saw several tables order their pannenkoeken, eat their pannenkoeken, and then order dessert pannenkoeken.  The most popular dessert seemed to be the Zwarte Woud (Black Forrest).  This little diabetes-coma-inducer has warm cherries, ice cream, whipped cream, Kirschwasser in a chocolate cup(looked like a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup) and chocolate sauce.

I'm pretty sure you want to know what Jim and I ordered so I'll tell ya.  Jim had Bacon, cheese, egg, Saskatoon berries (sort of like warm blueberries) pannenkoeken, over which he poured molasses syrup.  Yup, you heard me right the first time. And I had to sit across the table and watch him eat it.  I had potato, onion and sausage pannenkoeken.  Yummmmmmy!  Even the coffee was wonderful.  It came served with a little Dutch cookie. Enjoy the pics!

Guess how many times I used the word pannenkoek or pannenkoeken? (16)

Can you spell Pannenkoek?

The famous Zwarte Woud (Black Forest) right on the front of the menu

Looks like a pizza, but it's really a pannenkoeken!