Published: January 12, 2006 02:06 pm            

You’ll flip Over Flap-Jack’s

I love to go out for breakfast. I don’t remember doing it much as a kid, but in college it became a semi-regular occurrence — mostly with they guys and often after being up all night. That was a long time ago.

After getting married, my wife began a weekend ritual of rolling out of bed on the weekend, putting on baseball caps to hide our bed heads, grabbing the weekend paper and heading to a favorite breakfast haunt for bottomless cups of coffee and all the comfort foods of breakfast.

Back when our oldest son was an only child, frequent Saturday breakfasts out were dad and son activities giving mom a chance to get 40 extra winks. Now that our youngest is eating table food, we’ve started making this a threesome.

For the last few weeks, Flap-Jack’s has been teasing us with their “Open Soon” sign. Its location on Mt. Zion Road is on one of our daily routes. Each day when we passed by, our son Henry would note, “It’s not open yet?” As we drove by last week, I almost lost control of the vehicle when from the back he screeched, “Look Daddy, its open! When can we go, when can we go?!” As it turned out the four of us rolled out of bed last Saturday morning, put on ball caps to hide our bed heads, and we made our way to Flap-Jacks.

Flap-Jack’s occupies a building that once housed a Burger King but there is no sign of its former fast-food existence. The feel of the place is bright and welcoming. Diners can choose a table, booth, or a seat at the counter. The hostess who greeted us asked our preference and then showed us to a table. Within seconds she returned with a requested highchair for the baby.

The menu at Flap-Jacks is quite extensive. They offer 11 varieties of pancakes, several crepes, Belgium waffles, three-egg omelets, and eight different “skillets” which are kind of an all-in-one breakfast entrée. Several other breakfast items are offered, including health-conscious alternatives like oatmeal. For the hardiest of morning appetites they feature breakfast platters that include corned beef hash, pork chops, or steak.

When it came time to order, I decided on a Mexican omelet ($5.95) with chorizo sausage, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, jalapeños and cheddar cheese. My omelet came with hash browns or grits and toast or pancakes. My wife knew she wanted pancakes but had a hard time deciding which kind to order. She considered the Hawaiian pancakes made with coconut and pineapple, she settled on the basic buttermilk variety ($4.95). Henry had three kids-menu choices from which to choose. He decided on the pancakes with bacon ($3.50).

It was fewer than 10 minutes before our breakfast arrived. Everything came hot and prepared as ordered. My omelet was terrific. The Mexican spices of the chorizo and the heat of the jalapenos was tempered by the egg and cheese creating a savory delight. Although I did not order pancakes, I managed to get a bite or two from my family members. They were everything you expect from a pancake - light, fluffy, and flavorful.

Some of the other breakfast menu items I want to try on a future visit include the Kajafa Crepes ($5.75) which are described as “delicate crepes filled with Montmorency cherries poached in a Danish cherry sauce” and the Polish Sausage Skillet ($5.95).

Flap-Jack’s also offers a lunch menu that includes charbroiled burgers, several sandwiches, four different Manhattans, eight different entrée salads, and a couple “lite and lively” selections.

When I visit a restaurant during its first week of operation I usually set my expectations pretty low. There are often lots of kinks to work out those first few days of business. With Flap-Jacks nothing could be further than the truth. I think the day we visited was just their third day of operation and they took care of us like they had been at it for years. We’ll definitely become Flap-Jack regulars.

Flap-Jacks is located at 475 Mt. Zion Road and they are open seven days a week from 6 am to 4 pm. Their phone number is 765-483-0645.

        

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