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There is no breakfast dish served in Portland, or perhaps anywhere, with the wow factor of a Dutch baby from the Original Pancake House ($18). Whisked hot from the oven to your table, the rim of puffed batter reaches Himalayan heights, encircling a 9-inch-wide, egg-rich plain. The flat custardy middle practically begs to be bolstered with your preferred proportions of whipped butter, powdered sugar, and fresh-squeezed juice from lemon wedges that arrive at your table just before the oversize pancake. Ordering and customizing your Dutch baby are the easy parts. Finishing it is the challenge.
Portland’s Original Pancake House truly is an original, at least among outlets of the same name dotting the U.S. and the globe. It opened in 1953 in the same meticulously landscaped Southwest Barbur Boulevard house where it operates today. You cannot miss the red-and-white-striped awnings and seasonal profusion of flowers out front. Knotty pine lines the walls of the 70-plus seat dining room and adjacent waiting area. The always-hopping kitchen is in plain view. Upstairs, out of sight, is a simply decorated office that gives no hint to its role as the nerve center for a sprawling international operation.
Though many of the far-flung OPH locations operate as franchises, the original Original remains firmly in family hands, now in its third generation and bringing on a fourth. OPH was co-founded by Portland food industry folks Les Highet and Erma Huenke. Highet bought out Huenke’s interest from her family when she died. His son, Ron, worked as a cook at the restaurant beginning when he was a young man. Ron and his wife took over managing the operation when Les died in 1986. They, in turn, gave way to daughters Ann and Elizabeth, along with Ann’s husband, Jonathon Liss. Currently, Elizabeth is the primary managing family member, but she proudly offers that her two daughters, Grace and Lily, “are working in the business full time. They both love it and are here to stay.”
In light of the family history, it is equally unsurprising to hear that the tenure of many OPH employees can be measured in decades. This includes, according to Elizabeth Highet, three lead chefs “with 25, 20 and 10 years, respectively. Our prep chef has been here for at least 30 years, and another prep chef that does the fruit, coffee, etc. has been with us for 40.” At least one of the servers is pushing 30 years on the job. A former manager with over 50 years tenure died shortly after retiring.
The consistency continues with a menu that has changed little, in content and layout, over the years. Sadly, prices are the one exception.
“We hate change,” Highet says. “Any changes would have been slight to accommodate for any changes in ingredients over time. Those changes undergo rigorous testing by us to ensure that any flavor profiles do not change.”
Beyond this slight concession, Highet is mum on the Dutch baby recipe, though her father may have inadvertently disclosed in a 2009 Portland Monthly article that it includes vanilla and citrus along with eggs, flour and sugar. She added that at the Barbur Boulevard location, the Dutch baby is the best-selling item; statistics are not kept systemwide, however. Going back to the beginning, the Dutch baby was available in addition to what must have been a truly gargantuan German pancake that eventually left the menu.
“[The Dutch baby] is just smaller, which we think lends to a lighter, fluffier product,” Highet says.
There has been some dispute over the true origin story of the Dutch baby. This was addressed in a 2018 Food & Wine article quoting unhappy Brits who saw this sweet breakfast item as a ripoff of their Yorkshire pudding. American food historian Ken Albala denied that the Dutch baby was truly a pancake at all. He called it “perversely named,” apparently because “Dutch” is a misuse of the correct term, “Deutsch.”
But other than a few persnickety writers, no one cares that a Dutch baby should technically be a Deutsch baby or perhaps a sweet English baby. What is important is that it is delicious, for breakfast or any other meal. Regardless of its true origin or how one dresses it up, after 72 years, the dish has become a true Portland classic.
I asked Highet if the OPH’s butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice topping trinity was what she and her family preferred or whether there might be some “secret” condiment list reserved for insiders. Her rejoinder was firm: “That is the way we believe it should be served and the way I eat it. Some customers will put fruit in it. Some franchisees serve it with fruit and whipped cream. But, really, most everyone eats it the traditional way.”
TRY IT: The Original Pancake House, 8601 SW 24th Ave., 503-246-9007, originalpancakehouse.com. 7 am–3 pm Wednesday–Sunday.