Those who are fans of the Food Network show “You Gotta Eat Here” might remember a quaint, little Dutch pannekoek house from Calgary that was featured. Pfranntastic Pannerkoek Haus has made appearances in “My Favourite Restaurants” in Calgary and Banff, written by John Gilchrist, and in the October 2002 addition of “Gourmet Magazine.” Both awarded the restaurant an excellent review.
A Pannekoek is a thin, crepe-like pancake that has its toppings cooked right into the batter. In the Netherlands, the dish is as popular as pizza or hamburgers in America, and is eaten primarily for lunch or dinner.
The diner-style restaurant is nestled in a small strip mall off of Crowchild at 54 Ave. On weekends it is best to go for a late lunch; the restaurant is packed all morning. The restaurant is decorated with little Dutch touches, from trinkets in the front display, to stroop, Dutch sugar syrup on every table. The restaurant’s tea and coffee both come with Dutch cookies, made with ginger and a variety of other spices. The restaurant even sells Dutch candy, such as dubbel zouts, a “double salt” black licorice.
The pannekoeks themselves are colossal, and fill the very large plate they come on. The restaurant offers eighty varieties of sweet and savoury pannekoeks, as well as a “build your own” option. Some options include the potato, onion, bacon and cheese, or ham, mushroom, egg, and cheese. For those with more of a sweet tooth, there is a black forest pannekoek and the current monthly special of fresh raspberry pannekoek, with chocolate whipping cream.
The black forest pannekoek comes with a dark cherry pie filling on top, garnished with mounds of whipping cream and ice-cream balls, and drizzled with chocolate sauce. It is safe to say that
when going to Pfanntastic Pannekoek Haus it is best to go with a hearty appetite. This dish was especially filling, and was simply put; delicious, sweet, and huge. The chocolate sauce was perfect with the cherries for creating that perfect black forest look, and the whip cream balanced out the almost overwhelming richness of the dish. The pannekoek was very sweet, and for those looking for something less sweet, it would be recommended to get the dish without ice-cream. After going to Pfanntastic Pannekoek Haus one will not need to eat for hours, yet despite the size of their dishes, it is hard to find one uncleaned returning to the kitchen.
The restaurant is open Wednesday to Friday from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., on Saturday
from 8am-8pm, and on Sunday from 8am-3pm, and is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
For authenticity, the owner of Pfanntastic Pannekoek Haus was initially trained at a pannekoek restaurant in the Netherlands, and they are the only restaurant in Canada with training in the method. No matter what flavours appeal the most, and whatever combination craved Pfanntastic Pannekoek Haus will have the perfect pannekoek, living up to being “A Dutch dining treat!”