IDK Food Reviews : The Pancake Adventure Part 1

For those of you who have yet to read the Pancake Adventure Intro, my name is Alyssa and I, alongside my father, are on a mission to find the perfect pancake in the Reno, Nevada area. In order to determine said perfect pancake, we have come up with four judging factors: Taste, fluffiness, how well cooked it is and, of course, pricing. 

In additional to these judging factors, we have decided that we only be looking into classical-styled pancakes. They must be plain - with no chocolate chips, fruit, or anything else cooked into them - and can only be eaten with, optionally, good old maple syrup and butter. 

After receiving a suggestion to try Two Chicks, a business that boasts about their 'eggceptional breakfast', we knew this was it; our grand beginning. What better restaurant was there to start from than one who takes pride in puns? So, as of yesterday, we have officially taken the first step in what promises to be a long and trying quest.

Now, before we pass judgement, I just want to state that I'm not really sure if sourdough counts as a classical pancake. Nevertheless, we're going to count as one here. If anyone disagrees or agrees that sourdough, and not just Buttermilk, pancakes can be considered classic, feel free to comment. 

Onward! For a place with breakfast food puns, I was actually slightly disappointed by the limited variety of pancakes. I was, however, a bit impressed by the fact that one or the two options was a grain-free, gluten-free sweet potato pancake. Albeit, I was not impressed enough to try it. 

The other option was, you probably already guessed it, but sourdough pancakes.

Taste :

            Frankly, I've never tried sourdough pancakes before. Despite this, the fact that they were sourdough did not stand out to me at all. That's actually a pretty good saying to sum up the overall taste of these pancakes - it did not stand out. There was nothing unique about it whatsoever. They were not delicious. They were not gross. They were not sweet. They were simply and dully average.

Fluffiness : 

           Do you know there is a fork test to determine the fluffiness of a pancake? All you do is press your fork against the top of it, and then watch to see if it remains squashed down or if the pancake rises back up to its original shape. If it does the latter than it is a good sign. That being said, this is not a hundred percent guarantee. This 'test' was one of the first things I did when I received my plate and, to my delight, it seemed to be fluffy! Then I bit into it and realized I had been wrong. The pancake was not fluffy but rather, it was spongy. 

What's the difference? In this case, fluffy is more like if you could eat a cloud. It has to have a certain softness and moisture to it to be considered fluffy. Whereas spongy is more flatt and tough; like if you were to go and chew on an actual dish sponge. That being said, I was not impressed.

How Well Cooked : 

              I was even less impressed when it came to how well cooked my pancakes were. Probably because they weren't done. The whole center was still very much undercooked. To the point in which when I took a bite, it stuck to the roof of my mouth. It wasn't just my plate, either. My father's pancakes were equally undercooked, despite the fact that one of them had clearly been overcooked on the outside. 

Here's a tip : If the outside is getting burnt, and the inside isn't getting cooked, try turning down the heat.

Pricing :

        Taking only into consideration the portion size, I personally thought the pricing for Two Chicks'  pancakes was a little on the high side. The pancakes themselves were relatively flat and leaning more on the small side of medium. Three of these for basically ten dollars, or two for basically seven dollars - and I'm rounding up here - was just not really worth it. Also, you would think for that price, they'd give me more than a tiny, glass cup of syrup! Or, you know, when you ask for more, give me more than a second tiny, glass cup of syrup. 

I did consider adding a star rating for each place we try. However, after some consideration, I decided it is better to simply list the positives and negatives, and allow you, the viewer, to determine that on your own. As for us, we have determined that Two Chicks does not have our precious, perfect pancake.

 Thus, our quest continues. 

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