breakfast to your door

The Pancake Kitchen by Cracker Barrel delivers pancakes to Houston all day

The confetti pancakes on the left look especially scrumptious.

Photo courtesy of Cracker Barrel

There's a familiar restaurant name now delivering pancakes to your door: Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, the family-dining restaurant chain, has launched a virtual concept called The Pancake Kitchen by Cracker Barrel, and it delivers breakfast all day.

The concept was first introduced in Los Angeles in 2021, and is now expanding to more than 100 Cracker Barrel locations in 2022, bringing it to 200 locations across the U.S., including the Houston area.

The Pancake Kitchen will serve pancakes and other breakfast favorites for delivery and pickup via DoorDash and Uber Eats.

The menu includes pancakes in five varieties:

buttermilk
blueberry
pecan
confetti
chocolate chip

Non-pancake options include biscuit beignets, a hash brown casserole, and a loaded hash brown casserole topped with diced ham and cheddar cheese. There's also bacon and sausage, and a side of fried apples, good on a pancake or good as a side.

The bestseller is the Classic Pancakes Bundle, with three pancakes and "100 percent pure natural syrup" - notice they don't say it's maple. It's $11.69.

In a statement, Cracker Barrel's Senior Director of Strategy and Innovation Matthew Schaefer says that these items are some of the chain's most popular items.

"The expansion of The Pancake Kitchen by Cracker Barrel is part of our plan to make it as easy and convenient as possible for guests to enjoy one of our most popular homestyle breakfast favorites – whether they want pancakes at breakfast, lunch or dinner time!" Schaefer says. "As the trend in online ordering and partnership with on-demand delivery platforms continues, we are excited to evolve our strategy and offerings to ensure our guests are able to satisfy their cravings for 'pancakes all flippin' day™'."

Wow, they even trademarked that phrase, smart thinking.

Cracker Barrel began investing in digital concepts in October 2021, starting with Chicken 'n Biscuits, its first virtual brand, which is now available in 500 locations across the U.S., including five around the Greater Houston area. The company also operates Cracker Barrel Kitchen, the anchor brand for these ghost kitchen outposts.

Those who spend $20 on pancakes will get a free order of Biscuit Beignets, which consists of buttermilk biscuit dough, deep-fried then tossed in cinnamon sugar and served with butter pecan sauce for dipping.

The locations in Texas where it's currently available are as follows:

League City: 231 Gulf Freeway South
Allen: 1323 N. Central Expy.
Benbrook: 8010 SW Loop 820
Buda: 550 Old San Antonio Rd.
Corpus Christi: 4229 South Padre Island Dr.
Denton: 4008 N I-35
Desoto: 1421 N Interstate 35 E
Grapevine: 2700 Grapevine Mills Pkwy
Lubbock: 5018 Milwaukee Ave.
Mesquite: 5304 N. Galloway Ave.
Midland: 3108 N Loop 250 West
San Antonio: 11030 I H 10 W
Temple: 3687 S General Bruce Dr.

The Pancake Kitchen is available from 8 am-9 pm daily.

breakfast news-you-can-eat

NYT hearts HOU

2 Houston restaurants make New York Times best dishes of 2024 list

Aga's Restaurant & Catering/Facebook

Aga's goat chops make the list.

The New York Times has once again shined its spotlight on Houston restaurants. Two of the city’s most-well regarded eateries make the paper’s new list of The 26 Best Dishes We Ate Across the U.S. in 2024.

They are:

Horchata Berlinesa at Ema, a Mexican breakfast and lunch restaurant in the Heights that earned a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide
Goat Chops at Aga’s, the essential Pakistani restaurant in Southwest Houston

Priya Krishna, one of the Times two interim food critics, writes the entries for both Houston dishes.

She describes eating Aga’s goat chops as a “deeply primal pleasure” and appreciates the fajitas-style presentation of serving the chops on a sizzling platter. “The warmth of the spices runs deep, and the chops are tender to the bone. Eat with your hands, letting the fiery marinade stain your fingers a delightfully,” Krishna writes.

That sentiment is shared by Houston food influencer and Burger Bodega owner Abbas Dhanani. In his guide to Houston’s 25 best halal restaurants, Dhanani called Aga’s “the best Pakistani restaurant … in the nation. Any Pakistani that travels to Houston has almost certainly been to Aga’s.”

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A post shared by EMA HTX (@emahtx)

Moving on to Ema, Krishna hails the Horchata Berlinesa, a doughnut filled with horchata-flavored pastry cream, as “a seamless marriage of European and Mexican confectionery.” Krishna praises the filling for its “subtle, cinnamon-laced flavors of horchata” that serve as a contrast to the sweetness of the sugar-crusted dough.

One other dish on the list is also available in Houston. Atlanta restaurant Little Sparrow makes the cut for its French onion soup, which writer Kim Severson calls “the perfect soupe à l’oignon gratinée.” Since Little Sparrow is part of Ford Fry’s Rocket Farm restaurant group, that French onion soup is also available at River Oaks restaurant State of Grace, which switched to a European-inspired menu and more refined service model earlier this year.

Chefs Ford Fry and Bobby Matos discussed the changes at State of Grace on an episode of CultureMap’s “What’s Eric Eating” podcast. Hear that interview here.

Only one other Texas restaurant made the Times list — the Suadero taco at Paprika, a food truck in Austin. Earlier this year, the paper included three Texas restaurants, including Houston-area soul food concept Viola & Agnes, on its annual list of “our 50 favorite places in America right now.”

Aga's Restaurant & Catering/Facebook

Aga's goat chops make the list.

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