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

a major award

Houston sushi spot's Dubai outpost named to prestigious 50 best list

Courtesy of Duckstache Hospitality

Kokoro's original Dubai location received the award.

The Dubai location of a Houston-based Japanese restaurant has been named one of the best restaurants in the Middle East. Kokoro ranks No. 15 on the Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

Presented by the same organization as the prestigious World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, Kokoro earned recognition for its location in Al Quoz, Dubai, one of three locations in the city. Considered to be the city’s first handroll bar (according to press materials), the list’s authors praise the restaurant’s whimsical design and the signature temaki that Houstonians know well.

“Pristine nori-wrapped parcels packed with crunchy, creamy and zesty elements — Kokoro's hand rolls are the highlight of the menu,” the entry reads in part. “Made to order with the likes of Japanese yellowtail, salmon, Hokkaido scallop and marbled A5 wagyu beef, each cone-shaped offering combines the freshest of ingredients with masterfully prepared rice to create a handheld package that's big on precision, but small on pretence.”

Chefs Daniel Lee and Patrick Pham opened the original Kokoro in Houston’s Bravery Chef Hall in 2019. Since then, the duo’s Duckstache Hospitality has expanded with three locations of handroll concept Handies Douzo, Garden Oaks sushi restaurant Himari, Kokoro Handroll Bar in The Woodlands, Doko and Bar Doko in Autry Park, and Aiko, their Washington Avenue restaurant that won Best New Restaurant in the 2023 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards.

In Dubai, the company partnered with FYTE Hospitality. Like its Houston locations, the Dubai restaurants are adorned with Duckstache’s signature “duckies” — a whimsical element that bridges the more than 8,000 miles that separates the two cities.

“Dubai’s food scene is one of the most diverse in the world. The culinary landscape of this city is always evolving, and we saw an opportunity to bring something new to the market while staying true to what we’ve built in Houston,” Lee said in a statement. “Kokoro is all about quality, precision, and that made-to-order experience and now we get to share that with Dubai while still giving Houstonians something familiar to smile about when they walk in.”

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