Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Triple P Yumfest

After a long weekend of camping with friends, the prospect of a good meal and a hot shower are two of the most appealing things you can imagine. However, the thought of prolonging a long weekend as much as possible is often more appealing. So after you've packed up the tent and left your campsite, heading out for a late breakfast together satisfies the desire to add more fun to a weekend and fills your tummy with a good meal.

This weekend Steve and I and 4 of our pals found ourselves in this exact situation. Thankfully, at the beginning of our trip our friend Nathan suggested that after we pack up our cars we head north a few exits to Polly's Pancake Parlor in Sugar Hill, NH. This saved us some early morning "Where should we eat?" discussion and also left us the promise of trying out some famous pancakes.

We were advised that Polly's is a famous place, and indeed they were featured on CBS This Morning back in 1994 and also won one of the "Best of New Hampshire" prizes for 2007. They've been open since 1938 (this would be their 70th anniversary) and have been family owned & operated since their inception. They offer 3" pancakes and 7" waffles made with 5 different kinds of batter (plain, whole wheat, buckwheat, oatmeal-buttermilk, and cornmeal) and 4 different kinds of filling (blueberry, coconut, chocolate chip, and walnut) among a variety of other things. In addition to an awesome pancake parlor, they also have their own maple sugar farm (Hildex Maple Sugar Farm) where they churn out their own maple syrup, sugar, and spread.

When we arrived, we all got cups of some tasty coffee (not sure if it was the coffee or the maple sugar I added to it that made it so good) and contemplated our pancake choices. I ended up getting a Pancake Sampler (2 each of 3 kinds of pancakes) consisting of whole wheat blueberry, oatmeal-buttermilk coconut, and plain chocolate chip pancakes and some country sausage. The waitress (who also cooks up the pancakes) brought out our first of 2 rounds of 3 pancakes and I got down to business.

The pancakes were - in a word - amazing. They do not short change you on the fillings; I had tons of little blueberries, chocolate chips, and coconut in my 3" cakes of yum. The maple syrup was a wonderful addition (I love syrup on pancakes, and as much as I wanted to try the sugar or spread on them I couldn't bring myself to do it) and the pancakes soaked the syrup right in making them that much more delicious. While all three of the pancake flavors were delicious, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my favorite was the oatmeal-buttermilk coconut. I'm usually a huge blueberry pancake fan, but I found the whole-wheat batter to be denser than I was expecting. Don't get me wrong - it was still quite good - but if I wasn't so full I could have gone for 3 more of those oatmeal-buttermilk coconuts. The batter was lighter and fluffier than I was expecting and there was just enough coconut to make it perfect. The plain chocolate chip pancakes were also quite good; I usually find that places that make chocolate chip pancakes use too much chocolate, but these were smaller chips at just the right amount.

The sausage was average... that's really it. Little patties of artery-clogging goodness just as you would expect any sausage to be.

By the time we were done, I was completely impressed and satisfied with Polly's. Next time I'm camping in the White Mountains, I'll definitely insist on making the trip up to Polly's for breakfast on the last day of the trip. The food was absolutely great, the rustic atmosphere was nice and cozy, the staff were really nice, and incase I didn't mention it... the pancakes were some of the best I've ever had.

3 comments:

kat said...

Mmmmmmh mouthwatering goodness you are talking about here. I am glad you had a great trip. If ever I return to NH I will make sure to put Polly's on the list as I am a pancake lover.

Steve Athanas said...

The best part was that you could put coconut in your pancakes - something I learned was awesome long ago from the talents of my lovely wife.

kSm said...

I'm totally making a special trip just for the pancakes (I'm totally a Seed)!