Restaurant Review - The Pancake Mill - Coos Bay, OR

A couple weeks ago I did up to North Bend, OR.  We stayed nearby in Coos Bay at the Mill Casino for two nights.  I'd rather stay in a regular hotel vs a casino whenever possible.  Most of the casinos still allow smoking in the casinos, which I'm not a fan of.  Unfortunately the casinos usually has better deals and our newer.  tbut we seem to stay at enough of them on the road.  It's funny how two neighboring cities totalling less than 40,000 people have a big casino in town but I guess it's something for the tourists to spend money on.

Going to a new city is usual fun and exciting.  There's always new and hopefully great restaurants to try on the road.  Then there is always the not so exciting restaurants we try too.  Before I go on a trip I try to check yelp and google maps to search for restaurants and places to eat.  On this trip there weren't a lot of recommendations by my pilot friends or on yelp.  I just kept my eyes open when driving to the hotel to see what was around.  About a block from the hotel I saw a restaurant called "The Pancake Mill".  I'm a big fan of pancakes and syrup for that matter.  I knew I'd have to try this place before I left. 

The next morning I woke up with happy thoughts of pancakes and breakfast.  I met with my copilot around 830 or so and we went over to the Pancake Mill for breakfast.  The house/building is old fashion and quaint.  The ambiance was fun and reminded me of home and being a kid.  

Ever since I was a little boy, my dad and I went to Wisconsin to meet family and deer hunt during thanksgiving.  I remember many things about that time.  I'll always remember the Babcock cafe; a small cafe outside of town that has the best food.  I'm not sure who owns it but I see the same ladies inside working every time.  The cafe is always packed so you rarely see the women standing in one place for long.  Ever since being a kid and visiting there I've loved small home-town cafe's.  Pancake Mill is exactly that.  Big portions and great fresh ingredients.  Jams and Jellies you don't find at ihop or perkins.  Better maple syrup than you find in stores and fresh fruit syrups.  The ambiance at this restaurant was exactly what I wanted for a breakfast place.  This place hit my memory bank and for that I give the ambiance nine spatulas!

The staff was nice, attentive and polite.  They were all local women born and raised in the area.  They all had a small town niceness to them.  That niceness is something people from big cities never experience or when they do, they're too stuck up to notice.  Very eager to help and suggest menu items.  They'll talk to you about anything just to talk and be nice.  They treat you like you've been a regular at the restaurant for years.  That niceness is something you don't find often.  I give them nine spatulas on hospitality.

Onto to the meat of the review, the food.  Like I've said before, I love breakfast food.  Nothing better than some good pancakes, maple syrup, sausage and maybe some potatoes.  Well this place had everything and anything I could want.  I had an omellete the first day and pancakes the next.  They were both very good.  The pancakes were very big and the portion size was more than big enough for one person.  I ordered a side with the pancakes but could barely eat it since the pancakes were so big.  I have no complaints about anything I ordered.  My copilot also loved the food that he had.  The first day I saw they had these huge cinnamon rolls in there bakery window.  The second day I had to grab one to go just to try it.  I have a weakness for cinnamon rolls and seeing that huge roll two days in a row was too much.  It was all I hoped for in a cinnamon roll.  Just the right amount of frosting, the bread is nice and soft and a good amount of cinnamon.  The breakfast food was worth nine spatulas which brings the overall rating to nine out of ten spatulas.  I can't say anything bad about this place.  If you are ever in Coos Bay you have to try this restaurant and enjoy!