To view the group’s earlier appraisal of Classico Italian Pizza & Pasta, just go to: http://bigdaddydavesbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/2012/03/valentines-day-dinner-classico-italian.html.
American House of Pancakes had opened at this location just about 3 weeks before the eight of us dropped by for dinner. This building had previously been occupied for quite a while by a pizza/pasta joint…then for a very short time by a Mexican restaurant. The latter opened just down the street from another Mexican restaurant operated by a nice local family…so, the area’s residents pretty much boycotted the new place and it folded in a number of weeks!
The interior of the ‘AHOP’ looks just like it did when it was an Italian restaurant. What we didn’t realize was that the restaurant is much larger than it appears from the outside. There is a big backroom that we’d never seen before…and that’s where we were seated.
American House of Pancakes bills its food as “American style breakfast, lunch and dinner. “No-fuss-just-plain good food”.
American House of Pancakes has only existed since 2007. It’s family owned and operated and the company currently has one other location in Madisonville TN. We know of two previous locations that have been closed. One was just off of I-75 in a motel building in Sweetwater TN and the other was on a side street in Lenoir City TN. Both were less than optimal locations… This new restaurant was relocated from Lenoir City.
Two of us ordered the Fried Pork Chops…hand-dipped and battered, then fried. ($6.99) I had the macaroni & cheese with cole slaw as my sides with a corn cake. My dining compatriot had the broccoli and sweet potato fries. I really liked the corn cake and the macaroni & cheese. The pork chop was overcooked but it still had flavor thanks to the breading and frying. We both rated this dinner at 6 points out of a possible 10.
FYI…the menu at ‘AHOP’ is extensive. There are 3 pages of breakfast items and 3 pages of lunch and dinner selections. Listed under appetizers alone, 11 different choices are offered.
Unfortunately I lost the slip of paper on which I’d written the ‘scores’ everyone gave their meals. One of the guys ordered a stack of pancakes. What can I say? It’s not the most attractive plating of food that I’ve ever seen. I do remember his score though… He gave these pancakes 5 points out of a possible 10.
As I mentioned before, ‘AHOP’ features 3 pages of breakfast items! They range from skillet breakfasts to pancakes, waffles, 13 or 14 omelets, French toast, crepes all the way up the scale to a T-Bone and Eggs. The latter includes a 16 oz. T-Bone, 2 eggs, grits, country gravy, and 2 biscuits with either hash browns or homemade fries. ($17.99) More typically, a standard breakfast combo…2 eggs, 2 slices of bacon, 2 ham strips and hash browns accompanied by 2 buttermilk pancakes…cost only $5.79…
One of the ladies ordered the Grilled Chicken Sizzling’ Skillet Dinner. ($8.99) As I recall, she thought that it was OK…no one rated their meal higher than a ‘7’. But she did have one little problem…she’d requested no cheese on her dinner. Ooops!
This was 1 of 4 Chicken Specialties on the menu. There are also 5 Country Dinners…including liver and onions…plus 3 Seafood entrees as well as “Daily Specials” from $6.99 to $7.25. (No specials on Saturdays)
Another member of our party, one of the ladies, ordered the Chicken Tenderloin Basket. ($5.25) It came with French fries and garlic toast. There are 2 other ‘Baskets’ available…with popcorn shrimp or catfish bites.
Other offerings on the menu include chili, 6 different hot dog choices, salads, soups, shakes, malts and floats. When choosing your sides to go with your meal, you have no less than 17 different items to consider!
Another fellow diner decided to order one of the ‘Country Dinners”, the Spaghetti and Meatballs. ($6.99) If I remember correctly, he gave it 5 points out of 10. However, he did say that he’d order it again…
Steaks are available…ranging from Hamburger Steak, 10 oz. for $7.99 on up to the aforementioned T-Bone for $17.99.
Laurie ordered her favorite sandwich…a Patty Melt. ($5.99) The sandwich was OK but her side of onion rings didn’t make the grade. She gave her meal 5 points out of 10.
There are no less than 19 sandwiches available on the menu. This number doesn't even include hamburgers, hotdogs or breakfast sandwiches! These 19 choices range in price from $3.99 to $6.55 and they include one side.
One of our ladies at the table ordered a Bacon Cheeseburger with fries. ($5.99) She didn’t rate it well…only 4 out of 10 points! This wasn’t the best news as AHOP states that all burgers are formed from ‘fresh, not frozen’ ground beef on a grilled bun. That’s usually a good thing…
There are a total of 17 different hamburgers offered…ranging from a standard hamburger on a bun, ($4.99), on up to “The King”, a 1 lb. double decker with cheese. ($6.99) From the strange burger department, I’d like one of my friends to try the “Peanut Burger”; an 8 oz. hamburger topped with peanut butter and chopped pieces of bacon! ($5.99)
In summary, service at ‘AHOP’ was pleasant and the waitress was very helpful…trying hard to keep us happy. She filled and refilled the drinks and she checked on us regularly. Our big issue was apparently in the kitchen. From the time that we ordered our food and the waitress input it for the kitchen, it took one (1) hour to get our food! The restaurant was moderately busy, but not to the degree that the kitchen was overwhelmed. Most diners deliver their food rather quickly…but that wasn’t the case at AHOP.
I do remember the average ‘score’… American House of Pancakes did rate a little better than its neighbor, Classico Italian. AHOP averaged 5.2 points and Classico averaged 4.9 out of 10.
American House of Pancakes is located at 222 Lakeside Plaza in Loudon (Tellico Village), Tennessee. Phone: 865-458-2110. Website: http://www.americanhouseofpancakes.com/. Laurie and I will return to try out the breakfast menu…and to see if the kitchen picks up speed at bit…
Just click on any photo to enlarge it…
Thanks for stopping by for a visit!
Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
Guess I won't have to hurry on down there.
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