Why Pancakes Always Taste Better From A Restaurant

Considering how technically simple they are to make, the perfect at-home pancake always seems to elude us, doesn't it? The taste always seems a little lacking, the texture's either too mushy or firm, and it's always so tough to get them to end up round and not shaped like something out of a sci-fi film. Flapjacks ordered from a diner, however, rarely disappoint. The items we have in our cupboards are often the exact same as a restaurant's might be ... so what's the big secret? Before you start installing red vinyl booths in your own breakfast nook, we've got the answer. 

Restaurants are simply better equipped to make tastier meals since they have professional-grade appliances and higher-quality ingredients than would be available to the average cook at a standard grocery store. These establishments' primary function is to whip up delectable A.M. eats, whereas home cooks have a million things on their minds. Plus, just the knowledge that they won't have to wash up their own dishes can make a customer more excited about what they're about to eat. 

There's no getting around the sheer simplicity of using a boxed mix for making pancakes in the comfort of your own kitchen on a weekend morning. However, along with that ease, you may be taking a hit in the overall taste department. Restaurants tend to use real, farm-fresh eggs and real milk when making their pancakes, which as you might guess, adds to a richer, higher-quality eating experience. Using milk instead of water when you're utilizing it as a mix-in creates a fluffier texture in the end, much like it does when the same is done to scrambled eggs. Restaurants also refrain from using butter and oil on the griddle, popular ways to grease pans when in your own kitchen, which tend to affect the flavor. 

Overall, it's no wonder that the high quality of restaurant ingredients and standards tend to put their flapjacks over your homemade ones. Don't look at it as competition, look at it as something to aspire to!

Unless you happen to secretly live in a Denny's, you likely don't have access to a restaurant-grade griddle. These powerful stovetops are designed to be used every day and are usually made from heavy-duty cast iron for maximum heating efficiency. These griddles are kept at a continuous temperature of around 375 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the day, which, according to the Great American Pancake Company, is the ideal griddle temperature. The constant heat leads to a more evenly cooked pancake, that never runs the risk of having the batter poured too early. If the heat is always at the right level, it's always the correct time. 

After taking all of this into consideration, there's no reason to feel bad that your pancakes don't measure up to your neighborhood breakfast dive. They've got the edge over your home stove facilities, and barring a total overhaul of your kitchen, it will always be that way. But, hey, at least at home you don't have to reserve a table ahead of time ... you know the chef personally!