banana cinnamon chip pancakes with cinnamon crème anglaise

Best pancakes in America? Listen, we haven’t tried all of them (we intend to try all of them before we die), but the ones we love most are served up at The Bongo Room in Chicago. Karen and I tend to have semi-platonic relationships with certain restaurants in Chicago [the aforementioned Frontera Grill, a little hot dog place on Belmont named Murphy's, erwin’s in Lakeview (he is legend), and Anna Maria Pasteria to name a few].

But The Bongo Room stands out in our minds simply because we had to get there before they opened, trying to get in the first seating of the day. Weekend brunch there is event dining, and we spent so many Chicago-cold Saturday mornings waiting to get a seat inside where it was warm and where those pancakes were plentiful and smothered in love.

And when I say “smothered” I mean dripping. Warm, luscious toppings over every pancake. There’s no place for syrup here (they probably have some behind the fully-stocked bar somewhere), because those pancakes come covered in crème anglaise or berry reduction or compound sweetened nut butter (which is the silliest thing I’ve ever typed).  

Their latest menu has listed “Caramelized Apple & Toasted Walnut Flapjacks with warm praline cream & toasted walnut pieces” (I would hurt someone if I had to get to these) and "Banana Oreo Hotcakes: banana hotcakes with crushed oreo cookies, warm vanilla bean crème, chocolate crème anglaise & fresh bananas.” 

Sigh. Reading that menu just now made me want to book a flight to Chicago, even for a two-hour layover to eat pancakes.

When we went to Chicago in the fall to see our friend Ellen Lilly marry Alex (who we found out later owns the outstanding Franks ‘N’ Dawgs), we stopped for pancakes and ordered a single of every pancake on the menu. And a breakfast burrito. It was obscene. And it was perfect.

So in celebration of our devotion to The Bongo Room, Karen came up with her own spin on TBR-style pancakes. And they were perfect. 

May I present to you Banana Cinnamon Chip Pancakes with Cinnamon Crème Anglaise. This, my friends, is how to stay married for 14 years.

We’ve long searched for a great basic pancake recipe. We’ve tried a lot of the top-rated recipes online, but none of them really worked for us, at least in terms of TBR amazingness. You need a pancake that can stand up to the sauce. On a whim, Karen tried this one from allrecipes.com. Perfect. Crazy great batter. I don’t think we’ll ever try another recipe.

She added Hershey’s cinnamon chips to each pancake after pouring them on the griddle. How much? “Eyeball it. I don’t know. Just sprinkle them on there until you’re happy,” she just said. So, there you go. Sprinkle until happy. Add some sliced bananas in there.

For the crème anglaise, Karen made this recipe from Epicurious, but she divided the final product into two pans, and added more Hershey’s cinnamon chips to one batch. I asked her how many cinnamon chips she put in, and she just stared at me. Which means you should eyeball it and sprinkle them in and stir until you’re happy.

So, this is as close as we’re going to get to Chicago and The Bongo Room for a while. But it’ll do just fine. Perfectly, in fact.


Recipe | Banana Cinnamon Chip Pancakes (eyeball the cinnamon chips and the bananas)

Top with this recipe | Crème Anglaise (divide final product in two and eyeball the cinnamon chips until happy)

Comments

[Amber | Bluebonnets & Brow]

Haha, I love this. Now that I've seen that stare in person, I love this all the more. These look divine.

[Kristen]

Those are everything a pancake needs and more. What a decadent treat!

[Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction]

Those look fantabulous! Yum :)

[SMITH BITES]

Mmmmm mmmm mmmm mmm MMMMMmmmmm

Am loving these for sure and you've never led me down the wrong path!!

[breadandputter]

Love it - from now on instead of "to taste" I am going to say, "till happy."

[Amanda]

This is one of the most beautiful and creative and yummy looking things I have ever seen. Way to go!

[wenderly]

You have no idea how much I LOVE those Hersey cinnamon chips...oh my. This sounds divine! I will not rest until I have a bite of THAT in my mouth.

[TidyMom]

WOW these sound fantastic!! I can't wait to try them.......my girls will flip!!

[Pretend Chef]

When the photo popped up I knew it would be just as good looking as the name sounded. My stomach instantly started growling! I want to go to TBR and try all of their creations!

[jen]

This looks incredible! I'm extremely excited about cinnamon chips (which I didn't know existed) and ecstatic that you have found an exceptional pancake recipe because you know I'm too lazy to find one and would have continued to use Hungry Jack mix until you delivered this. So thank you both.

[brandy101]

I'll have to try that batter recipe - knowing my family, I think I'd do best w. chocolate chips and no fruit (they are not fruit-friendly)

Although I wonder how it would be w. the cinnamon chips, and then put like a hot apple compute (even warmed apple pie filling/) in there? Ah, I'm junking up your artful creation already...

[Nancy]

When I saw this tweet, I had to wait to read the post... until the teenagers were out of the house.. because I KNEW if they saw this there would be no peace for me until I'd made them!!!
Now, of course that I have seen them, there still won't be any peace.. because I HAVE TO MAKE THESE!!!

You have made my teens very happy!!!

[Alyssa A]

It's a good thing you found Karen before I did...or she'd be married to me for 14 years! ;-D They sound delicious, except for the banana...I need a substitute...suggestions?

[claire]

Holy crap these look amazing!!

[C Thornton]

Thanks, all, for the really nice comments. These pancakes are worth the effort.

@Alyssa, first, loved the comment. Second, you could leave out the banana, or caramelize some apples or pears. Those would be great variations and add some texture.

[sara @ CaffeIna]

I had never heard of cinnamon chips until now! I'm sure we would love them! I would totally get addicted to these pancakes! Pancakes rock!

[Letizia Golosa]

Yummy! I will make these on Saturday morning!!!! They look amazing

[Tes]

This looks so indulging and yummy. Definitely making this for breakfast soon :)

[A Thought For Food]

You obviously have a loose definition of the word "breakfast"... which I love. These look so incredibly decadent, I'm satisfied just by the pictures. :-)

[Paula]

You make me want to:
A. Get myself on a plane to Chicago and hit the Bongo Room ASAP

or

B. Find a way to get invited to your home the next time you are serving these.

[AmyRuth]

Very Cute and you two make a great blogging team. Love the story. Might even luv the cakes. I have one of those old family cook books w/comb binding (you know the ones) and a fav. cake recipe I've shared around. he he luv those too.
AmyRuth

[Jillian O'Neill]

I, too, had attempted dozens of basic pancake recipes to no avail. Perhaps it was because I lived blocks from Bongo Room that so many homemade pancakes were dumped into the trash in exchange for a short walk and what we were really craving...
But then I moved an hour away!!! It wasn't until I tried that very same recipe - "good old fashioned pancakes" from allrecipes that I have been satisfied since!
Can't wait to try it with the anglaise suggestion!