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The Original Pancake House is everything its name implies. Part of a venerable chain of locally owned pancake emporiums founded in Portland, Ore., in 1953, it retains the atmosphere and many of the recipes of another era. The spire-topped, circular Stone Mountain location looks like it might have landed from another planet, but it actually opened in 1980. Inside, the space is muted beiges and whites and tidy arrays of booths and tables. A melting pot of couples and families, the convivial breakfast club atmosphere is a home away from home for coffee-drinking retirees. Service is no-nonsense quick and efficient.

As expected, pancakes are a highlight of the menu — everything from the fluffy-light buttermilk, buckwheat and sourdough to banana, blueberry, pecan, coconut and even bacon, all come served with whipped butter and warm syrup. But the specialties of the house are two oven-done extravagances guaranteed to elicit giggles. Almost the size of an infant's head, the Dutch Baby looks like fallen soufflé with puffy browned edges. Light and eggy, but also creamy-smooth and custardlike in the center, it has a sweet-tart citrus and sugar taste that can be enhanced with the extra lemons and powdered sugar served on the side. The apple pancake is a beautifully bronzed upside-down creation made with Granny Smith apples and a cinnamon-sugar glaze.

Becky Stein/SPECIAL (ENLARGE)
There's the usual breakfast fare, then there's the Original Pancake House's Dutch Baby. It's a sweet, light and eggy dish that looks like a fallen soufflé with a custardlike center.
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On the savory side, the house-made hash is an impossibly rich blend of corned beef, potatoes, onions and cream. Omelets are rolled in a skillet then finished in the oven, yielding a moist tenderness to the eggs and ingredients inside. Meats include the usual ham, bacon and links, but the coarsely ground patty sausage is especially good. And all the egg specialties come with a short stack of pancakes, because, after all, this is the Original Pancake House.

HOURS: Breakfast 6:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Mondays-Fridays; 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays.
CREDIT CARDS: All major credit cards except Discover
RESERVATIONS: No
RECOMMENDED DISHES: Dutch Baby, apple pancakes, omelets
CHILDREN: Kids plates
PARKING: On site
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes
SMOKING POLICY: Nonsmoking
TAKEOUT: Yes
THE GOOD STUFF: Many of the pancake recipes are said to have originated from housewives around the world, and the rest of the menu features filling dishes that shout, "Food is love."
TO GROUSE ABOUT: Heavy cream for your coffee, whipped butter and sugar galore; if you're trying to watch your diet, this place is a minefield of fat, carbs and calories.