Mystery Diner: DeKalb’s French Toast Pancake House elevates breakfast classics with fresh twists

In a DeKalb-Sycamore region crowded with breakfast places, French Toast Pancake House in DeKalb puts its spin on the breakfast comfort game by acing the nuts and bolts among an array of interesting and unique choices.

Perhaps the most unusual item on the menu is the fried omelet. As the name suggests, the restaurant takes a meaty omelet of ham, bacon and sausage, then deep fries that bad boy and smothers it in gravy. The result oddly gives it the texture of a chicken fried steak, with the taste of the varied cuts of smoked pork shining through. The gravy does a delectable job keeping it from getting too dry. It’s definitely worth a try at least once.

The gravy is also a featured player, unsurprisingly, on the Southern breakfast. That’s a plus, as the gravy is excellent. Some gravies can get too peppery, or lumpy, or thin. This one was great in both texture and flavor, elevating both dishes it was on.

The potatoes in the Southern breakfast were perfectly cooked, straddling the fine line between overly crispy and mush. They were soft while still holding the dish together – the egg served as a topping. And the green pepper added nice flavor instead of stealing the show as can happen if they are overused.

It’s also worth pointing out the Southern breakfast came with one of the best biscuits you’re going to find this far north, cooked to perfection, light and fluffy, an amazing butter flavor permeating every bite. We didn’t order the biscuits and gravy, but given the quality of both items in our dishes, it’s probably a solid choice.

Of course, the French Toast Pancake House has sweeter breakfast offerings such as, well, French toast and pancakes. The Bahamas stuffed French toast was an amazing dish, with four slices (two whole pieces of bread total) covered with peaches and coconut, and in between the slices a very sweet, very delectable cream cheese icing.

The restaurant offers tasty ways to doll up the pancakes, however, we only tried them as a side, and in their simplest form, they were nicely cooked with great flavor, even without special toppings.

We also tried the Nutella and banana crepes. The younger eater who ordered them was a little disappointed in the lack of sweetness in the crepes themselves. But the older eaters thought the savoriness of the crepes was fine, especially considering they were smothered in Nutella, sliced banana and, at the request of our young eater, syrup. It was a little surprising not to see the crepes offered in a nonsweet lunch offering, given their savoriness.

The last thing we tried was Belgian waffles with strawberries. The waffles were incredibly thick, even by Belgian standards, and surprisingly fluffy for the size, pairing well with the strawberries.

The restaurant also has a pretty full lunch menu. But given the quality of the breakfast items, it’s far too tempting to indulge in some 2 p.m. French toast instead of a more time-appropriate meal.

• The Mystery Diner is an employee at Shaw Media. The diner’s identity is not revealed to restaurant staff when ordering or picking up the food. If the Mystery Diner cannot recommend the establishment, we will not publish a review.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: French Toast Pancake House

WHERE: 831 S. Fourth St., DeKalb

PHONE: 815-754-6900

INFORMATION: facebook.com/frenchtoastpancakehouse