There's Something About Millie's

Lazy Sunday mornings are the best.  And they're better with pancakes.  (Find me one gluten-eating human being that will tell you otherwise.  I dare ya.)  They're almost utopian when the pancakes are from Millie's Pancake Shoppe in Addison.

You know a restaurant is doing something right when people are willing to stand in line and wait a half hour or more to get a table.  Did I mention this is just a pancake place?

It's only been around forever.  Okay, maybe not forever.  But it's been in the same spot in an Addison strip mall since 1959.  Millie's is enduring, and it always seems to be busy.  Now, that could be because I only ever go there on weekends.  But it's a good sign for a restaurant to be that packed (at least, I think it is).

It's a place my grandparents love.  It's a place my parents and my aunts love.  And it's a place that I love.  They don't play music in the restaurant (at least I don't think so...I've never noticed it).  The only soundtrack seems to be the clatter of silverware on ceramic plates and the chatter of contented diners that want to stick around for just one more cup of coffee and finish their conversations.

The menu is very down-home and no-frills.  They serve regular buttermilk pancakes, waffles, potato pancakes.  There's nothing with a gimmicky name, no whipped-cream-and-frosting-covered pancake stacks...Sunday's special was biscuits and gravy.  There's a seasonal pumpkin pancake special, but that's about as crazy as things get at Millie's.

Every time I go, I resolve to try something new (the menu, though full of staples, is extensive).  I never ever do.

I always get potato pancakes, either with bacon or country ham (depends on how healthy I'm feeling. I'm biased toward the bacon though).  They're moist inside, golden outside, lightly flavored with onion and just light enough that I can pretty much clean the plate (even though I regret it every time...but they're just that tasty).

The ten thousand dollar question? Sour cream or applesauce.  The irrefutable answer? Both!  How could I ever choose?  That's like asking me to choose between Jane Austen and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as my favorite British author.  Can't do it.

To return to the subject of food, I also drink coffee.  A lot of coffee...the cups are small (or at least that's how I justify it).  The coffee's strong, perfect alongside any breakfast staple.  I may have had (gulp) four cups last time?  I lost count.  The last cup was purely an excuse to stay and keep the conversation going.  I'm telling you, people just want to stay and talk.

Go for the food.  Stay for the conversation.  The check?  No, I'd rather have another refill, thanks.  And by the way, how have you been?

~AF