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BREAKFAST
PAUL BERSEBACH, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Kimmie’s Coffee Cup serves breakfast and then some, from eggs and omelettes to breakfast burritos and eggs Benedict.
1. Kimmie’s Coffee Cup Multiple locations; kimmiescoffeecup.com Started in 2001 as a fledgling eatery in Fullerton by a single mother battling congenital heart disease, Kimmie’s Coffee Cup has become an Orange County institution with five locations in Fullerton, Brea, Orange, Cypress and Anaheim Hills. “It’s typically very busy,” said Nicole Sipe, a manager and waitress at the Cypress restaurant. “There are waits on the weekends and sometimes during the week. We’re all tired at the end of the day.” Kimmie’s serves all the standard breakfast fare and then some, from eggs with choices of meats, to omelettes, to breakfast burritos, to four kinds of eggs Benedict. There is also a full lunch menu. Sipe says some of the favorites on the menu are Kimmie and Mike’s homemade sausage patties and the cinnamon roll pancakes with a homemade cream cheese glaze. And there’s always a happy, busy vibe that customers and staff enjoy. “It’s a great place to work; all the girls love it,” Sipe said. Co-owners Kimmie and her husband Mike Vinson made news during the pandemic, when they joined a protest by local restaurant owners against state orders to close. It could be said that resilience, if not resistance, is built into the company’s DNA. As a 15-day-old baby, Kimmie was rushed to the hospital for surgery for a heart defect and has battled it since. However, she still makes it out to the restaurants and is not above grabbing an order pad, a pot of coffee and serving tables.
— Greg Mellen
2. Stacks Pancake House
3. The Original Pancake House
The true Stacks Pancake House experience comes when you dig into the signature banana macadamia nut pancakes with “famous” coconut syrup. Or maybe the Hawaiian Loco Moco, a hamburger, egg and gravy on steamed rice, Korean Kalbi ribs or Japanese fried rice omelettes. “We pride ourselves to be a Hawaiian-inspired restaurant which serves a variety of authentic local dishes,” says cofounder Nixon Tanuwidjaja. Tanuwidjaja, born and raised in Malaysia, was a successful director of operations for Japanese restaurants in Los Angeles. However, it was in Hawaii, where he and his wife, Ovita, were introduced to island flavors. The couple launched Stacks in 2010. The restaurants have taken off since and the couple are launching a number of related eateries, including three in the next year. “We are seeing very positive feedback from our customers and enjoying stronger sales at all our restaurants compared to prepandemic,” he said.
With five OC locations in Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Huntington Beach, Orange and Placentia, residents are never too far from an Original Pancake House and old-timey comfort food. Les Highet and Erma Hueneke of Oregon founded the first restaurant in Portland in 1953, after embarking on a world tour to collect recipes. And it shows in the far-flung variety and influences. Among the signature dishes are its Apple Pancake, oven baked with fresh Granny Smith apples and Sinkiang cinnamon glaze, and the Dutch baby, also oven baked, with whipped butter, lemon and powdered sugar. There are also kosher corned beef hash and Tahitian and Danish crepes. In all, 14 varieties of pancakes are on the menu, not to mention waffles and crepes. And for those interested in other breakfast fare there is a wide selection of omelettes. The eatery in Anaheim, opened in 1958 by the founding family, is nearly an original Original Pancake House.
Multiple locations; stackspancakehouse.com
Multiple locations; orginalpancakehouse.com
SEPTEMBER 2021 THE BEST OF ORANGE COUNTY
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