Lincoln Square Pancake House
After Halloween and Day of the Dead festivities, everyone needs a solid breakfast to signal the end of the weekend. Something to sop the lingering cocktails and to satisfy those pesky cravings.
The Basics
Website: https://www.eatatlincolnsquare.com/index.php
Address: 11 Central Indiana Locations
Cuisine: Breakfast / Diner
Type: Sit Down
Hours: Check your nearby location – my location hours are 7 – 3
Online Ordering: Available through a Lincoln Square branded website that is fulfilled via Doordash
Bite Size History
According to their website, Lincoln Square Pancake House was founded by a Greek immigrant in 1989 up in Kokomo. From what I can tell, the Kokomo location is no longer open, but there are several throughout Central Indiana. The restaurant is still owned by the family. For the past 35 years, they have been an Indiana breakfast staple.
Review
Atmosphere
With a location near my apartment, I often see the heavy crowds that develop at the brunch hour. We decided to slip in around 8am before the rush. The restaurant had a few scattered tables, but there was an urgency by the staff. After a few seconds at the door, you could hear that chime. A sound hated by most kitchens, but loved by owners. The chime of a mobile order.
The restaurant was well lit and spacious. It’s clear that the space has been well taken care of, but one can see the signs of age. The subtle dings or fading colors here and there which are the signs of an often frequented restaurant. The table itself was well stocked. A hefty pile of creamers and several packets of sugar. No fancy creamer pitcher in sight.
Score: 2 / 3
The Food
Their menu sprawled out way beyond what I would have assumed for a local breakfast joint. They cover all of your standard breakfast options, a few unique breakfast offerings, and expand into the expected afternoon diner menu. If we stopped for brunch, I would have been left debating between pancakes, club sandwiches, or the classic Hoosier tenderloin.
Our 8AM visit resulted in the following order: coffee, “The Entire Farm”, “Tour De Fruit”, and a cinnamon roll.
Coffee: I can admit that I’m an uneducated coffee snob. I just recognize that some places have that remarkable skill at taking a coffee pot and infusing water with life. Lincoln Square didn’t have this touch. Honestly, for the price and the shorter meal times, the $3.39 cup of coffee was disappointing. But the mug was large, the liquid hot, and the refills a plenty. It’s not a good deal, but I’m getting this lousy cup every time.
The Entire Farm: The name makes sense once you read the description. “The Entire Farm: Open biscuit topped with fried chicken breast, bacon, cheese, homemade sausage gravy, eggs, and a side of hash browns”. Wheat, Chicken, Pig, Dairy, Pig with Dairy, Chicken, and Potato.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a plate of chocolate chip pancakes. I’ve just lost the ability to power through a stack and still have the energy to be a member of society. Instead, I’ve started to drift to the ugly plates. No, I’m not talking about the healthy stuff. I want the dishes that come in pasta bowls. The first thing you do is pop the yolk and release the avalanche of flavor. Then you mix everything around and finally top with hot sauce (preferably Louisiana style). You don’t even do the adult thing and consider saving some for leftovers. Nothing this runny is saveable.
I love the side of hashbrowns here. I always want breakfast potatoes in my chaos bowls and hashbrowns are an acceptable substitute. The gravy topped chicken was breaded well enough to maintain a satisfying crunch through the length of the meal. It was a simple, classic preparation of chicken, but fitting for the farm style theme. The dish did fall a bit short to me. It was let down by the sausage gravy. For the easy fix, the plating was terrible! Why are we saucing the rim of a plate with gravy? I’m sure the answer is either “it was the new guy” or “It’s always been done that way”. Nobody is here for clever plating. Keep the gravy on the plate. Along with its location, the gravy really let the plate down in flavor. It didn’t have the essence of pork that is the life of the sauce. It also didn’t have near enough black pepper to my taste. I get that my enjoyment of a peppery gravy isn’t shared by everyone, but I shouldn’t have to do all the work myself either.
Tour De Fruit: This one is a diner standard dressed up with an amusing name. The “Tour De Fruit” is French toast topped with an assortment of fruit including strawberries, bananas, and blueberries. It also comes with a side of their cinnamon whipped butter. Like all good diners, the bread selected was thick. More impressive was the amount of included fruit and it was all the good stuff. There wasn’t any melon tucked away in the back to fluff the volume. This plate was good, but if you notice in the picture that the toast wasn’t quite as golden brown as I’d prefer.
Cinnamon Roll: With the hash browns included with my meal, I got to order dessert. Their physical menu provided no information – just “cinnamon roll”. According to their online ordering menu, it is fresh baked. Upon delivery, I thought I had just wasted $4. The outer layer looked thicker than a brick. Looks can be deceiving. The cinnamon roll was great. It even came with a side of cinnamon butter! I still have no idea if people add more butter to a cinnamon roll. After that cinnamon butter, I may be ready to sign up for the movement. I had no issue with it, but to make the call out, it was topped with nuts. You’ll have to ask ahead to see if those are removable by request.
The Bill: Our entire order totaled $38 even. I feel like it’s a bit expensive for a standard breakfast joint, but their portions were also properly American sized. We went home with leftover French Toast and ½ a cinnamon roll that provided a lovely midafternoon snack during football.
Score: 3 / 5
Zac’s Thoughts
A cheap weekend breakfast is one of my favorite things. Starting the day without having to make my own coffee or clean up my own dishes just makes it better. The gourmet brunches are a fun time, but an experience I can only have on rare occasions. Give me the basics done well and I’m a happy guy.
The Lincoln Square Pancake House meets my needs. The service was good and the kitchen was quick. My coffee stayed topped off. Some of the food didn’t quite meet my high expectations, but a strong majority was good. Lincoln Square Pancake House is a well oiled breakfast making machine. Sometimes it is best to leave things to the pros.
Score: 1.5 / 2
