Richard Walker's Pancake House

We were recently invited to dine at the new Richard Walker's Pancake House in La Jolla. Instead of our usual sleep-in weekend mornings, we were out of bed early to beat the crowds. Hello 8AM breakfast! And as they say, the early bird gets the worm - we scored parking right around the corner and didn't have to wait to be seated. The outdoor patio area was uncrowded and perfect for us to enjoy a breath of fresh and early morning air.

There were plenty of options including omelettes and pancakes but I wanted an eggs benedict. The menu here offered two versions but the canadian bacon won over the turkey patty version. Sometimes I'm left hungry after this dish but the English muffins were generous (used to be smaller from what I heard) with toppings sized to match! I was expecting the Canadian Bacon to be touched by a pan for browning but it seemed like it was only sliced first. The meat itself was thickly cut and quality though. The eggs were perfectly poached and the hollandaise was really nice, thick and not too buttery. Together it was a good balance especially with the red chili sprinkled on top. For the sides, there was plenty of hash browns but I would have wanted the insides to be less wet with more pan fried crisp on the outsides.

I hardly ever see crepes at restaurants so we decided to order the Blueberry Crepes here. The raspberry crepes photo in the menu only showed two but we receieved three huge ones! We found out later that out of all the flavors, only this one and the strawberry crepes came with three instead of two! I asked why and was informed us that each crepe entree cost around the same amount to make and thus some had more food than others. As for the crepe itself, it was thicker than the typical dessert style but also contained more filling. These were on the softer side but still held together.  On the side they served warm blueberries and juices, whereas fresh fruit is typically served cold.

Here's the inside filling, which is a sour cream blueberry mix that resembles yogurt consistancy. Overall it was an interesting way to have crepes. I was secretly craving strawberries and chocolate though but we'll save that for another day.

Since we were at a PANCAKE house, we of course wanted to try at least ONE pancake. The German pancake caught Dennis's eye so that was the third item we ordered! We thought it'd be okay along with the anticipated "small crepes" but nope, we were pretty shocked by the size of the pancake too! I had seen it on This Tasty Life but didn't realize it was bigger than the plate! Mary had pointed out one of the pancakes came in a smaller size and this happened to be it... oops!

For most people, you'd never know what to do with it but luckily, the German Pancake has printed instructions! That's awesome!

We basically followed the directions other than Dennis putting syrup on it "because it is a pancake." The end result was an El Grande style breakfast burrito that was almost the diameter of Dennis's forearm! We cut off a slice to dig in. The thin rolled layers weren't your everyday spongy pancake and the touch of lemon and powdered sugar made for another interesting combination. Honestly, I think it's too big for two people so at least it's easy to share, if you're willing! Seriously, I was on carb overload for this entire breakfast so didn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked. We had leftovers which Dennis said reheated well (german pancake only).

This family-run restaurant originally started out in Illinois but had spread to San Diego at the downtown location, followed by the latest in La Jolla. They serve the same signature breakfast items but Richard Walker Jr. happens to run this location! They have a cute bunny icon which represented something like comfort and a feeling of home. And no, the bunny does NOT mean there's rabbit in the food, but it does mean those particular menu items are favorites! By the time we left at 9:30, the restaurant was chock full of diners and you better believe you're gonna have to wait if you come late! Do like us and avoid lines by coming in early! I felt so-so on the latter (carb-y) half of breakfast so I'd want to try different items next time. On our way out, we passed by this amazing looking French Toast stacked with fruit and knew what to get (plus San Diego Food Net claimed it was awesome)! Other popular items include their famous apple pancake so with plenty to choose from, hop on over for breakfast or lunch!

Disclaimer: we were hosted for the meal but the opinions are strictly our own.