Let me get this straight

I really love Pannekoeken Huis. I am not sure, because I really love a filet mignon, but I think the Dutch Pot Pie pannekoeken is my favorite meal. I also really love chicken tchoupitoulas, which basically means (while I am a really picky eater) I am eclectic. I asked Keith before we left Europe what he was looking forward to at home; what would he like to eat. Without skipping a beat, he answered Pannekoeken. The restaurant is on the other side of Minneapolis and is only open until 3pm, so it is definitely a weekend activity. It is an independently owned restaurant, and during the pandemic we went way more often than we ever do in regular life, because we wanted to support them as much as we could. Imagine our delight today when we rolled in at 1pm to a full parking lot (okay, it’s not very big, but still) and had to WAIT for a table. I considered ordering to go, since we haven’t eaten inside in many restaurants yet and it still feels weird. We decided it would probably be okay and we waited outside in the sunshine for our table. A group of 3 men were also waiting, and they struck up a conversation with us that made the time go quickly.

Once we were seated, we looked at the menu – to choose our desserts. I ordered a Dutch Pot Pie pannekoeken with a salad (French dressing on the side) and Keith ordered the same, but with chicken with wild rice soup. (Someone in Wales asked what Minnesota’s famous dish is. I said we have wild rice…so chicken with wild rice. Whomever it was wasn’t too impressed. Reasonably. I thought about it. Is wild rice our thing? It seems like it, but I’ve never seen a wild rice farm. Does it have to grow out somewhere wild and harvesters sneak up on it and catch it…hence, wild? I need to research.) I settled on a Tropical pannekoeken for dessert and Keith went with Grand apple with blueberry. (He usually gets that one and he gets all excited and tells me all about it. It’s sweet. I mean he’s sweet; the dessert is, too.)

When we were served, we both carefully cut ours in half and I brought out my plastic containers (brought along specifically) and popped half of each of ours inside. We both ate like we had never seen food before (not proud, but so hungry and it was so good). Dessert came and we repeated our cutting and storing of half of our desserts. Our waitress did not seem disturbed by the incredible speed with which we consumed, nor by the quantity. I believe she was using her mask to good effect; no way she wasn’t in the back saying, “Look at those chubby people in booth 15. WOW can they eat.” We got a packaged-by-them to-go banana cream koeken for Alexander (they put all the parts in separate containers, so the base can be reheated and the pudding and whipped cream and bananas are not heated) and set off for his house.

As he settled down to eat and we snuggled his kitties, he said, “Let me get this straight – you went to the Netherlands and ate Chinese food TWO days in a row, then came home to eat Dutch food.”

Yes. Yes, we did.