Recently my wife and I took our two-year-old son to The Hills Market pancake breakfast and Food is Fun event. Hills hosts their pancake breakfast just about every Saturday and Sunday morning, from May till October. Only $5 gets you a big stack of pancakes, bacon/sausage, and coffee.
We hit up the breakfast on the same day as their annual farmers’ market. A big tent out front housed many of the Hills’ vendors. It was like running a gauntlet of samples.
The Food is Fun event included stations where kids could learn how to make fresh pulled mozzarella, how to make a tossed salad, and – pictured here – how to make your own tortillas. This is Rachel from Hounds in the Kitchen showing Will how it’s done.
But of course, the real reason I was here: the pancake breakfast. Hills hosts these all summer and typically into early fall. I can’t imagine anything better than sitting on their veranda on a cool fall morning with a stack of pancakes and a cup of coffee.
The Hills’ veranda was crowded with pancake-goers.
This is Kate. She runs the show here. She organizes the pancake breakfasts, sets it all up, and makes your pancakes. I have to admit I like that one person does it all. It’s Kate the pancake lady! I hope she becomes famous for it and people travel from all around to see Kate the Pancake Lady and have her make them her famous pancakes.
Kate makes all the pancakes. Place your order with her at the counter, then have a seat and she’ll come find you. Be aware: she gets harried when it gets busy, so be patient. We waited a bit for our pancakes, but fortunately the Food is Fun event kept us occupied in the meanwhile.
A sight for sore pancake-lovers’ eyes. You can order plain or blueberry. (Hint: always order blueberry when you have the option.)
The end result. My son devoured every single blueberry he could find, and Kate put a generous helping on them.
The pancakes are big and fluffy. I couldn’t tell if they were made from a mix or not, but either way, they were delicious. And loaded with a crap-ton (actual unit of measurement) of blueberries. Seriously, I couldn’t tell the difference between the syrup and the blueberry juice by the end.
We’ll be back! Admittedly, the farmers’ market and Food is Fun events are passed, but Hills hosts plenty more throughout the year: crab boils, beer tastings, cooking classes. If you want to visit:
The Hills Market
7860 Olentangy River Road (just north of 315)
Columbus, OH 43235
Check their website, follow ’em on Twitter, or join their newsletter for details on upcoming breakfasts.
