I love brunch! Eggs, waffles, corned beef hash…. you name it, I’ll eat it. Akshay wanted to go to Snooze, but I said let’s live a little and try some other popular brunch restaurants in Irvine, so we decided on Stacks Pancake House!
Stacks Pancake House is located in a busy shopping complex with a lot of construction, so be wary of parking and crazy drivers. When we arrived, the line was out the door! The way this place works is that you order what you’d like at the counter, they hand you a number, and then the food is brought to the table. Since we were anticipating a long wait, Akshay and I entertained ourselves with iced Starbucks lattes and a new app that we have been obsessed with: One Clue Crossword.
Luckily, the line goes pretty fast! I’d say we were at the front within 20-30 minutes (which is quick compared to the 2 hour typical brunch wait times). We had the option to wait even longer for a table inside, or be seated immediately, for a table outside. Since it was rainy and cold, we were the only brave souls that chose the latter option.
Anyways, onto the good stuff on what we ordered and how we liked it!
Spicy Chicken/Bacon Waffle ($9.99): It’s a fresh made waffle topped with katsu chicken (super crunchy white meat chicken) and applewood bacon. It is also topped with cheddar cheese, spicy mayo, maple syrup, and powdered sugar. This is a menu item I would recommend sharing with someone else. While I enjoyed my half, my tastebuds had no desire to eat the entire waffle.
Huevos Rancheros ($9.59): This dish comes up with two corn tortillas with sunny side eggs on top slathered with avocado and chipotle ranchero sauce. On the side, they serve refried beans with cheddar cheese and fried potatoes. I honestly am not a huge fan of huevos rancheros, but Akshay loves it, so we ordered. Unfortunately, since we were outside, the eggs got cold fast, and so it wasn’t very enjoyable. (Akshay’s note: the taste wasn’t enjoyable either). The fried potatoes were pretty good though!
Portuguese sausage ($4.25): I enjoyed this more than Akshay did. It’s pretty firm sliced meat, which is how I like it anyways. (Akshay’s note: seriously?…Too easy.) The flavor was good, but a little too oily.
Unfortunately, Akshay and I weren’t too impressed by the quality of the items that we ordered, so we most likely won’t come back. However, I wouldn’t not recommend this place to others since we didn’t order what they’re typically known for (PANCAKES) and their prices are fairly reasonable.
(Akshay’s quick take: both the waffles and huevos rancheros were really, really underwhelming. Snooze was better by miles and miles. Don’t bother with this place.)
Starbucks iced lattes while we wait in this long line!
Close up of the spicy chicken/bacon waffle
Close up of the huevos rancheros.
