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This garish corner in Brooklyn has wonderful neon, but that's about all it has, appearance-wise, going for it.

The Hot Cake House is a 24 hour joint that serves mostly breakfast, though some sandwiches and burgers are also on the menu.

I had read that most people order the hot cakes, so I got them with eggs and chorizo. After seeing the hashbrowns on the grill, I had to have some of those as well, and they conveniently come with a mexican omelette.

And voila, everything was great. Not like exquisitely great, but definitely diner food great. Eggs and chorizo were a huge portion of just that, lots of chorizo, everything nicely combined. If they had fresh corn tortillas, I might eat breakfast nowhere else. The hot cakes were absolutely hot cake-like, doused in some butter-like substance, and then served with something that is heated, but probably not pure maple syrup. Hell, it may contain no maple syrup for all I know (I saw some patrons bring in their own)!

The mexican omelette was stocked full of cheese, chorizo, onions and peppers, and the hashbrowns are thinly shred, but these are bigger thin shreds, nice and brown. If I lived in the neighborhood, I might be there all the time. The coffee looks scary—we didn't go there.

The place is small, a combination of fast food booths and homebuilt stuff, all a very cheerful yellow. The people watching, day or night, is superb.

Other press:

• Hotcake House hits half-century: 24-hour eatery is a timeless testament to carbs and crowds
  Pete Schulberg, The Portland Tribune, Apr 29, 2005


• Late night fine dining
  Betsy at Metroblogging Portland, May 14, 2006


• i am pariah: bloated


• Up All Night: Original Hotcake House is Your Best Friend
  Adam Gnade, The Portland Mercury, Apr 14, 2005