Bring the Andaz 5th Avenue Home: Make Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes in Your Own Kitchen

There’s much love for the greatest breakfast food ever invented, which can be found at the Andaz 5th Avenue. I discovered them during my first visit to the hotel in December 2010, and I really haven’t been the same since.

Here’s what they look like delivered by room service:

Million Mile Secrets explained,

I was looking forward to trying the lemon poppyseed pancakes which Gary salivates about. Sure enough, they were as good as he said they were!

…We liked the poppyseed pancakes with orange essence and fresh orange slices so much that we ordered them again.

We also ordered Brioche French toast and scrambled eggs with chorizo and breakfast potatoes. The French toast came with two giant slices of toast but was a little bland (especially compared to the orange poppyseed pancakes)!

He also tweeted:

As good as @garyleff says they are!

One Mile at a Time gives them a full endorsement:

The second morning I just had to try Gary’s beloved lemon poppyseed pancakes. Now, I’m no foodie, but these were hands down the best pancakes I’ve ever had. Period. They were amazing. Hell, I’ll stay at this hotel again just to have those pancakes. Yeah, they were that good.

Noob Traveler declares

True to the legend, the Lemon Poppy Seed pancakes were very good, and the best breakfast item.

And Mommy Points agrees:

There was no question as to what to order since my friend Gary at View From the Wing has raved so many times about the Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes. In my experience, he has very good taste in food, so who was I to question which item to select. Yes, pancakes were that good. They really didn’t taste like pancakes at all actually. They tasted just slightly crispy on top, and almost like a rich and fruity sponge cake on the bottom. It was perfect. I ordered them both days and would again in the future. I tasted some of the other food that my daughter and husband ordered over the course of the stay (as shown below), but the pancakes are not to be missed.

A few months after trying the pancakes for the first time I obtained the recipe from the chef at the hotel. I get regular requests for it, and have been passing it along ever since.

I pondered making pancakes at some over the holidays, so I dug it out. And thought that some of you might want it, even to make on New Year’s morning, so it seemed worth sharing.

Buttermilk 4 C
Egg Yolks 10 ea
Lemon Juice 1 oz
Lemon Zest 1 oz
Vanilla Extract 1 T
Melted Butter 1/2 C
AP Flour 4 C
Baking Powder 1 T
Granulated Sugar 1 C

Egg Whites 10 ea
Salt 1 pinch

Cream the yolks with the sugar
Add the rest of the wet ingredients except whites and beat lightly
Slowly add dry ingredients while whisking
Fold in whites just before cooking

As seen on my table at home:

Enjoy!