The Most Iconic Breakfast in Minnesota

Maria’s Cachapas Venezolanas, 2 cakes with Cotija cheese. $10.25 for the cakes, $2.25 for the must have Cotija Cheese

Summer of 2000 my girlfriend at the time moved into a house at 15th and Franklin meaning that by a long shot the closest breakfast to her house was Maria’s. She went there before I did and she told me about these corn pancakes and as a breakfast enthusiast I was vaguely enthused. Sunny Side Up was my breakfast North star in the Twin Cities. I’ve never been a deep pancake person as an adult. I needed a reason to step away from savory breakfast. But when my gf Anna mentioned that these were corn pancakes with cheese I became more interested. Not too long after hearing about these pancakes I finally got to dig in and it was astounding. IT’S SO MUCH CORN. And the corn tastes so good and it mixes with the rest of the batter to create this very satisfying sweet corn situation. Have you ever been at a Thanksgiving where a mom serves “corn pie” or something similar. I’ve only gotten it in New England with Conor’s mom. It’s delicious and this has a little corn pie situation going on plus this acidy cheese. I do get some maple syrup involved. Not as much as I would on a standard issue pancake, but some. Partially for lubrication, partially for flavor, partially out of deference to the fact that you put syrup on a pancake.
I’ve gone here many times across the years and if I have someone in from out of town I try to get them here. They usually don’t order the Cachapas Venezolanas. I tell them to. They look at it. They just have a bite of mine. They’re stupid. Get these pancakes. I haven’t seen them on the menu anywhere else in my stateside travels. They’re delicious. This place is a gem. The coffee is great. The hang is great. The staff is great. The pancakes are better. The pancakes are better than us all. I’ve been eating them for 24 years and look at me, I’m on the radio, I have a blog. I credit the pancakes exclusively. Dig in.