How we get our pancakes that fluffy

People ask us about the pancakes more than anything else on the menu. There's no single magic trick — it's a handful of small habits that stack up into a tall, cloud-soft pile. None of them are complicated, and all of them work just as well in a home kitchen.

Start with the batter

Everything good about a pancake is decided before it ever touches the pan. We use buttermilk, always — the acidity reacts with the baking soda for lift and keeps the crumb tender. If you've none in, stir a tablespoon of lemon juice into regular milk and give it ten minutes.

The other golden rule: stop mixing too soon. Fold the wet into the dry until the flour just disappears and leave the lumps alone. Overworked batter builds gluten, and gluten gives you chew when you want fluff.

Patience at the pan

Let the batter rest for ten or fifteen minutes so the flour hydrates and the bubbles settle. Then cook over medium heat, not high — wait for bubbles to form and pop across the surface before you flip, and only ever flip once.

That's the whole secret. Good buttermilk, a light hand, a little rest, and a calm pan. Get those right and you'll have the Sunrise Stack at home — though we'll still happily make it for you on a Sunday.