Mid-Michigan Dining

• 12401 S. Harlem Ave.
• Palos Heights, IL 60463
• (708) 361-7744
• No Known Website
• Menu

Lumes Pancake House in Palos Heights, IL

I know I say this every time I do a breakfast review, but I am not a breakfast person.  My girlfriend’s parents, however, are.  Day two of J’s vacation started bright and early (for me anyway) with breakfast at a popular destination in downtown Palos Heights. 

Lumes Pancake House is situated on Harlem Avenue just past downtown Palos Heights.  When we pulled up around 10:30, the parking lot was packed.  We debated not stopping, but J jumped out of the car to go put our names on the list and see what the wait was.  I went with her and when she got to the doors, I started to wonder if this was a good idea.  There were a lot of people inside.  J got a number and came back out and said the wait was around twenty minutes.  We decided to stay.  Turns out the wait wasn’t all that long and by the time we were seated, things started to calm down a little bit.

They had just cleared the table from the group before us when we sat down in a booth near the door.  A guy came over to set silverware and it looked like he was in a place setting competition or something.  He had a whole handful of dishes, napkins and silverware and he was setting places at Mach 3.  Can’t complain about efficiency here.  A second guy came over with water before our waitress made it over for drink orders.  Both of J’s parents got coffee while I got a Coke and J got an OJ.

Lumes Pancake House in Palos Park, IL

After she brought the drinks back, we were ready to order.  I went with one of their signature omelets.  I probably should have gotten something with meat, but I got a two cheese omelet instead.  The omelets are made with five eggs.  The two cheeses were cheddar and Monterrey Jack.  There was a lot of egg.  Because there was so much egg, it didn’t seem like there was very much cheese.  I could see it in there when I took a bite, but couldn’t really taste it.  The omelet was cooked perfectly and looked good on the plate alongside the hash browns, but I needed more flavor.  That’s something that could have been remedied if I had just ordered a different omelet.  The omelet comes with a choice of pancakes or toast.  I got wheat toast with butter.

J and her mom both got the Signature Waffle.  These huge plates come with a ginormous waffle topped with fresh fruit and whipped cream.  Both of them raved about the dish.  J got ordered a side of bacon with her waffle.  It wasn’t 100% the way she likes it but she had a few pieces then passed a few on to me.  I thought it was good and the addition of maple syrup that J put on them made it even better.

J’s step dad just got a regular waffle.  It was the same waffle the ladies ordered without the fruit.  It looked delicious and he tore through it.  He also got a side of bacon to compliment waffle.

Our bill was just under $50, but there was a lot of food on the table.   We had some trouble fitting all the plates on the table.  Lumes is a pretty hot breakfast spot on the south side of Chicago.  They have a couple different locations in Chicagoland.  I don’t get really picky when it comes to breakfast because it’s not my favorite meal, but Lumes does pretty well.  I left full and probably won’t need to eat again until dinner so I don’t have much to complain about.  Even with the building being packed, the waitress did a good job of getting back to us and our food came up really quickly.  Large crowds must be the norm and they handle it really well.