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Hot out of the restaurant oven, its sweet, dense dough covered with tart slices of baked apple, then topped with a thick better-than-syrup Saigon cinnamon glaze. When I was growing up, that was my family's ultimate breakfast treat -- the plate-sized, more-than-enough-for-a-meal Apple Pancake at Walker Bros., The Original Pancake House.

On many a weekend morning, my family would drive north from our Chicago neighborhood, up Green Bay Road to the suburban Wilmette landmark. And we would be far from alone. The wait to be seated could be an hour or more; the wait once you ordered seemed even longer, though the restaurant kept the pancakes always cooking in an effort to cut the time from request to tabletop.

When I moved from Chicago to Rhode Island more than three decades ago, this baked apple pancake was one of the foods I missed most, along with deep-dish pizza (this was before the days of franchised Pizzeria Unos) and sandwiches of thick-sliced beef brisket dripping with plenty of sweet barbecue sauce. But I could find comfort at Bickford's, whose Big Apple Pancake -- though not quite sweet or moist enough - was a reasonable facsimile of my breakfast-time favorite.

Over the years, I had Bickford's Big Apple many times. As the chain grew, so did the number of places you could find the pancake. Bickford's took over a former Howard Johnson's here, a closed Original McManus there -- Seekonk, Cranston, Warwick, all over.

I knew that a few of these restaurants had closed; it was clear from the chain's effort to rebrand itself as Bickford Grille, with a standard lunch-and-dinner menu as well as its trademark pancakes and omelets, that the traditional difficulty of breakfast spots in finding an all-day clientele had been a problem. (Remember when there were IHOPs everywhere, too?)

But I didn't think about that a couple of weeks ago, when my wife asked me what I wanted to eat on Father's Day. I'd have to work the day shift at The Journal -- the news doesn't rest just because it's Sunday -- but we'd go out afterward. And I knew just what I wanted: The Big Apple at Bickford's.

I planned for it, looking up its nutritional values so I could figure out its Weight Watchers points. Twelve, about half my daily allotment, for half the pancake. That was fine; I'd eat lightly earlier in the day, then cut it in half when it arrived and take the rest home, for a couple of lunches later in the week.

I bragged about it, telling co-workers about my big Father's Day post-work plans. I even posted about it on Facebook: "Alan Rosenberg is working tomorrow on Father's Day, but looking forward to Bickford's Big Apple Pancake with the family afterward."

So I could hardly believe it when we drove to the Airport Plaza Bickford's in Warwick Sunday evening in a mini-caravan -- with our three kids and my 90-year-old mother-in-law along, we couldn't all fit into one car -- to find nobody in the parking lot. And signs on the door from the staff, explaining that the place had closed just hours earlier, and wishing customers well.

Undaunted, we drove to the Bickford's at the Motel 6 on Jefferson Boulevard -- only to find that it was closed, too. I asked my son to use his mobile-Web-enabled cell phone to look up where there was an open Bickford's. And there, in the parking lot, I got the bitter news.

The only location listed for Rhode Island was the Airport Plaza restaurant we had just been to. Bickford's, and its Big Apple Pancake, had left the state.

We eventually had dinner Sunday night. After another stop at another breakfast-and-lunch joint that we didn't realize closes at 3 p.m. every day, we gave up and went down the street to a place where I could get a barbecued-beef sandwich. Not enough sauce, sliced too thin, and the roll was grilled -- a Chicago no-no -- but close enough for jazz. And my wife, a culinary genius, has promised to make me a baked apple pancake this week.

But I mourn today for Bickford's and its Big Apple, so reliably delicious for so many years.

Life in Rhode Island just got a little less sweet.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the closing date for the Airport Plaza Bickford's.

 Tags  Warwick RI

Comments

MMXMonster said:

Airport plaza Bickfords actually Closed Sunday at 2pm, not last Monday. I, and hundreds of others came to wish them good bye, by eating there one last time.
Everyone will be missed.

Link | June 22, 2009 8:25 AM
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Miguel said:

I had a lot of great meaks at Bickfords. Fortunately, IHOP has moved back into the area. Plus there still are plenty of other great local breakfast spots.

Link | June 22, 2009 8:42 AM
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Jessan Dunn Otis said:

Oh dear...not another?!

Clam cakes and chowder at Rocky Point and Crescent Park!

Now...Bickfords and Big Apple.

Is...anyone...getting these recipes?!

(~~~)D

Cheers!

Link | June 22, 2009 8:59 AM
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mp775 said:

The Big Apple can't hold a candle to Walker Bros.! Still, it was a reasonable facsimilie, and I'll certainly miss Bickford's.

The worst part is that finding a place that truly serves breakfast all day in Rhode Island is difficult, since the diners usually close in the early afternoon. All I can think of is IHOP (gross) and Olneyville NY System (limited menu, with almost no vegetables for omelets).

Link | June 22, 2009 9:24 AM
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Tilly4988 said:

Bickfords was awesome! I'm gonna miss the strawberry festival waffles most. I haven't been able to find a homemade waffle that compares with Bickford's, as most others are way too heavy and dense.

Link | June 22, 2009 9:58 AM
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linda said:

North Side Grill Mineral Spring Ave. North Providence, the old Bickfords' serves the "Big Apple" just like Bickfords, enjoy.

Link | June 22, 2009 9:59 AM
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jfcaruso said:

shoulda/coulda gone to lonely ville and got hot weinners/winnys all da way///or around back to wes,s for some souf in ya mouff

Link | June 22, 2009 10:41 AM
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Me said:

How did this place go out of buisness. It was always packed during peak hours and often had more then a few tables full during the off peak hours I was there. Sad to see it go.

Link | June 22, 2009 12:17 PM
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joe said:

A sad day in R.I....I loved their fried clams and wonderful breakfasts

Link | June 22, 2009 3:52 PM
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claudie saftrom said:

hust a little note to tell you that I made the apple pancake last night. Here is the recipe: pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees, then put 5 tablespoons of butter in a 10 inch pyrex dish, melt butter in pre-heated oven..then Beat 4 eggs, 1 cup of flour,and 1 cup of milk plus 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla, together..add to melted butter, in the oven..then add one can of apple pie filling, on top of the batter,sprinkle on the top over the apples 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of white sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon..bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour..you will love it..same as international house of pancakes..enjoy...Claudie..

Link | September 13, 2009 3:48 PM
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Colon Cleanse said:

Bickfords are awesome. I like there food.They cook healthy aswell as delicious food.everytime when i hang out with my friends i"ll go there.
Acne

Link | December 16, 2009 3:48 AM
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