Leave the flipping to the griddle and indulge in the top ways to celebrate National Pancake Week in St. Louis. Order your fluffy rounds silver-dollar sized, as classic buttermilk or add some fruit or chocolate chips stacked tall. Try something new with blue cornmeal pancakes or go guilt free with gluten-free flapjacks hot off the griddle. Top them off with butter and syrup dripping down the sides. However you enjoy your pancakes, National Pancake Week comes only once a year, so be sure to stop into one of these local restaurants to enjoy pancakes the way you prefer.

Dressel’s Public House
419 N. Euclid Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63108
(314) 361-1060
www.dresselspublichouse.comDiscover a hidden gem near Forest Park with this treasure of an eatery. Known for its homemade potato chips, lamburgers and “bretzels,” this local restaurant also serves a tasty brunch. Come for brunch and enjoy a casual dining, sustainable farm-to-table experience in a pub environment. Satisfy your desire to experience anything but ordinary with Dressel’s blue cornmeal pancakes made with Anson Mills blue cornmeal and bacon that is specially candied and topped with only real maple syrup that is pure.

Related: Top Brewpubs Serving Seasonal Beer in St. Louis

Chris’ Pancake & Dining
5980 Southwest Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63139
(314) 645-2088
www.bartolinosrestaurants.com/chrispancakesChoose a place that believes when pancakes are part of your restaurant’s name, they have to be good. These pancakes have been touted as the best on The Hill, a locale typically set aside for Italian lunch and dinner fare. Enjoy the traditional buttermilk or try a healthy rich twist with the buckwheat pancakes. Top them off with blueberries, pecans or chocolate chips for 99 cents more.

Ham n’ Egg
2924 Highway K
O’Fallon, MO 63368
(636) 272-3898
www.hamneggsrestaurant.comTake it to go or kick back with some friends in this casual, storefront, cozy diner. Enjoy old-fashioned homemade buttermilk pancakes, or switch it up with some unique ways to serve and eat pancakes that is anything but boring. Bite into pigs in a blanket that wraps sausage links inside a pancake. Or, satisfy your tastebuds and large appetite with a pancake sandwich that complements the restaurant’s name, filled with ham and topped with eggs.

Eckert’s Country Restaurant
951 S. Greenmount Road
Belleville, IL 62220
(618) 233-0513
www.eckerts.comBring the entire family and friends, because there is just the right pancake to please everyone at this old-fashioned country farm restaurant. Order a tall stack, short stack or silver dollar buttermilk pancakes. Add some rich accented flavor with fruit topping, or delight in chocolate “dirty” pancakes topped with a hearty serving of chocolate chips. Enjoy the pancake of the season from the pumpkin pancakes offered in the fall to blueberry multigrain pancakes available in the winter.

Related: Top Pumpkin Dishes in the St. Louis Area

New Day Gluten Free Café
15622 Manchester Road
Ellisville, MO 63011
(636) 527-5000
www.newdayglutenfree.comYes, you can still enjoy pancakes even if you’re on a gluten-free diet. Relish in the taste of pancakes without any guilt or fear for what’s in the ingredients. Don’t worry about peanut allergies or issues with gluten at this local café and bakery where everything is made in a dedicated peanut-free zone without gluten. Even the syrup is safe to enjoy, made with maple-agave syrup to deliver the satisfying taste of maple syrup dripping down the sides of a stack of pancakes without the worries of how you will feel after the meal.

Tere Scott is a freelance writer and author of e-books and two educational blogs. She loves to research information to share. She currently resides in St. Louis. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.