Sorella's, Brookline, MA

Hi! We took a month off.... After six brunches in May we decided we needed a break! (plus, my parents were here and Diego went to Europe). But, we are back.

Last Saturday we woke up craving pancakes. The day was beautiful so we hop on our bikes and rode to Jamaica Plain. We had our minds set in Sorella's, ranked no. 13 in the list of America's best pancakes. As in every occasion we go to Sorella's, there was some excitement as to whether we would beat the early closing time; sometimes at 1:30pm, sometimes at 2pm.

We made it there with plenty of time to carefully consider each option of the many daily specials.

A blackboard on the floor lists at least four types of special pancakes, and a whiteboard on the wall

describes the omelets of the day. On top of that there is an impressively regular long menu of pancakes, waffles, french toasts, burritos, sandwiches and all kinds of breakfast fare. And we also had time to notice a small sign on our table newly advertising their freshly squeezed orange, grapefruit and carrot juices. Diego had a freshly squeezed OJ (you also have the option to ask for the bottled one) and I order half OJ-half GJ.

I don't think there will be a day when we'll try something from the regular menu.... the specials are always tempting, varied and fun. In addition, you can order them with or without toppings;

usually a mound of whipped cream, fresh fruit and a "twist" (i.e. nutmeg, caramelized cranberries, nuts, etc). The copious toppings, however, are relatively expensive, specially as compared to the inexpensive and abundant plates ($6 for the pancakes/toast/waffle, $3 for the extra topping), so we chose wisely: I ordered mine with it, Diego's without, and we shared.

So, what did we order? Diego had the macadamia nut pancake with banana and raspberry. Because he didn't have any wet toppings, he lusciously poured watered-down syrup on them Someone at a neighboring table brought their own syrup, so clearly this is not the highest point of Sorella's. But the pancakes are light, fluffy and tasty. I had corn bread (oh yeah!) french toast;

two awesome, huge, crisp on the outside, crumbly on the inside slices of no-sugar added cornbread topped with whipped cream (slightly runny for my taste), fresh strawberries and caramelized cranberries. Diego helped with the toppings, but my plate was too large even with Diego's help, and I had to leave some :(.

Sorella's is definitely a great place for brunch. Some outside tables would make it even better, specially for those that, after 50 minutes of biking on a beautiful summer want to sit down, replenish calories and enjoy some of the best pancakes in town.