Get ready to dive back into AY Magazine’s Pancakes and French Toast this week! We’re serving up two twists this week, though. AY Publisher Heather Baker has a special guest joining her for this trip: KARK host Mandy Noell, who will be putting her love of food to good use for this week’s Bucket List segment.

 

The second twist is where Baker and Noell are going for the Pancakes and French Toast Bucket List. Most of the spots we’ve visited so far have been pretty standard: The Pancake Shop and Eden Restaurant in Hot Springs. This week, though, Baker and Noell are heading to Kemuri.

Heather Baker and Mandy Noell

Best known for its innovative sushi, Kemuri also serves up some tasty breakfast items. This might not be widely known, but you definitely shouldn’t waste any time finding out how good this breakfast menu is.

 

“this is one of my favorite spots in Little Rock. We’re at Kemuri, which you know for its sushi, and I just found out that they have a good breakfast menu,” Noell says.

“We’re talking pancakes and French toast. It’s time to go in and eat,” Baker says.

 

Kemuri general manager Dave Bisceglia is getting everything ready for Baker and Noell inside the restaurant. Bisceglia says that the breakfast menu is only offered for on limited days – in fact, only one day per week.

“We’re excited to be on AY’s Breakfast Bucket List. A lot of people probably don’t even realize that we do breakfast. We do offer it only on Sunday. It’s a real treat,” he said.

 

This week, Bisceglia is sending out some signature brunch items, including the Chcolate Cappuccino Pancakes, which have chocolate chips, cappuccino crea, fresh berries and toffee nuggets; Green Tea Pancakes, which have fresh berries, ginger honey, Chantilly cream and peanut granola; and French toast with a miso-caramel sauce.

Of course, there’s also some extras, like an eggs benedict with soft shell crab!

 

When everything arrives at the table, it’s an eye-catching sight. Plates swimming with pancakes and glasses of mimosas are all there for the taking.

For Noell, it’s a no-brainer where to start: the Green Tea Pancakes. “When you thought that you couldn’t have anything better than green tea, you’ve got green tea pancakes. It’s got Chantilly cream on it, fresh berries. It is so good. The Chantilly cream in this, I think is what really makes it taste like vanilla, and it’s nice and it’s fluffy. It’s perfect,” Noell says.

 

Meanwhile, Baker starts her feast with eh Chocolate Cappuccino Pancakes, which she says is “one of my faves” at Kemuri.

But Baker is also a fan on the French toast that Kemuri serves up as well. According to her, the French toast, which is a take on a bananas foster, is “all perfect.”

 

Stepping away from the pancakes for a moment, Noell plunges her fork into one of the plump eggs benedict at the table. Featuring soft shell crab, this is a can’t-miss item. “It is delicious, especially if you love crab,” she says.

Not only was this a delicious trip, but an educational one. It’s not every day that you find out that a favorite eating spot has an overlooked brunch menu. “What did we learn today? That if you didn’t know they have brunch or breakfast here, obviously, it’s delicious,” Noell says.

 

Baker agrees, saying, “Everything Sunday at Kemuri here in Hillcrest, it is on-point. This is where you’ll find me on Sunday.”

With that, another week of the Pancakes and French Toast Bucket List is wrapped. Tune in next week to see where the Bucket List Tour takes us next.

For a chance to win a Kemuri gift card, click here.