Short Stack Eatery is filled with many sounds: a dozen conversations, laughter, the clatter of silverware, the ding of the bell in the kitchen notifying the waitstaff that someone’s order is ready. The staff work hard, but they don’t have the rushed, irritable attitude some waiters have during a busy period, and the vibe of the place always stays positive. I’ve passed this place a lot, but never when it happened to be open, so didn’t really pay attention. It opened in February of 2014, and has proved popular since.

When I arrive at six p.m., the dinner rush is already beginning to pick up, and for the next three hours the place is packed, mostly with students or young couples, a few families, and 20-something hipsters.

The place is a perfect mix of classic American diner and hipster coffee house. It’s airy, and well lit by light fixtures made out of mason jars and – my favorite – a chandelier made out of kitchen whisks. The tables all have old letters and postcards arranged under the glass top. An appropriately breakfast-themed Ron Swanson quote is written on a chalkboard above the counter.

This isn’t your grandma’s IHOP.

By eight p.m., what I can see of State Street out the window is quiet, but inside the place is awash with the sound of conversation and laughter, the clink of forks and knives, and the ding of a bell in the kitchen signifying a dish is ready to go out.

I order the chocolate chip shortstack, which consists of three thick, fluffy pancakes with delightfully crunchy, caramelized edges. They are the perfect cake-like consistency, topped with chocolate chips and whipped cream. My dining companion ordered the “surprise special”, which turns out to be chocolate chip, banana, and graham cracker pancakes and a “world famous” bloody mary (all the drinks, of course, come in mason jars), which has a wonderful earthy taste with just enough bite. It’s the perfectly satisfying breakfast food experience, and even the short stack is immensely filling.

Around nine, things begin to lag off a little, and more or less stay that way all night, with a bit of a pickup in traffic around bar time. There’s an art crawl going on outside on state street, which brings in a number of older couples and families, which doesn’t seem to fit with the place’s typical late-night demographic of students and partiers, which, by one am, make up most of the few customers still hanging around. A man at the table next to me tells his dining companions how he showed up one day around 7:30am and the place was dead, but if you come in around 9, there’s a line out the door and around the corner. When things get busy at Short Stack, things echo and get loud, which doesn’t always make for the best Sunday morning brunch vibe. It’s definitely a very different place from short stack at 3am, when the radio starts playing Chicago blues, and the only other people in the place besides you are a sad-looking older man hunched over his cup of coffee, and a rather intoxicated girl having a very emotional phone conversation by the door. But no matter what time you go, the pancakes will not disappoint.