Pancakes, on a grand or silver-dollar scale, in L.A.

Name me one person who doesn’t occasionally long to wake up, slowly, and amble out to the kitchen for a pancake. But not all of us are blessed with a significant other with serious pancake-making skills. Fortunately, you can find some stellar examples at restaurants around town that are ready to welcome sleepy heads. Add a good cup of coffee and it’s not so bad waking up to the world. American comfort food at its best.

Cooks County

For Cooks County’s weekend brunch, baker extraordinaire Roxana Jullapat makes a fantastic buttermilk pancake. Very plain, it’s not much too look at, but boy does this one deliver. Baked to order in a cast iron skillet, it’s, oh, 10 inches wide and a good inch thick, and light and fluffy. It’s served with a dark fuchsia blueberry compote (like all Jullapat’s desserts, notably not too sweet) and, if you like, bourbon-barrel maple syrup. And not to forget her exemplary basket of morning pastries, including a pecan sticky bun and ginger scone. Like her mentor, Nancy Silverton, Jullapat has the touch with doughs.

8009 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 653-8009. Baked pancake, $11.

Valerie at Grand Central Market

Valerie Gordon of Valerie Confections first won our hearts with her chocolate-dipped toffees. And now she’s expanded with a cafe in downtown’s Grand Central Market. Weekdays she serves breakfast and lunch, but on Saturdays, you can order her silver dollar pancakes. “They’re a little homage to Sears Fine Food in San Francisco, and I always make little pancakes at home for our kids,” says Gordon. They’re adorable golden rounds, a dozen to an order, and served with a maple syrup compound butter. If pancakes aren’t your thing, you can get old-fashioned cinnamon toast — or perhaps a salted caramel croissant or a crème fraiche scone.

317 Broadway, Los Angeles, (213) 621-2781. Silver dollar pancakes, $8. Only on Saturdays.

Axe

Chef and owner Joanna Moore has been serving up hearty vegetable-centric fare at Axe on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice since 1999. And one of the big draws has been her giant nine-grain pancake — big enough for an entire table to share. The name may sound like hippie fare, but this pancake has heft and sophistication. And the beautiful thing is you can get a half-order, which is about as large as a small pizza: Spongy and dense with whole grains, the legendary pancake is altogether delicious with a little butter and some maple syrup. Nourishing to body and spirit.

1009 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, (310) 664-9787. Nine-grain pancake, $12.

irene.virbila@latimes.com