pancakes

what is it about colonials and outlet malls that gives people, namely tourists, a hankering for batter-based breakfast foods? no, really, i'm asking.

mom and i spent saturday afternoon shopping in williamsburg and not once did she say to me, "you know, i could really go for a syrup drenched belgian waffle. and eggs." even when we both finally admitted to each other how extremely hungry we were, we agreed on a popular non-breakfast-oriented chain instead of the pancake and waffle house, the waffle and pancake house, and IHOP. and gazebo pancakes.

here's my theory: when america was still in the midst of its grand opening celebration (a.k.a., the revolutionary war) it was too dangerous to just hop on your horse and trot down to the local burger king for an order of onion rings ... especially if you were wearing blue or gray. there was probably also a tariff on french fries. so, everyone ended up having to eat at home all the time.

and what meal is most often eaten at home? breakfast! and what did colonial america not have enough of? chickens! but what they did have a lot of was flour because there was a lot of dirt. and the dirt, as we all know, is where flour comes from.

so, they mixed the flour with water and out came pancakes and sometimes waffles ... and they ate them in their houses, safe from enemy fire.

because pancakes and waffles are so filling, there really wasn't a need to hit the local BK or bullets on the way to or from the battlefields. eventually those melted out of existence until the early 1920s when the revolutionary war came mostly to an end and people had eaten enough pancakes to satisfy future generations and now all they wanted was a small, greasy meat patty that contained meat from between 10 and 100 cows and was slopped between soggy bread and, get this, "american" cheese.

but the point is, clearly the revolutionary war lives on in williamsburg (but with relatively less open shooting). you don't have to visit "colonial williamsburg" to experience it. just drive down 60 and have some pancakes. there are about a bazillion pancake houses within one square mile to choose from. it'll be great. you'll see. the family will love it.