Pancakes for the homesick

If you read my Craving Canadian Cuisine? post, you already know about my new obsession with Le Vespe. Don't worry, you will definitely be hearing about this restaurant again! 

Some pals and I decided to go to Le Vespe for lunch between classes for some iced coffees and delicious food. Hailey was craving something more Mexican after watching clips from Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown episode covering Mexican cuisine in Los Angeles, so she opted for the "Via Dei Neri." The quesadilla has cheese, black beans, and onions inside, and is served with salsa, jalapeños, and sour cream. Raelyn choose the "Via Del Leone" for lunch. A chicken wrap with cheese, onions, tomatoes, and chipotle mayo, the dish looked delicious served up with the home fries that I love so much. However, I was more in the mood for breakfast, so I ordered an American (and Canadian?) staple: pancakes. 

I considered spending the extra euro or so and splurging for the maple syrup, but I decided to stick with their house syrup and order bacon instead. Once again, I was not disappointed in my choice. 

Bacon always has been and probably always will be one of my guilty pleasures. I am most definitely a carnivore, and crispy bacon is my weakness. It pairs perfectly with fluffy pancakes for breakfast, or with toast, lettuce, and tomatoes for lunch, or with a big, juicy cheeseburger for dinner... Bacon is just so versatile! And the bacon at Le Vespe checks off all my boxes: crispy but not burnt, flavourful but not fatty, and thickly cut. It seemed to have a slight sweet flavouring too. Maybe a brown sugar dusting? Whatever it was, my taste buds were thanking me greatly. 

The pancakes were not quite what I was expecting, but they were still incredibly delicious. There was something about them that reminded me of my father's cornbread muffins, which I thought was odd. 

My dad stole his cornbread recipe from one of the local BBQ joints in Toledo. Part cornbread mix, part yellow food cake mix, the muffins turn out tasty and moist every time. The yellow cake mix adds just enough sweetness and moisture to muffins that they don't crumble to pieces with each bite. I love his cornbread muffins, but never did I consider how pancakes could have a similar flavour. 

I don't know what it was about the pancakes at Le Vespe - whether they were reminding me of the cornbread or of the yellow cake mix my dad uses - but either way, after one bite I was thinking of summer nights eating ribs with my family. The flavour wasn't off putting in the slightest, but just left me slightly confused. I spent the rest of the meal trying to pinpoint what it was about these pancakes that was similar to the muffins, but alas I just could not figure it out on my own. 

Despite the confusion, I still loved every bite. The pancakes themselves were a little dryer than I'm used to, but I think I actually preferred it that way. At least, the dryness of it seemed to help the pancake soak up a bunch of the syrup without becoming overly drenched in the thick, sugary substance. I always love pancakes and syrup but sometimes when the pancakes are extra fluffy, they absorb so much of the syrup that they become overly saturated in the sweet liquid, and then every bite feels like a cavity. But these pancakes perfectly balanced out the sweet syrup, allowing me to devour all three quickly without feeling like my teeth were rotting. 

Once again, Le Vespe, you have won over my heart and my stomach with your mouth-watering breakfast food. My stomach grumbles  just thinking about what I'm going to try next.