Waffles vs. Pancakes vs. French toast: Which is best?

[Clint_L]

I eat all three happily, and of those three, it’s most often pancakes, followed by waffles then FT. But that’s nothing to do with popularity.

For the record, I don’t consider them true substitutes for each other, either.

Pancakes are the easiest to find in restaurants and make at home. I believe they’re available in a wider variety of flavors. It’s even moreso if you include the thin flatbreads from other cultures that are often called pancakes, like the ones served with mu shu pork. So I eat them more often than the other 2 combined.

Waffles, OTOH, hold toppings- especially butter-better than either of the others, thanks to those nifty little pockets.

FT is usually more subtle & refined in my experience, and is one of the options I look for if I’m having breakfast in an upscale facility.

For me, it is the opposite. French toast are the simplest to make and are the thing I do when there is bread to use up. They are one step removed from making actual toast - mix is just milk, eggs, cinnamon and a touch of vanilla. Waffles are next because it is just basic pancake batter, no need to fold the eggs, thrown on a waffle iron. Fire and forget.

Pancakes are the family tradition and good ones take a bit of finesse. Buttermilk goes without saying. I separate the eggs and whip the whites, gently folding them in so that the pancakes are crispy on the outside but fluffy within. And you have to cook bacon first to get the fat.

Pre-mix pancakes horrify me.

Toppings can change the equation - maple syrup is great with all of them, but a simple sauteed apple or pear topping goes great with french toast, strawberries and whipped cream are the classic waffle pairing at our home, and my favourite with pancakes is a homemade raspberry sauce.

I’ve never had waffles with chicken - the concept seems weird to me but I know it’s a southern classic so I’d like to try it.

 

[billd91]

so without being racist - is Waffles and fried chicken a black american thing? Its only just being introduced as a breakfast option here (mainly in US themed diners) and I’ve never tried it.

How widespread is the eating of Waffles and fried chicken?

No and... yes, kind of.

Waffles come to the US via Europe - particularly France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Fried Chicken was already a West African dish before the slave trade, but once the southern planters had slave populations, it became a meat dish slaves had ready access to and so became something a staple. Then, like a lot of other West African preparations, it spread into general southern cooking - where Black Americans are still significantly concentrated. Migration north to support war industries helped spread Black cuisine in general across the rest of the US. So, yeah, in a way it's still a significant food for a lot of Black Americans like other foods their ancestors cooked and handed down as a culture across the generations.

Both waffles and fried chicken are widespread. You can get them virtually anywhere.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I’ve had chicken & waffles a couple times. The salty/sweet thing is interesting, but I prefer getting that fix other ways. Like…a traditional American breakfast of eggs, bacon (or sausage), grits (optional), toast (optional, depending on my chosen egg prep) & pancakes.

Wouldn’t turn it down, but I’m not going searching for it on a regular basis.

 

[payn]

 

[Riley]

Crepes. With fresh lemon curd, blueberries, and powdered sugar.

Or savory with peppers, onions, and feta.

 

[Mad_Jack]

There is only one correct answer.

Crepes.

Personally, I'm about equal on waffles vs. French toast - it usually depends on what being put on them that makes the decision...
(Melted butter and cinnamon sugar on French toast was a breakfast staple of my childhood, and the nostalgia/programming is strong...)

 

[delericho]

There is only one correct answer.

And that answer is "yes please."

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Do crepes count as pancakes?

IMHO, yes.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

I think the late, great Biz Markie gave the definitive answer to this one...

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I’ve had chicken & waffles a couple times. The salty/sweet thing is interesting, but I prefer getting that fix other ways. Like…a traditional American breakfast of eggs, bacon (or sausage), grits (optional), toast (optional, depending on my chosen egg prep) & pancakes.

Wouldn’t turn it down, but I’m not going searching for it on a regular basis.

Quoting myself to clarify: while chicken & waffles IS a common meal in black southern cuisine, it’s much more common EAST of the Mississippi than west of it. Part of that is because of the strength of Creole cuisine in Louisiana and Tex-Mex in Texas, etc.

So while I’m a black southerner who has lived most of his life in the American south, all of that has been in Louisiana and Texas. Result: I didn’t have chicken & waffles until I was in my late 40s or early 50s when someone opened a Lolo’s Chicken & Waffles in the next county, so I did have to search for it the first time I had it. While both were nicely done and could stand alone without the other, the combination (as mentioned before) just didn’t hit home with me.

And unfortunately, the city it’s in has several nice restaurants all clustered together in its Old Downton area, nowhere near Lolo’s. So when we‘re over there- which is almost weekly- we almost never go to Lolo’s.