*Pancakes at Gail’s… Sort of

Pattycake Pattycake, Baker Steve
Gail’s on the Common, Ridgefield aka My Kitchen

Cost: Negligible

cake_crop.jpgI’m just as confused as you are. At the time the Roadfood book (from which I’m getting this “best of” list) went to press, Gail’s on the Common in Ridgefield was closed. The Internet is spotty, but it may be back from the dead, I’m not sure. Regardless, the book states, “It was a sad day when Gail’s on the Common closed last year; the friendly little cafe had been a pancake lover’s breakfast destination for years, especially for its cheddar corn pancakes.” They deemed these pancakes some of the best in the entire country.

Fortunately for us (more specifically, me, Hoang and Damian), Gail gave up the recipe and it’s printed in the book. It being a Friday night – usually take-out night in the CTMQ household – I decided to have a go at it. I’d already made some Turkish zucchini cake things (which were delicious with my homemade cucumber-yogurt dip) so why not up the ante and make some pancakes?

Well, for one, I’m not known for precise measurements. Hoang does all the baking. I like to “cook.” That is, throw a bunch of stuff together and make it taste good. (Note: Hoang is an excellent cook too, she just happens to like to bake as well.) Making pancakes from scratch is closer to baking than anything, so I was leery. But I pressed onward.

According to Roadfood, the pancakes should be, “lumpy with sweet corn kernels, the fluffy batter is webbed with enough sharp cheddar that each cake develops a mottled crust that is alternately cake-tender and cheese-chewy. The result is unmitigated breakfast bliss.” They also say that they are to be served with syrup… Which didn’t strike me as a good idea. Let’s cook!

I’m not going to post the whole recipe here but it’s your basic pancake recipe with some corn niblets thrown in. I assume Bisquick would work, but I’m hardcore.

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Batter Up! You wish you had a pink whisk like me.

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Cheese: Grated. Fingers: Surprisingly unbloodied!

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You can tell from the pan I was several pancakes in at this point. It took me a while to get a feel for this stuff…

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These are as close to circles as I ever got. Once one side is half cooked, you throw on a bunch of that cheddar cheese and then flip ‘em over in another minute or so.

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You’re not even looking at my masterpiece. You’re looking at the flowered plate. Jerk.

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There. Is that better? Is this plate “cooler?” Note: I put the syrup on the side because it just didn’t sound right…

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… But it IS right! They are delicious with syrup!

I was proud of my efforts. They never got fluffy like a proper pancake should, but that’s probably because I beat my batter for too long. Or maybe not long enough. In the end, all three of us ate a bunch of them and then all three of us had them again as leftovers on Saturday morning. Hoang deemed the recipe good enough for her binder of “good enough” recipes and for that, I thank Gail’s on the Common – The best pancakes in Connecticut that you may or may not be able to get anymore.

CTMQ Eats through Roadfood’s Best of List

2 responses to “*Pancakes at Gail’s… Sort of”

  1. A Bristling Son says:

    Not at all what your post is about, but I got excited when I read about your zucchini pancakes and immediately identified as Zucchini Latkes! They are yummy. I have had them at Crazy Burger, in Narragansett, RI

  2. Steve says:

    I just looked up the recipe for “zucchini latkes” and yeah, that’s pretty much what I made. Throw in some parm and some parsley though. But it’s the cuke sauce that makes it sing.

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