Hodgepodge with syrup on top

 

Today I'm answering just one question from Joyce's Wednesday Hodgepodge, in which she asks the questions and bloggers answer on their own blogs.  Many weeks I only have time to answer a couple of questions, and often not in a timely way at that.  Here's the easy question I selected for this week:

2. Pancakes...are you a fan? Syrup or no syrup? Plain, blueberries, chocolate chips, bananas, or some other add in? Are pancakes on your menu this week? 

Oh yes, definitely a fan of pancakes.  We like them homemade, and especially we like eating pancakes out.  Pure maple syrup, not that fake stuff as in the vintage ad above.  If you'd like to read my memories of growing up with maple sugaring, read here: Maple memories.

In recent years, our homemade pancakes often take the form of sheet pan pancakes, and this post: Two pancake recipes that must be shared includes our favorites.  The pumpkin one is almost life-changing ... it's that good!

We have three favorite eateries that feature pancakes.  Polly's Pancake Parlor is an iconic location that we love, and the pancakes are fabulous.  Read all about it here: A pancake breakfast in the mountains.  If you visit the White Mountains, you owe it to yourself to visit Polly's.  We go there several times a year with friends.  You can choose pancake batters and add-ins.  My favorite here is gingerbread pancakes with coconut.  Polly's hours vary with the season.  It's a very popular place and there's often a wait -- but it's usually not too long.

Intervale Farm Pancake House is another nice place for pancakes an hour or so southwest of our home.   Here, my favorite is cranberry pancakes, with real cranberries added in.  This one has many maple touches to the decor (leaf-shaped wall sconces, for one) and an attached sugar house where you can watch the process in season.

And finally, our favorite local breakfast spot: Benton's Sugar Shack.  This one also has an attached sugar house.  Benton's has an amazing array of pancake platters and I would be hard-pressed to choose a favorite, but one that I really like is the banana coconut pancakes with real whipped cream.  Benton's omelets are also amazing.  This restaurant is open only Thursday-Friday 7 am -noon, and Saturday-Sunday 7 am-2 pm.  Below is a screenshot from their website.

We aren't planning on pancakes at home this week, but we did have pancakes at Benton's last week.  My hubby picked the design your own pancake platter, and I had a taste.  (I chose an omelet myself -- and yes, he had a taste of that too.

It's worth noting that none of these places charge extra for real maple syrup.  And at Benton's, the maple syrup arrives at your table warm, and in a squeeze bottle.  (But greedy folks who use it all up will have to pay for the next bottle.)

There are many other sugarhouse restaurants in New Hampshire and Vermont; these are just a few that we have been to numerous times and enjoy.

And there you have it -- Hodgepodge with a side of syrup.