One thing I missed most when I went to college was homemade pancakes. My mom had tried a million different recipes, and finally found that the best pancakes came from The Really Great Food Company. I missed the smell of pancakes cooking on Sunday mornings when I woke up. I especially missed smothering the pancakes in butter and watching it melt under the dripping maple syrup (hungry yet?).
In college, it wasn't just my lack of cooking skills that kept me from making pancakes, but my general laziness. There's something about OTHER people making you pancakes that make them taste SO much better. So I was deprived of yummy gluten free pancakes for four years, with the occasional treat when I went home for holidays and summers.
Well, I recently had a ton of friends from college visit me in Charlotte. We all woke up Sunday morning, starving, but too lazy to make anything. We had been told about a funky breakfast brunch place called Zada Janes over in Plaza Midwood. We decided to head over, and as soon as we got to the lime green restaurant we realized everyone else had the same idea. This place was packed! We stood in the middle of the restaurant and decided to get our meals to-go and then eat them outside by the shuffle board court (Yes, they have shuffle board at the restaurant!). As I browsed the menu for eggs and bacon, my usual GF breakfast staple, my roommate got my attention, "Look! They have gluten free pancakes!" I was doubtful and didn't want to get my hopes up, so I scanned the menu myself. Sure enough, for $2.00 extra, you could substitute regular pancakes in any breakfast combo for gluten free pancakes.
I was ecstatic. Gluten free pancakes!? In a restaurant!? No way! We made our way over to the counter to order. I was sure that when I made the special request, the server would look at me like I was crazy. I ordered my meal, and he didn't even bat an eye. I asked him about the name of the place, which he said originated from his grandmother's name. He was very friendly, and even though he was clearly overwhelmed with orders, I decided to ask him about why they had gluten free pancakes. "I don't see why more restaurants don't have gluten free items to choose from!" he told me - as if this were commonplace.
We all waited patiently for our food and then took a seat on the wall bordering the restaurant to enjoy our breakfasts. I opened the styrofoam container nervously. What if they were awful? I poured the syrup on and took my first bite. They weren't bad at all! Definitely not the homemade pancakes that I was used to, but they tasted pretty good AND I didn't have to make them myself!
So there you have it. Gluten free pancakes at Zada Janes. Here's the address and website if you want to check it out:
1601 Central Ave
Charlotte, NC 28205
(Corner of Central and Thomas)
704-332-3663
www.zadajanes.com
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