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Despite the global appeal of the pancake, Americans have given this simple treat—made with flour, eggs and milk—iconic status. And different regions of the country have made the pancake their own, adding local ingredients and inspired touches. Today, sitting down to a plate of flapjacks often gives you an insider’s look at some of those regional tastes.

Sure, America has also spawned national restaurant chains devoted to this iconic treat. But Travel + Leisure’s favorite pancake houses were selected for their creative recipes and toppings, sugary or savory fillings, and regional sides. And we made sure the pitcher on the sideboard was filled with genuine maple syrup (or the regional equivalent).

From the East Village to West Hollywood, cooks are flipping flapjacks, Johnny cakes, hot cakes, hoe cakes, or Dutch babies.

The Farmers Diner

Quechee, Vermont

This retro-style diner in the Green Mountain State is a crunchy granola advocate of the burgeoning localvore movement: founder Tod Murphy’s mantra is “Food from Here.” So his short order cooks only use ingredients (milk, eggs, bacon, cheese, and even tofu) sourced from regional farms and purveyors. Naturally, real Vermont maple syrup and sweet Cabot butter comes with an order of the Gleason Grain’s organic wheat flour buttermilk pancakes. Ask for a cup of Vermont Liberty Tea Company’s fruit-lavender brew or, during harvest season, a cold glass of Champlain Orchard’s apple cider.

Best sides: Vermont Smoke & Cure ham steak or maple sausage.

Stanley

New Orleans

This new eatery on Jackson Square in the French Quarter is local chef Scott Boswell’s wake up call. (It’s just down the lane from Stella!, the other half of his homage to Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire.) What you will desire here, however, is to sit at the soda fountain counter on a swivel stool and order the short stack of pancakes served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and Steen’s Cane Syrup, Louisiana’s traditional sweetener with a molasses kick. And if you have a Big Easy appetite, save room for the Eggs Stella: cornmeal-crusted soft shell crabs atop poached eggs with Creole hollandaise.

Best sides: After a night on the town, order a spicy bowl of P&J’s oyster, shrimp, and andouille sausage gumbo.

Hawaiian Style Café

Big Island, Hawaii

Wins hands down for biggest pancake in the tropics. In the market town of Waimea, this breezy diner is the favorite stop for locals who love their breakfast Loco Moco (white rice topped with hamburger patties, grilled onions, fried egg, and brown gravy) on the XXL side. In fact, pretty much everything on the menu can be smothered in the housemade gravy or a fried egg, including the platter-sized Pancake Sandwich, a two-stack served with a generous scoop of whipped butter and coconut syrup. Just get here early, because the owner closes to go fishing when the kitchen runs out of ingredients.

Best sides: Fried rice, Spam and Portuguese sausage.

The Original Pancake House

Portland, Oregon

Before IHOP, there was Original. In downtown Portland, this is the original Original location of the national franchise now famous for its air-filled, oven-baked Dutch Baby pancake, which resembles a sugar-powdered volcanic crater slightly smaller than Mount St. Helens. The choice of batters is comprehensive: choose from buckwheat, sourdough, and even wheat germ. The Swedish pancakes are served with lingonberries and potato latkes come with sour cream or cinnamon applesauce. Try the “Three Little Pigs in a Blanket”: sizzling links encased in buttermilk bliss.

Best sides: Sugar-cured hickory smoked ham and corned beef hash.

Hominy Grill

Charleston, South Carolina

Chef Robert Stehling may not be a Lowcountry local, but his “highrise” biscuits and breakfast shrimp are as authentic as Nana used to make, and the buttermilk pancakes are paired with apple maple syrup and pecan butter. On a corner of Rutledge Avenue in an up-and-coming district of this genteel Southern city, Hominy Grill has been serving a gracious plenty to Dixie diners since 1996. Other regional brunch specialties include a fried green BLT or she crab soup. And you can’t beat the pitchers of sweet tea poured by waitresses with equal doses of Southern charm.

Best sides: Sausage gravy and cheese grits.

Lula

Chicago

This hip Windy City café is another big supporter of fresh ingredients from regional markets and farmers. There’s always a “griddle cake” on the menu, but the ingredients change according to season and whim. In winter, they might be paired with stone fruit preserves, candied pumpkin seeds, and maple sabayon; as summer arrives in the Heartland, you can expect grape jam, poached raisins, and spiced creme anglaise. Healthy breakfast standards (scrambled tofu with miso sauce, oatmeal studded with dried cherries) are served daily, but the weekend brunch menu is when the kitchen stops counting calories and indulges regulars with specials such as lemon and pistachio bread pudding with strawberry rhubarb preserves or a grilled pork sausage plate with focaccia, soft boiled egg, and Michigan ramps.

Best sides: Apple-maple-sage sausage and nitrate-free Gunthorp Farms bacon.

Lake Placid Lodge

Lake Placid, New York

Contrary to popular belief, New York, not Vermont, is the largest producer—gallon for gallon—of pure maple syrup in the Lower 48. And in the Adirondacks, the buttermilk pancakes—served here overlooking Whiteface Mountain at rustic tables handcrafted by woodsman Barry Gregson—are as light as the crisp mountain air. Maybe it’s due to the free-range eggs from Lake, Meadow, and Mountain Farms and the locally tapped South Meadow Farms maple syrup.

Best side: Farmland cider-cured, applewood-smoked bacon.

The Downyflake

Nantucket, Massachusetts

A weathered gray shingle diner, popular with the summer crowd that waits for the housemade doughnuts, gets equally high marks for its plain Yankee pancakes. Since this is New England, you can choose flapjacks made with tart cranberries and fresh blueberries. Order a short stack and save room for a serving of raisin bread French toast. Pure maple syrup is a premium so expect to pay extra.

Best side: Hot cinnamon doughnut.

Prune

New York City

Gabrielle Hamilton’s gutsy food at her hole-in-the-wall café on the Lower East Side is inspired by classic American dishes. Don’t miss the “Dutch Style” jumbo blueberry pancake baked in the oven—it’s paired with Canadian bacon, sour cream, and powdered sugar. Try the prime dry-aged rib eye grilled with shallot-parsley butter to accompany two eggs any style. Just be prepared to wait: Prune is always crowded for dinner, and snagging a table for brunch on the weekends is tougher than getting an audience with the Pope.

Best sides: A plate of smoked sturgeon, sable, and salmon from Russ and Daughters.

The Griddle Café

West Hollywood, California

On Sunset Boulevard, wake up with a breakfast suited for champions, not carb-conscious celebrities. There are 18 over-sized hotcakes to choose from on the all-day menu, from basic buttermilk to sugar bombs topped with whipped cream, streusel, and caramel. The “Saturday Morning Fever” is swirled with Baileys and Kahlua, while “Scotch on the Rocks” is filled with coconut, pecans, and butterscotch chips. And French toast fans have just as tough a decision to make when ordering. Don’t leave without a trucker hat, apron or, even thong undies graphically emblazoned with the Griddle’s signature stack.

Best sides: Cinnamon apples or bananas baked with brown sugar.

지난 날을 돌이켜 보면, 난 작은 위험은 두려워 하고 큰 위험을 무릎쓰며 살아온 것 같다.
내 인생에서 가장 큰 변화는 아시아 대륙에서 북미 대륙으로 겁도 없이
모든 걸 훌훌 털어버리고 홀연 단신으로 넘어왔다는 거.
인생의 모든 걸 바꿔버릴 수 있는 이렇게 큰 위험을 어쩜 이리 고민 없이 결단을 내렸을까.
예병일씨가 전한 메시지는 큰 위험을 하지 말라는 것이 아니라, 큰 위험을 내리기 까지는 작은 위험으로
지속적인 도전을 하고 끊임없이 환경을 변화해야 한다는 것이다.
그래야 사활을 건 큰 위험을 피할 수 있고, 반대로 큰 위험이 닥쳤다는 것은 그 만큼 작은 위험들을 두려워 하고
변화를 거부했다는 것이므로 가급적이면 피해야 하는 것이 큰 위험인 것이다.

평소 큰 위험은 생각 없이 행동으로 밀어 붙여야 한다는 것이 내 원칙이었나 보다.
그래서인가. 얼마 전 인터넷 사주를 보니 잘못된 선택으로 인생에서 후회를 하는 경우가 많다고 하더라.
미국의 경우 너무나 오랫동안 간절히 오고 싶었던 곳이라 큰 위험이 크게 느껴지지 않았는지 모르겠다.
당연히 와야 할 곳이라 생각했기에 결단이 어렵지는 않았지만, 준비가 너무 부족했다.
작은 위험을 두려워하고 피해왔기 때문에, 변화되지 않은 상태에서 맞이한 큰 위험은 말 그대로 사활을 건
생존 게임이 되어 버렸다.
그리고 지금 이 말이 내 마음 속이 깊이 들어온 건. 내가 지금 다시 사활을 건 큰 위험을 고민 중에 있기 때문이다.
이 말을 크게 공감하는 이상 똑같은 큰 위험을 무릎쓰는 것은 현명하지 못한 판단일 것이다.
작은 위험들.
방을 옮기고 생활 환경을 바꾸는 것. 비록 눈 앞에 뻔히 보이는 불편한 생활들이 기대되지만, 목표를 위해서 감수해 내야 하는 위험들. 이러한 작은 위험들을 먼저 감수해 내야 할 것이다.
그리고 기회가 된다면 다시 거주지를 옮기기 전에 한번 여행을 가 보는 것도 큰 도움이 될 것 같다.
비록 넉넉하지 못한 자금에 많이 부족함을 느끼겠지만, 가벼운 마음으로 한번 다녀오는 것과 내 주변의 모든 짐을 들고 한번에 큰 이동을 하는 것은 너무 다른 결과를 가져올 것이다.
어쩜 한번 다녀오고 난 이후에 결정을 짓는다면, 큰 위험이 아닌 작은 위험으로 느껴질 지 모르는 거다.

 계획을 세워야겠다. 큰 위험을 작은 위험으로 만들 수 있도록.