An Apple A Day...

In addition to Mom's health crisis and subsequent surgery, a tragedy of a different sort has also befallen me this month -- my friend Lauren, my one local pal who I could turn to for last minute plans, moved to the suburbs. Sure, it's closer to her and her husband's work, and they can get more bang for their buck in terms of housing. I'm happy for them, really, but I've also been sad to see her go. Since I was in the suburbs this weekend for Mom and the dog, I opted to meet Lauren and her husband on their new turf, for breakfast.

In the northern suburbs, there's really only one choice for breakfast in my humble opinion: Walker Bros. Original Pancake House. I'm not really sure why it's the "original" pancake house, considering they have locations all over the northern burbs, but I do know that it got a cinematic shout-out in the iconic North Shore movie, Mean Girls, and they have an item on their menu so delicious, and so decadent, that you're practically eating dessert for breakfast -- the apple pancake.

Truly, the term "apple pancake" is inadequate to describe a confection that likely hails from the gods themselves. It's more of an eggy souffle, topped with a liberal helping of perfectly spiced cinnamon apples. It's also enormous. Splitting one with another person is almost mandatory, and even then, it tests the stretching capabilities of the human stomach. It is so, so worth the uncomfortably full feeling you get afterwards, however. The apple pancake at Walker Bros. is one of the few things in life for which I will voluntarily get out of bed early on a weekend. It's that tasty...