A few weeks ago, Crayton came home from his Portuguese class with an important announcement:
“The pancake guy’s there!”
I scooped up my keys and ran out the door. The elusive pancake vendor — I was finally going to meet him!
Crayton had told me about the pancake guy about a month ago. Every Wednesday, this vendor set up shop on the corner of Rio Sena and the Reforma service road, selling hot pancakes with various toppings. During the day, that portion of Rio Sena bustles with food vendors. But by 8 p.m. most of them have gone home. And boom, that’s when the pancake guy arrives.
I had so many questions. Why pancakes at night? Isn’t that a breakfast food?
So that Wednesday, even though I’d already eaten dinner, Crayton and I walked over to his stand. A gray-haired man of about 55 stood behind a small grill. A large plastic bowl of batter sat on his left side; in front of him, a golden-brown pancake cooked on a griddle. Most enticingly, a stack of hot pancakes lay on the front counter of his stand, beckoning visitors with their doughy goodness. (That’s them in the picture above.)
Several plastic jars of toppings stood nearby: strawberry, cajeta (goat’s milk caramel), honey, pineapple and lechera, a sweetened condensed milk.
“What are you going to have?” the vendor asked. He poured a spoonful of batter on the grill. It bubbled.
I asked what was the most popular, and he said the cajeta. (Also, he pronounced his wares “hotcakes,” pronounced HOTE-cakes. Apparently there is not a Spanish equivalent for this word.)
I chose the cajeta.
“Do you want lechera on it, too?” he asked me.
“Oh no, no,” I said. Lechera and cajeta seemed a little too decadent. “Just the cajeta,” I told him.
He gave me a “it’s your loss” kind of look, and flipped the pancake.
He grabbed one of the big spoons from the jars, and slathered the caramel sauce over the top. It melted and oozed, until a little lagoon of cajeta had formed in the center.
I took a bite.
WOW.
How did he know, this pancake guy? How did he know that a hot, fluffy pancake smeared with caramel was exactly perfect for this time of evening?
“Mmmmmmm,” I moaned.
Crayton took a bite, too. “It’s good,” he said.
While we ate, I asked the man a few more questions. He said he sold pancakes on Wednesdays only, from 8 to 10 p.m. Other days, he set up shop at various locations around the city.
The mix did not come from a box. He made it himself. And he got quite a few customers, despite the late hour — they were usually people on their way to the metro, returning home from work.
I asked if I could take his picture. He said no. So we finished up our pancake and bid him goodbye.
I haven’t been back since, considering I can no longer fit into my jeans. But as soon as I resume my workout regimen, I am so buying another pancake. This time with lechera.
Everyone in Mexico calls pancakes “hotcakes”, actually, not many people know what a “pancake” is.
I tend to believe that the name stuck because that’s what they’re called on the boxes of the mix that is sold in supermarkets:
http://www.despensamexicana.es/graficos/img_articulos/TR360.JPG
http://www.pastascora.com.mx/images/Tres%20Estrellas/Harina%20para%20Hot%20Cakes%20Chocolate.jpg
Even the latin word “panqueque” is never used in Mexico.
Isn’t it fun to have such interesting food vendors right around the corner from our homes! Such is life in Mexico. Our town doesn’t have a pancake vendor, but all kinds of other foods are going down the street in wheelbarrows and being sold on street corners. We will never go hungry.
Isn’t that the truth? There’s something really comforting about knowing that I will never, *ever* be hungry while walking the streets of Mexico. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve been running errands in the States, and suddenly I’m ravenously with no prospects except a Luna Bar at the local 7-11. Fresh, hot food is so much better!
I never liked the street’s”jotkeiks”, are very spongy for my taste and without lechera or chocolate are tasteless.
Not these, Obet. Promise. They’re not cakey at all. Taste just like a pancake I’d make at home!
As Crayton to make some Beer Pancakes. I made some years ago, using beer as the liquid and breadcrumbs as at least part of the flour. The recipe was in (get this!) PLAYBOY.
Saludos,
Don Cuevas
I think I’ll have Crayton make beer and cheese pancakes, so he can officially be in heaven. How were they? Tasty, I hope? Indio pancakes with shredded manchego actually sound pretty good. Ooooh… and then you could throw a sausage in the middle. YUM.
Yum! There’s a thought I never had. What’s Lechera? I’m guessing condensed milk…?
Yep, it’s a Mexican brand of condensed milk. Well actually, it’s Nestle, but it’s manufactured here. My friend Chris had one with lechera last night and he vouched that it was fantastic.
you passed up lechera? shame on you!
Oh yum, I like this story. I wish that there were more different kinds of street vendors in Toronto, it would be divine to buy hot pancakes on a cool night when I’m hungry. I just made some pancakes for breakfast, so I’m not too bitter, but it would still be pretty sweet ;]
The stacks of pancakes look so uniform and cartoon-like perfect.
Aren’t they? That’s what I loved about them. The man knows how to make a hotcake. Also: just checked out your blog, and I love it! Gotta make some of that chocolate tahini quick bread.
so what exactly was the answer to “why pancakes at night”
I think it’s a cultural thing. We told a Mexican friend about it and he was like, “Yeah… and?” To him, pancakes at night — or rather “jotkeiks” at night — are a completely normal snack. Like potato chips during the football game.
Oh – now I got a bad craving for pancakes with dulce de leche! Mi abuela also thinks it’s weird that we only (used to) eat pancakes for breakfast. has to be a latin thing to eat it whenever 🙂
If you baño María a can of lechera (I have no idea what to call baño maría in English, boil?) you can get some kind of cajeta which is also really good.
Alice: Baño maria is “water bath.” I’ve never tried it condensed milk, because I’m too scared the can’s going to explode. I’ve read about others trying it with successful results, though.
Oh, man, they look delicious! I stumbled upon your blog from a retweet of a retweet of a retweet on twitter. I’m glad I did. You have a great writing voice. 🙂
Apparently, ‘gox’ is short for the organism Gluconobacter oxydans. I had no idea before it was used, but now that I know it’s legit, I might have to use it. 12 points!
Fun fact: cajeta is a dirty, dirty word in Argentina, they call it “Dulce de leche”.
Also, hot cakes are good at any hour.