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Story
June 3, 1927
The Weekly Gazette
East Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut
What is this article about?
An American in London's Cheshire Cheese inn orders six pancakes expecting a cheap meal but pays six shillings as they are rare English desserts, highlighting cultural differences in cuisine.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
Appears Only as Special Delicacy for Dessert.
London, England.—The lowly pancake may be a popular breakfast dish in the United States, where it is eaten by the half dozen at one sitting, but here in England it is a rare delicacy to be eaten singly as dessert at the end of one's dinner.
At the Cheshire Cheese, the famous London inn, which was once the gathering place for Doctor Johnson and his erudite circle, and now is a center for American tourists, the distinction is the cause of constant difficulty.
A pancake-hungry American came to the old inn for luncheon recently. As he glanced over the menu the word, or what he thought was the word "pancake," struck his eye.
"I'll have half a dozen of these," he confided to the waiter, briskly.
"Half a dozen pancakes, sir?" said the waiter in a polite surprise, elevating his eyebrows slightly.
"Sure, that ought to hold me for a while, I guess. I'll probably come back for more later."
The six pancakes appeared and disappeared. In due course the bill likewise appeared. The American looked and his jaw dropped.
"Six shillings for six pancakes! That's a mistake, isn't it?"
"Oh, no, sir," said the waiter, and pointed to the menu, where in old English type was printed: "Ye pancake, 1 shilling."
The American paid, but as he went out, he sputtered to a friend:
"A dollar and a half for six pancakes! Next thing you know we'll be eating baked beans at a shilling ye bean."
London, England.—The lowly pancake may be a popular breakfast dish in the United States, where it is eaten by the half dozen at one sitting, but here in England it is a rare delicacy to be eaten singly as dessert at the end of one's dinner.
At the Cheshire Cheese, the famous London inn, which was once the gathering place for Doctor Johnson and his erudite circle, and now is a center for American tourists, the distinction is the cause of constant difficulty.
A pancake-hungry American came to the old inn for luncheon recently. As he glanced over the menu the word, or what he thought was the word "pancake," struck his eye.
"I'll have half a dozen of these," he confided to the waiter, briskly.
"Half a dozen pancakes, sir?" said the waiter in a polite surprise, elevating his eyebrows slightly.
"Sure, that ought to hold me for a while, I guess. I'll probably come back for more later."
The six pancakes appeared and disappeared. In due course the bill likewise appeared. The American looked and his jaw dropped.
"Six shillings for six pancakes! That's a mistake, isn't it?"
"Oh, no, sir," said the waiter, and pointed to the menu, where in old English type was printed: "Ye pancake, 1 shilling."
The American paid, but as he went out, he sputtered to a friend:
"A dollar and a half for six pancakes! Next thing you know we'll be eating baked beans at a shilling ye bean."
What sub-type of article is it?
Curiosity
What themes does it cover?
Social Manners
What keywords are associated?
Pancake Misunderstanding
Cultural Difference
London Inn
American Tourist
Menu Trick
What entities or persons were involved?
American Tourist
Waiter
Where did it happen?
Cheshire Cheese, London, England
Story Details
Key Persons
American Tourist
Waiter
Location
Cheshire Cheese, London, England
Event Date
Recently
Story Details
An American tourist at the Cheshire Cheese inn orders half a dozen pancakes thinking they are cheap breakfast items, but in England they are rare desserts costing one shilling each, leading to a surprise bill of six shillings.