Back to the Beginning

Enough with the random sappiness. There are three incredible waffle-related developments that must be addressed.

1. A little over a year ago, I mentioned in this post that the Aster Cafe in Minneapolis desperately needed waffles. It was a beautiful, quaint space that just needed something more, and waffles, I contended, would save it. Through a bizarre series of coincidences, my friends Matty O'Reilly and Tom Peterson, owners of the amazing 318 Cafe in Excelsior, Minnesota, have acquired the Aster Cafe, and I'm happy to report waffles on their delightful breakfast menu. You can order them topped with either fresh berries and creme fraiche, or with bananas and Nutella (omg). While there's still nowhere in Minneapolis to find a delicious sugar waffle, I'm happy to report that these will sustain me when I'm too lazy to make my own. I'm also very happy to report that when I say a place should get waffles, sometimes it happens. Behold, the power of blogging...and serendipity.
2. We're running out of Hagel Zucker, and I was trembling in my bones at the thought that I'd have to return to waffle making without it. But if there's a god, it loves waffles, and so it's all going to work out fine. Our friend Nikki, who was instrumental in our decision to go to Bruges in the first place, has been living in Belgium for the past year, and will be visiting next week. She very kindly offered to bring home a stash of Belgian pearl sugar for us. Waffle Guy and I laughed a bit as she said, "I picked up two kilos for you, so you should be set for a long time." Little does she know how much sugar we put in those amazing waffles.
3. Waffle Guy is THE BEST. I mean, we already knew that, but he's really, really, really THE BEST. See, I'm celebrating a milestone birthday in the fall, and Mr. Incredible decided that for my birthday, he would offer me the opportunity to share the magic of Waffle World with those who mean the most to me. And so, come October, we'll be taking my three amazing daughters and my highly cool mother to Europe. The plan at this point is to start in Amsterdam, then go eat waffles and ride in horse-drawn carriages and drink lots of beer in Bruges, and then venture into Germany.  I'm so excited that I'm not sure I can stand it.

Lest you think I'd forgotten the original purpose of my blog, I'm going to leave you with this: It's a good year for waffles.

I'm-a go eat one right now...