Shrove Tuesday Poll: Show Us the Pancakes!
Who says Catholics have more fun? Today is known to most in these parts as Mardi Gras (or Fat Tuesday), a celebration of indulgence in food, drink and all-around NSFW-itude. But for some religious revelers, the day before Lent means one thing:
Yes, today is also known as Shrove Tuesday, a medieval tradition mostly kept alive by the Anglican church, but also Episcopalians, Lutherans and Methodists in the States. The moniker comes from the term shriving, the practice of doing penance before Lent begins. Pancake feasts came into the mix so that the faithful could use up rich foods like eggs, milk and sugar before the fasting season. In England, Pancake Day is still celebrated with lorry-loads of flapjacks and races in which frying pan-wielding competitors run-and-flip through town.
Gut Check called around to find out how local griddlecake gourmets are throwing down, only to find that not one of our trusted pancake purveyors had even heard of Shrove Tuesday.
Being made of sterner stuff (as our mother used to say -- though, come to think of it, not about us), we aren't giving up that easily.