You love Los Angeles. You love movies. You love food. Every first Wednesday of the month, Food X Frame will discuss a movie that was shot or set in LA and provide a corresponding recipe. BYOB.

Warning: If you ever google “Swingers”, please tack on the word “movie”, especially if you’re doing a google image search. Learn from my mistakes.

Swingers—the beloved tale of love, loss, and Pink Dot– is Jon Favreau’s convoluted lettre d’amore to Los Angeles. The city plays a central role in the film, one from which the entire plot revolves, not only for what it holds– the bars, the booze, the beautiful babies– but for what it promises. Mike (Jon Favreau) is trying to get over his nasty breakup and start a relationship with someone new: LA.

The film works because so many of us, a majority of this city’s population no doubt, have been there. We are Mike. We loaded up our U-Hauls with our bedding, knick-knacks, and broken hearts and dragged our sorry asses across the country in hopes of a bigger, better life– preferably one that involves a lot of money and fame. Shitty parties in the hills, failed auditions, impromptu money pit trips to Vegas are all par for the course, and that’s why this movie hits home (literally). It’s a life, a story, and a place we all know too well.

So why a pancake recipe for Swingers? When Mike and Trent (skinny Vince Vaughn) sit down for breakfast in Vegas, Mike orders “pancakes in the Age of Enlightenment” because the waitress said that breakfast is served any time. Get it? Did you understand that French philosophical reference, Voltaire? Even if you didn’t, give the pancakes a try. They’re so money and you don’t even know it… yet.

Pancakes from the Age of Enlightenment
*Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 ½ cups buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Syrup, Butter, whatever you want to put on top!

Directions

• Combine first five ingredients together in a large bowl and mix until entirely incorporated.
• In another bowl, whisk the egg, oil, milk, and vanilla extract together. Add the wet mixture to the dry one, and combine, being careful to not over mix.
• In a large skillet, heat a pat of butter over medium heat (it’s really important to watch the heat- a skillet that’s too hot will make the butter brown and smoke and will cook the pancakes unevenly), making sure there’s enough to coat the entire pan. When the butter begins to bubble, add 1/4 cup scoops of batter to the skillet (it’s really up to you how big you want to make the pancakes- I find that dollar size and easier to handle). Cook until the bubbles appear on the top of the pancakes, and the sides look cooked. Flip and cook for another minute. Repeat the process with the remaining batter.

Note

• It’s really important to watch and maintain the heat of the skillet. I said to keep it on medium heat but you might have to lower it if it heats up too much. If it gets too hot, the butter will brown and smoke, and your pancakes will cook unevenly. It’s not necessary to add more butter to the skillet when cooking the remaining batches. If you keep the heat at a medium temp, the pancakes won’t stick and will brown perfectly. They’ll be so money.