AIRCONDITIONEDSHOPTHEMALL

on Saved By the Bell, they had "The Max". on 90210, they had "The Peach Pit" (or "The Peach Pit After Dark", for those who might be familiar with the later years). for my friends and i during our high school years, we had Lil' Jon's.

the appeal of Lil' Jon Restaurant (it's full name) as a teenage hang-out was threefold:

1. LOCATION --centrally located in the Eastgate Plaza (also known to locals as "air-conditioned-shop-the-mall", due to a large, neon sign that stood high above the plaza for my entire life, advertising the fact that it was a. air-conditioned, which is not necessary in the seattle area, and b. a "mall", which it just wasn't) sitting conveniently in-between the neighborhoods of many of my friends and walking distance from my house (though i don't remember ever walking there).

2. FOOD--as you can probably tell from the picture below, the pancakes are unrivaled. Bigger than necessary, thick, fluffy, just spongey enough to retain the perfect amount of syrup...needless to say, i have yet to experience a pancake that even comes close to that of Lil' Jon's. to be totally honest, i haven't really tried other dishes there, but i hear they are all just as legendary. my friend stephanie used to try new things all the time (even biscuits and gravy), and was always pleased. so my point is, their menu could please anyone's taste.



3. FAMILIARITY--this was the only time in my life that i was ever able to order by saying "i'll have the regular" (meaning one pancake, no butter), and not sound like a poser. well, i probably did sound like a poser, but i wasn't one. i was an authentic "regular". also, there was always a corner booth in the back available for us. even on weekends, when Lil' Jon's was crowded and there was a waiting list, somehow they would save us that booth, and just nod in its direction when we arrived. we were like Norm on "Cheers", only not fat or alcoholics.

so the reason i bring up Lil' Jon's is because i took a trip to seattle last week, and i had the opportunity to visit my old hang-out and have a pancake. It naturally brought back some memories, since i spent approximately 60% of my adolescence there. it was great to see the place again, and the food was just as good as i remember, but unfortunately none of the people there were the same. the old lady with crazy white hair and tight stretch jeans who would give us refills wasn't working, nor was the big, smiley guy who's job i was never clear on (possibly a waiter? maybe a greeter or something? i don't know). and that one lady who sat at the bar, smoking, and would go into the bathroom from time to time and come out wearing a different wig?...she wasn't there either. even the "air-conditioned-shop-the-mall" sign was gone (perhaps it is no longer air-conditioned?). Maybe this explains why i look the way i do in the picture below. i'm not sure. but anyway, at least the pancakes are the same.