Tomorrow is National Waffle Day!

Go ahead and make your Wednesday breakfast plans now, since tomorrow — Wednesday, August 5 — is National Waffle Day. A celebration is in order!

If you insist on making waffles at home, you might get into the real meaning of this holiday by watching Imitation of Life, one of the few American movies where pancakes and waffles mix with heartache, early race relations and frustrated​ maternal love. You’ll never look at maple syrup with a dry eye again.

Yes, with a good waffle iron — the kind you frequently see at garage sales and thrift stores — and a basic waffle recipe (or this great malted waffle mix sold by Williams-Sonoma), it’s easy enough to make hot, crispy waffles at home. But I still maintain the best waffles you can eat are those served in restaurants or diners.

Why? No mess to clean up, the waffles arrive ready to slather with butter and real maple syrup. The best waffles I’ve eaten in town have been, unsurprisingly, at Waffle House. The worst, hands down, are these.

(Image via Flickr: Monaz)