Craig Carlson set out to do the impossible: open the first American diner
in Paris. Despite never having owned his own business before—let alone a
restaurant, the riskiest business of all—Craig chose to open his diner in a
foreign country, with a foreign language that also happens to be the
culinary capital of the world. While facing enormous obstacles, including
convincing French banks to give him a loan, finding “exotic” ingredients
like bacon, breakfast sausage, and bagels, and dealing with constant
strikes, demonstrations, and Kafkaesque French bureaucracy, Craig and his
diner, Breakfast in America, went on to be a great success—especially with
the French. By turns hilarious and provocative, Craig takes us hunting for
snails with his French mother-in-law and their attempts to smuggle them
past U.S. Customs. We encounter a customer at his diner who, as a self-
proclaimed anarchist, tries to stiff his bill, saying it’s his right to
“dine and dash.” We navigate Draconian labor laws where bad employees can’t
be fired and overzealous inspecteurs can pop in at any moment and close
down your business and battle antiquated French bureaucracy dating back to
Napoleon as Craig tries to purchase an over-priced Paris apartment the size
of a shoebox. When Craig finds love, this debonair French man makes clear
he won’t be satisfied until Craig learns how to properly use a knife and
fork. For all those who love stories of adventure, romance, and over-coming
the odds, Let Them Eat Pancackes will satisfy your appetite and leave you
wanting even more.