Everything. I don't mean real Belgian waffles, like you get near, oh, say, Utrecht. No, I mean the crappy American version, introduced at the 1964 New York World's Fair.
Before, US waffles were made in electric waffle irons (I'm not capable of dealing with open-fire waffles) from waffle batter that was quite different than pancake batter. (By the way, typical US pancakes are genuinely awful, wooly and thick. No, in my mom's kitchen it was crepes or waffles.)
The waffle iron she used had tiny holes, giving added crispness to the final product. "Belgian" waffles have many fewer and much larger holes. The entire hole/crisp ratio is thereby screwed up. It's been very odd seeing every coffee shop/breakfast joint here in SoCal within the last five years dump their small-bore waffle irons in flavor of those blasted "Belgian" versions. What gives?
Yes to melted butter, yes to real maple syrup, yes to bacon with syrup.
