Pancakes are simply a poor design and their only advantage that I can see is that they’re easier to make.
Waffles require a more complex infrastructure and equipment to produce, but the design is far superior. They hold the ice cream and butter and syrup and peanut butter and whipped cream in thoughtfully designed pockets, and feature seams for easy separation into manageable sections without compromising the integrity of the vessels. Waffles can also function in a stack as well as singly but seldom require more than one to make a meal.
Pancakes can be made on any flat cooking surface, but they require stacking for efficiency and shed toppings which results in the bottom pancake becoming saturated while the top one is too dry.
Personally I prefer pancakes. They are definitely easier to make and, this may sound a little weird, but they are better plain. I always eat pancakes without syrup, which is probably why I prefer them.
