How Awful the Waffle
November 27, 2011 12:06 PM Subscribe
There has been a string of recent crimes and other less positive events at Waffle House restaurants spread across the American south. "Another day, another Waffle House robbery" read a headline in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Waffle house has is its own museum, detractors, and supporters and opinions on all sides. (NYT)
And then I found myself driving past Waffle Houses... that weren't on the way home.
posted by Trurl at 12:15 PM on November 27, 2011 [6 favorites]
posted by Trurl at 12:15 PM on November 27, 2011 [6 favorites]
I'd blame this "phenomenon" more on the area than on the establishment. There are sketchy Waffle Houses in sketchy parts of town (Rockbridge and 78 isn't the worst part of Gwinnett, but certainly not the best). The AJC could easily write an article entitled "Another day, another bank robbery."
posted by litnerd at 12:17 PM on November 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by litnerd at 12:17 PM on November 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
How sad that the Waffle House Online Jukebox is dead. They want you buy CDs of their tunes instead. Oh well.
posted by hippybear at 12:18 PM on November 27, 2011
posted by hippybear at 12:18 PM on November 27, 2011
WH occupies a niche below the chains like Applebees and Chili's which have bars and sell liquor, but above places like McDonald's and Burger King in sociality, being able to see your food being prepared, and variety. I will eat at WH if the only other alternatives are fast burger joints. As one of the NYT comments says, WH makes an easy target for a desperate robber because they tend to be in easy access locations, cash driven, open in the middle of the night, and might not have too many employees around at some thin hours.
posted by localroger at 12:20 PM on November 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by localroger at 12:20 PM on November 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
Open 24 hours and a popular destination for hungry drunks-no surprise.
I have lots of stories from my third shift time there. Many involving law enforcement. Never a dull moment.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 12:21 PM on November 27, 2011 [4 favorites]
I have lots of stories from my third shift time there. Many involving law enforcement. Never a dull moment.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 12:21 PM on November 27, 2011 [4 favorites]
Quiet, guys, you're making me want to start robbing Waffle Houses. It just sounds so easy!
posted by mellow seas at 12:22 PM on November 27, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by mellow seas at 12:22 PM on November 27, 2011 [2 favorites]
I once visited a Waffle House in Arkansas at 3am. They were out of waffles. And eggs. And bacon. And bread. And almost everything else. Their supply truck was twelve hours late. I was offered free hash browns and coffee.
posted by weirdoactor at 12:25 PM on November 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by weirdoactor at 12:25 PM on November 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
I vividly remember my first and only visit to a Waffle House. My family and I were visiting my grandparents and other family in New Jersey (we're from Southern California) and I convinced them all that we should take a trip to the D.C., as most of us had never been. After leaving early and driving for a few hours we were looking for a place to stop and eat, which is when I spied the appetizing looking "Waffle House" yellow sign at the off ramp.
"Waffles! Breakfast food! That sounds perfect!" I thought to myself. I rallied everyone to the idea and we pulled off thefreeway highway looking for what I assumed would be a quaint little diner with big thick tasty waffles and golden hash browns and crispy bacon and everything that you usually dream about when you dream about breakfast.
Pulling into the parking lot I could tell almost immediately that something was wrong. This looked less like a breakfast paradise and more like an extra large mobile home. Regardless, I was determined not to let my opinion be clouded by appearances alone and slid into one of the tiny booths with excitement. With my family scattered throughout the restaurant for lack of seats I picked up the greasy single paged laminated menu and realized that my dreams were indeed crushed.
Five minutes later I was eating what appeared to be a large Eggo waffle, greasy hashbrowns, soggy bacon, and some toast.
Some time later I realized that Waffle House was such a large and famous/infamous chain in the South. I'm glad I can at least say I've been.
posted by Defenestrator at 12:28 PM on November 27, 2011 [3 favorites]
"Waffles! Breakfast food! That sounds perfect!" I thought to myself. I rallied everyone to the idea and we pulled off the
Pulling into the parking lot I could tell almost immediately that something was wrong. This looked less like a breakfast paradise and more like an extra large mobile home. Regardless, I was determined not to let my opinion be clouded by appearances alone and slid into one of the tiny booths with excitement. With my family scattered throughout the restaurant for lack of seats I picked up the greasy single paged laminated menu and realized that my dreams were indeed crushed.
Five minutes later I was eating what appeared to be a large Eggo waffle, greasy hashbrowns, soggy bacon, and some toast.
Some time later I realized that Waffle House was such a large and famous/infamous chain in the South. I'm glad I can at least say I've been.
posted by Defenestrator at 12:28 PM on November 27, 2011 [3 favorites]
large Eggo waffle, greasy hashbrowns, soggy bacon, and some toast
Waffle Houses do vary, as most are franchises rather than company stores, but I have to say that their waffles are usually great, the hashbrowns rarely very greasy, and the bacon almost always crisp. But every once in awhile you will run across the cook who does not know, for example, how to fold a wrap.
Then again, theoretically both Burger Kind and McDonald's will make you a hamburger without a bun if you're on a low-carb diet. Your odds of finding a store that actually knows how to do that, however, are considerably less than your odds of finding a Waffle House with competent staff.
posted by localroger at 12:39 PM on November 27, 2011 [7 favorites]
Waffle Houses do vary, as most are franchises rather than company stores, but I have to say that their waffles are usually great, the hashbrowns rarely very greasy, and the bacon almost always crisp. But every once in awhile you will run across the cook who does not know, for example, how to fold a wrap.
Then again, theoretically both Burger Kind and McDonald's will make you a hamburger without a bun if you're on a low-carb diet. Your odds of finding a store that actually knows how to do that, however, are considerably less than your odds of finding a Waffle House with competent staff.
posted by localroger at 12:39 PM on November 27, 2011 [7 favorites]
I was telling my folks the story of the Waffle House Terror Plot this weekend and learned that it was a close family friend who I grew up with who made the bust. Small world.
posted by Navelgazer at 12:41 PM on November 27, 2011
posted by Navelgazer at 12:41 PM on November 27, 2011
Btw many of our regulars would call to see which cook was on duty. It makes a difference. BIG difference.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 12:42 PM on November 27, 2011
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 12:42 PM on November 27, 2011
I was thinking only the other day that it would be neat if someone would take up the task of traveling to every Waffle House, trying their All Star Special, and reporting on the quality of the eggs, waffles, bacon, hash browns, and toast at each location.
posted by litnerd at 12:44 PM on November 27, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by litnerd at 12:44 PM on November 27, 2011 [2 favorites]
> I once visited a Waffle House in Arkansas at 3am. They were out of waffles.
I was once asked if I could change a $20 by the staff of a Harvey's in Toronto. Then they got my order wrong. Then after it had been corrected the kid dropped the bag on the floor when he tried to hand it to me. In hindsight, I think I was the only sober person in the store.
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:47 PM on November 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
I was once asked if I could change a $20 by the staff of a Harvey's in Toronto. Then they got my order wrong. Then after it had been corrected the kid dropped the bag on the floor when he tried to hand it to me. In hindsight, I think I was the only sober person in the store.
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:47 PM on November 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
I knew someone who was a waitress at a waffle house (overnight shift). One night, the cook decided he was going to take what was in the till and run off to make a new life for himself and his boyfriend. She played dumb with the cops, and the cook got away. I wouldn't be surprised if that doesn't happen all over the country.
posted by Gilbert at 12:48 PM on November 27, 2011
posted by Gilbert at 12:48 PM on November 27, 2011
"Any one of you fucking pricks move, and I'll execute every motherfucking last one of you!"
posted by crunchland at 12:51 PM on November 27, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by crunchland at 12:51 PM on November 27, 2011 [5 favorites]
When waffles are outlawed.....
posted by schmod at 12:54 PM on November 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by schmod at 12:54 PM on November 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
Belgium will be a rouge state
posted by The Whelk at 12:55 PM on November 27, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 12:55 PM on November 27, 2011 [3 favorites]
Is it in their make up?
posted by crunchland at 12:56 PM on November 27, 2011 [6 favorites]
posted by crunchland at 12:56 PM on November 27, 2011 [6 favorites]
Good advice, St. Alia, but when you're on the road you don't get much choice.
posted by localroger at 1:00 PM on November 27, 2011
posted by localroger at 1:00 PM on November 27, 2011
I only ever went to Waffle House once, off I-95 in Savannah. I was underwhelmed, but I'm willing to be proved wrong.
posted by jonmc at 1:10 PM on November 27, 2011
posted by jonmc at 1:10 PM on November 27, 2011
Does anyone know how these 'Huddle House' restaurants stack up against good old Waffle house? I keep seeing them just north of the Florida border but they always look just a little sketchier and more desperate than your average Waffle house, enough to keep me on the road for a few more miles.
posted by mcrandello at 1:12 PM on November 27, 2011
posted by mcrandello at 1:12 PM on November 27, 2011
Btw many of our regulars would call to see which cook was on duty. It makes a difference. BIG difference.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies
Even at McDonald's. Politely ask to speak to the manager. Compliment them on the quality of their product. Tell them you have all the time in the world, you just want to let them do the best they can, start some bacon from scratch. Again, more complimenting on how the done-from-scratch by the manager is truly spectacular. Get personal, tip, compliment.
You may even have to politely rebuff offers to date said manager.
posted by StickyCarpet at 1:22 PM on November 27, 2011
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies
Even at McDonald's. Politely ask to speak to the manager. Compliment them on the quality of their product. Tell them you have all the time in the world, you just want to let them do the best they can, start some bacon from scratch. Again, more complimenting on how the done-from-scratch by the manager is truly spectacular. Get personal, tip, compliment.
You may even have to politely rebuff offers to date said manager.
posted by StickyCarpet at 1:22 PM on November 27, 2011
Just fyi, Swiss rösti is basically hash browns, except cooked more skillfully, served with a lovely mushroom sauce, and much more expensive.
posted by jeffburdges at 1:38 PM on November 27, 2011
posted by jeffburdges at 1:38 PM on November 27, 2011
It makes a difference. BIG difference.
There's a Waffle House near here that has this one cook who's been there forever, and he's obviously a whiz, flipping omelets in the air with one hand while whipping up more with the other. He cooks every nasty item to perfection, making it all quite edible. It's great food before a long day of hiking where you can burn it off.
More on topic, another WH near here was in the news earlier this year as a couple of waitresses were caught selling drugs out of the restaurant; weed, xanax, and "oxycotton" as they call it around here. I suspect tips on 5-dollar meals don't always pay the bills too well.
posted by Red Loop at 1:41 PM on November 27, 2011
There's a Waffle House near here that has this one cook who's been there forever, and he's obviously a whiz, flipping omelets in the air with one hand while whipping up more with the other. He cooks every nasty item to perfection, making it all quite edible. It's great food before a long day of hiking where you can burn it off.
More on topic, another WH near here was in the news earlier this year as a couple of waitresses were caught selling drugs out of the restaurant; weed, xanax, and "oxycotton" as they call it around here. I suspect tips on 5-dollar meals don't always pay the bills too well.
posted by Red Loop at 1:41 PM on November 27, 2011
I'm fascinated by FEMA's "Waffle House index". They tell how much disaster recovery is needed by whether the Waffle House is open. The Joplin, MI one was open in spite of being so near the tornado.
posted by acheekymonkey at 1:51 PM on November 27, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by acheekymonkey at 1:51 PM on November 27, 2011 [2 favorites]
Red Loop, there's a good possibility that that cook is the manager of the store (if he's working first shift I could almost guarantee it.) Unless they have changed their system, managers cook too.
(Personal note-Ralph managed one once upon a time. Dude makes awesome AWESOME omelets to this day.)
And honestly I should write a book about my WH days. I've worked with drunk coworkers, strung out coworkers, seen more arrests than an episode of COPS, gotten hit on by both sexes -not at the same time, thankfully-cleaned puke off the jukebox, gotten chased out of the store by mad Cajuns, hit a drunk customer upside the head with a menu with no repercussions, had a cop retrieve one of a duo who skipped a check, made him pay me back, to INCLUDE a tip....and on and on and on and on.
All that and a paid vacay every year too.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 2:04 PM on November 27, 2011 [15 favorites]
(Personal note-Ralph managed one once upon a time. Dude makes awesome AWESOME omelets to this day.)
And honestly I should write a book about my WH days. I've worked with drunk coworkers, strung out coworkers, seen more arrests than an episode of COPS, gotten hit on by both sexes -not at the same time, thankfully-cleaned puke off the jukebox, gotten chased out of the store by mad Cajuns, hit a drunk customer upside the head with a menu with no repercussions, had a cop retrieve one of a duo who skipped a check, made him pay me back, to INCLUDE a tip....and on and on and on and on.
All that and a paid vacay every year too.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 2:04 PM on November 27, 2011 [15 favorites]
(Oh, forgot my personal favorite-accidentally asked a group of very drunk Irish Army guys if they were English. Personal tip-don't do that.)
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 2:06 PM on November 27, 2011 [15 favorites]
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 2:06 PM on November 27, 2011 [15 favorites]
acheekymonkey, one of the first businesses to reopen on the Mississippi Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina was a Waffle House. It was hardened against future storm surges, elevated and much more heavily constructed than the usual double-wide WH (such as the one it replaced). It seems the company has a genuine commitment to coming back early in situations like that. I ate at that Waffle House when it would have been a 30 mile drive to the next closest restaurant of any brand, and I was glad it was there.
posted by localroger at 2:16 PM on November 27, 2011
posted by localroger at 2:16 PM on November 27, 2011
I think one of the best indications of the increasing homogenization of our society is the blurring of the North/South IHOP/Waffle House line. It was like the modern Mason-Dixon line indicating when you had truly entered The South.
And, as if Waffle House wasn't interesting enough, they even have their own code.
posted by LastOfHisKind at 2:29 PM on November 27, 2011 [2 favorites]
And, as if Waffle House wasn't interesting enough, they even have their own code.
posted by LastOfHisKind at 2:29 PM on November 27, 2011 [2 favorites]
Very true, LastOfHisKind. I was visiting a friend in Pennsylvania and we were driving, going over regional chains, to which I mentioned that they didn't have Waffle Houses--to which she replied "Um, yeah we do," and pointed to one to my right at our intersection.
posted by litnerd at 2:42 PM on November 27, 2011
posted by litnerd at 2:42 PM on November 27, 2011
Damn you, Xurando!
Now I'm dying for about a dozen Krystal burgers!
posted by ssmug at 2:42 PM on November 27, 2011
Now I'm dying for about a dozen Krystal burgers!
posted by ssmug at 2:42 PM on November 27, 2011
Waffle House is the only reason I will drive south of Springfield, Illinois anymore.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 3:17 PM on November 27, 2011
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 3:17 PM on November 27, 2011
The wife is from up north and had never had Waffle House, so when we wound up in Georgia, naturally I made it my mission to take her. Being southern and a bit of a degenerate, I'm used to all the fine late-night dining options, but her eyes were was big as dinner plates when we sauntered in and sat down in one of the booths, especially when she realized the table was covered in a fine sheen of grease that had basically soaked into the wood, vaguely sticky no matter how much they cleaned it. Our waitress had no teeth on the bottom and only a few on top, which only increased the wife's already-high terror level. The cherry on top was the guy behind us bitching about something to the waitress, who said in a really loud voice, "Well, hell, at least you ain't in Alabama!" and everyone laughed. Except the wife, of course, who was still terrified. She remains an IHOP partisan.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 3:17 PM on November 27, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 3:17 PM on November 27, 2011 [2 favorites]
Does anyone know how these 'Huddle House' restaurants stack up against good old Waffle house? I keep seeing them just north of the Florida border but they always look just a little sketchier and more desperate than your average Waffle house, enough to keep me on the road for a few more miles.
We eat at a Huddle House almost every night, though that's more because it's the only thing open that late. A friend claims their burgers aren't as greasy as Waffle House. Some Huddle Houses (not all, just some) offer free Wi-Fi to customers. I think Huddle House is a little cheaper -- you can get a platter that includes drink as part of the price. The chili is pretty great, but the grilled chicken sandwich, something doesn't seem right about it. When eating hamburgers there, once in a while my teeth will encounter a hard bone particle, which is jarring, but honestly that happens most of the time when I eat cheap hamburgers around here.
It's been a while since I've eaten at Waffle House so I'm not sure I can compare it to there. It is very possible that different restaurants vary more than, say, the difference between different McDonalds, where a Big Mac is pretty much the same regardless of where in the world you have it.
posted by JHarris at 3:24 PM on November 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
We eat at a Huddle House almost every night, though that's more because it's the only thing open that late. A friend claims their burgers aren't as greasy as Waffle House. Some Huddle Houses (not all, just some) offer free Wi-Fi to customers. I think Huddle House is a little cheaper -- you can get a platter that includes drink as part of the price. The chili is pretty great, but the grilled chicken sandwich, something doesn't seem right about it. When eating hamburgers there, once in a while my teeth will encounter a hard bone particle, which is jarring, but honestly that happens most of the time when I eat cheap hamburgers around here.
It's been a while since I've eaten at Waffle House so I'm not sure I can compare it to there. It is very possible that different restaurants vary more than, say, the difference between different McDonalds, where a Big Mac is pretty much the same regardless of where in the world you have it.
posted by JHarris at 3:24 PM on November 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
but honestly that happens most of the time when I eat cheap hamburgers around here.
I should have added, regardless of the restaurant, Huddle House or not.
posted by JHarris at 3:25 PM on November 27, 2011
I should have added, regardless of the restaurant, Huddle House or not.
posted by JHarris at 3:25 PM on November 27, 2011
When I lived in Central Indiana, I ate at the Waffle House more nights than not. I'd be there at 2 in the morning, with a glass of chocolate milk and a plate of scattered and smothered and I feel it was a good way to spend my early 20s.
I miss Waffle House.
posted by bibliogrrl at 3:34 PM on November 27, 2011
I miss Waffle House.
posted by bibliogrrl at 3:34 PM on November 27, 2011
Waffle House was actually a breakaway from Huddle House. Spin-off, if you will.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 3:44 PM on November 27, 2011
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 3:44 PM on November 27, 2011
(A) It's about the pecan waffle. Screw the covered, smothered, chunked, splattered bullshit, which is just stupid road trip energy-sucking potatoes disguised as actual food. The pecan waffle. Without pecans, there is nothing.
(B) The other big secret? Waffle House used to make grilled cheese sandwiches on the waffle irons, and they were glorious. Buttery in the right way, crispy in the right way, and the waffle iron squeezes some of the generic American cheese out until it becomes a delectably burnt lace collar of wonderfulness to frame the sandwich of simple, yet inestimable, joy like a brown halo. They will still make you one if you pick the most disagreeable looking waitress and seduce her with your thousand watt smile and silver-tongued adoration.
As it happens, I committed a crime, under South Carolina law, at a Waffle House last week, and it, too, was mighty sweet.
The things those big yellow letters, each in their own happy little square, do to me when they rise up from the towering pines of 301 South—just...oh my.
posted by sonascope at 4:43 PM on November 27, 2011
(B) The other big secret? Waffle House used to make grilled cheese sandwiches on the waffle irons, and they were glorious. Buttery in the right way, crispy in the right way, and the waffle iron squeezes some of the generic American cheese out until it becomes a delectably burnt lace collar of wonderfulness to frame the sandwich of simple, yet inestimable, joy like a brown halo. They will still make you one if you pick the most disagreeable looking waitress and seduce her with your thousand watt smile and silver-tongued adoration.
As it happens, I committed a crime, under South Carolina law, at a Waffle House last week, and it, too, was mighty sweet.
The things those big yellow letters, each in their own happy little square, do to me when they rise up from the towering pines of 301 South—just...oh my.
posted by sonascope at 4:43 PM on November 27, 2011
Ah, Waffle House. How good does that sound at 2am when you have the munchies? The hash browns are indeed awesome, when you get the "scattered, covered, and smothered" and I think a few more adjectives as well. I don't think I ever got an actual waffle from there, though. Burgers or pancakes or, of course, those hash browns.
There always seemed to be cops at WH. Every single time I went. If high, I would become extremely paranoid at the state trooper staring me and my hippie friends down as we enjoyed our redneck repast.
The last time I went, the manager and the cook got into an argument about something, and the cook slammed down his spatula, threw off his apron, and stormed out the backdoor. The manager, who was busy taking orders and bussing tables, suddenly had to cook as well. So he's flipping burgers while calling his reserve cooks on the phone "[so and so] just quit! The sonofabitch! Can you come in, like right now?" And sure enough, about ten minutes later some dude comes in a takes over the grill.
This was very entertaining in an altered state.
posted by zardoz at 4:53 PM on November 27, 2011
There always seemed to be cops at WH. Every single time I went. If high, I would become extremely paranoid at the state trooper staring me and my hippie friends down as we enjoyed our redneck repast.
The last time I went, the manager and the cook got into an argument about something, and the cook slammed down his spatula, threw off his apron, and stormed out the backdoor. The manager, who was busy taking orders and bussing tables, suddenly had to cook as well. So he's flipping burgers while calling his reserve cooks on the phone "[so and so] just quit! The sonofabitch! Can you come in, like right now?" And sure enough, about ten minutes later some dude comes in a takes over the grill.
This was very entertaining in an altered state.
posted by zardoz at 4:53 PM on November 27, 2011
My only Waffle House experience happened when I was on a cross country drive, moving to California. With pets in tow it was not a leisurely drive, so by the end of a day of marathon driving mrs. usonian and I would be exhausted, starving, and near hallucinating by the time we found a hotel. It was on one such night at 1 or 2 in the morning that we looked across the freeway and saw the warm glow of the Waffle House sign, and I swear we heard an angelic choir. I took the food to go, so we didn't really get to experience the full ambiance of the place. I do remember a general aura of greasy dinginess, but I also remember that the food was the most delicious thing I had ever eaten in my life, at that particular moment. It's a magical property of food purchased from any restaurant after midnight.
posted by usonian at 4:57 PM on November 27, 2011
posted by usonian at 4:57 PM on November 27, 2011
This entire thread just makes me want to throw up, seriously.
posted by Huck500 at 5:40 PM on November 27, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Huck500 at 5:40 PM on November 27, 2011 [3 favorites]
mcrandello wrote: Does anyone know how these 'Huddle House' restaurants stack up against good old Waffle house? I keep seeing them just north of the Florida border but they always look just a little sketchier and more desperate than your average Waffle house, enough to keep me on the road for a few more miles
I've only been to a Huddle House once, in Indianola, MS, but it was utterly slammed because it was immediately after BB King finished playing at Club Ebony for his yearly homecoming thing so I can't say much other than that the food obviously took a while to arrive and the waitress was so busy I thought she'd keel over dead any second, but it was reasonably tasty. Come to think of it, it may have been the Jack making it seem good.
I've actually seen quite a few brand new Huddle Houses over the last few years in my yearly winter drives to Florida.
Lastly, sonoscope is spot on about the pecan waffle. I disagree that hash browns all the way aren't also good, however. (I could actually do without some of the stuff, but I'm waaay too lazy to rattle off the 8 additions I would like)
OK, maybe that wasn't lastly. Lastly is that White Castle is better than Krystal, but Krystal will do in a pinch and IHOP is not really a Waffle House competitor (and if it were, it would be the bowlderized bastard child). Think Denny's, but try not to eat there.
posted by wierdo at 5:48 PM on November 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
I've only been to a Huddle House once, in Indianola, MS, but it was utterly slammed because it was immediately after BB King finished playing at Club Ebony for his yearly homecoming thing so I can't say much other than that the food obviously took a while to arrive and the waitress was so busy I thought she'd keel over dead any second, but it was reasonably tasty. Come to think of it, it may have been the Jack making it seem good.
I've actually seen quite a few brand new Huddle Houses over the last few years in my yearly winter drives to Florida.
Lastly, sonoscope is spot on about the pecan waffle. I disagree that hash browns all the way aren't also good, however. (I could actually do without some of the stuff, but I'm waaay too lazy to rattle off the 8 additions I would like)
OK, maybe that wasn't lastly. Lastly is that White Castle is better than Krystal, but Krystal will do in a pinch and IHOP is not really a Waffle House competitor (and if it were, it would be the bowlderized bastard child). Think Denny's, but try not to eat there.
posted by wierdo at 5:48 PM on November 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
Eek. Rockbridge and 78 is right down the street.
I’m a WH fan, it’s good cheap food at any time. I can probably drive to half a dozen of them in 10 minutes. There’s a Huddle House even closer but for some reason I’ve never stopped in there.
posted by bongo_x at 6:01 PM on November 27, 2011
I’m a WH fan, it’s good cheap food at any time. I can probably drive to half a dozen of them in 10 minutes. There’s a Huddle House even closer but for some reason I’ve never stopped in there.
posted by bongo_x at 6:01 PM on November 27, 2011
I wish some of this "north-south waffle house diffusion" would happen around here. There aren't any in Iowa; you'd think they could make a killing along the I-35 or I-29 corridors.
Having lived in Charleston, for a while, I do miss me some Waffle House.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 7:44 PM on November 27, 2011
Having lived in Charleston, for a while, I do miss me some Waffle House.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 7:44 PM on November 27, 2011
Even in a fairly gentrified small city like Charlottesville, Virginia, Waffle House was always a fucking terrifying experience.
It made a bag of 7-11 taquitoes look like a gourmet adventure.
posted by bardic at 7:46 PM on November 27, 2011
It made a bag of 7-11 taquitoes look like a gourmet adventure.
posted by bardic at 7:46 PM on November 27, 2011
Zardoz:The hash browns are indeed awesome, when you get the "scattered, covered, and smothered" and I think a few more adjectives as well.
I never understood that marketing for hash browns. It always sounded to me like things you do to get rid of a body. Scattered, smothered, covered? Dismembered and chipped may be the other adjectives.
posted by Red Loop at 8:02 PM on November 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
I never understood that marketing for hash browns. It always sounded to me like things you do to get rid of a body. Scattered, smothered, covered? Dismembered and chipped may be the other adjectives.
posted by Red Loop at 8:02 PM on November 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
I guess I will have to put all of my Waffle House memories in one little post.
I grew up in Georgia. Waffle House is where you went to ride out a drunk or to drink coffee and write lewd poetry to leave under the windshield wipers of your brother's girlfriend's car.
I love that place. It's a dirty love, but a love all the same.
Back in the day, they used to have an all-you-can-eat menu. It was the same as the regular menu, but you paid one flat (and ridiculously low) fee and ordered greasy treats until they started coming out of one orifice or another. This held no attraction for me, until, as a young adult, I get a job doing manual labor in the wilderness of New Mexico. We used to get off a 12 or 14 day run and hit the WH in ABQ. Three or four of us would keep the grill guy working for hours. Soon thereafter the a-y-c-e menu went the way of the dodo. I like to think I had something to do with that.
In high school, our WH had some pretty regressive policies. There were two job titles; grill boys and counter girls. One of my guy friends worked as a grill boy for a couple years and decided that he wanted to move up in the world. He told the manager that he wanted to be a server. The reply was "But . . . you're a guy, you can't be a counter girl." He insisted and, eventually, the manager relented and let my friend become a counter girl . . . his official job title.
In college one year, I drove back to GA from TX for Spring Break. Around MS, it started snowing. By the time we got near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the highway was closed down due to a "Storm of the Century" TM. We were routed into a massive truck stop where we spent the next two days (mainly avoiding a truck driver who had amorous intentions towards my altogether-better-looking-than-me friend). As soon as the highway was opened, we hit the road, rolled into Tuscaloosa and went to the only restaurant open in a town where half the homes were without power. It was packed. On elderly couple saw us waiting (two dirty, weary college degenerates) and invited us to sup with them. Sweet couple, putting up with us idiots. When they left, and we were still eating, we returned the favor and invited the next unlikely looking pair to join us. We got strange looks from those two good old boys as they declined our offer. Anyway, Waffle House, packed to the gills and the only game in town. It was probably the day that put them in the black for the year.
posted by Seamus at 9:06 PM on November 27, 2011
I grew up in Georgia. Waffle House is where you went to ride out a drunk or to drink coffee and write lewd poetry to leave under the windshield wipers of your brother's girlfriend's car.
I love that place. It's a dirty love, but a love all the same.
Back in the day, they used to have an all-you-can-eat menu. It was the same as the regular menu, but you paid one flat (and ridiculously low) fee and ordered greasy treats until they started coming out of one orifice or another. This held no attraction for me, until, as a young adult, I get a job doing manual labor in the wilderness of New Mexico. We used to get off a 12 or 14 day run and hit the WH in ABQ. Three or four of us would keep the grill guy working for hours. Soon thereafter the a-y-c-e menu went the way of the dodo. I like to think I had something to do with that.
In high school, our WH had some pretty regressive policies. There were two job titles; grill boys and counter girls. One of my guy friends worked as a grill boy for a couple years and decided that he wanted to move up in the world. He told the manager that he wanted to be a server. The reply was "But . . . you're a guy, you can't be a counter girl." He insisted and, eventually, the manager relented and let my friend become a counter girl . . . his official job title.
In college one year, I drove back to GA from TX for Spring Break. Around MS, it started snowing. By the time we got near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the highway was closed down due to a "Storm of the Century" TM. We were routed into a massive truck stop where we spent the next two days (mainly avoiding a truck driver who had amorous intentions towards my altogether-better-looking-than-me friend). As soon as the highway was opened, we hit the road, rolled into Tuscaloosa and went to the only restaurant open in a town where half the homes were without power. It was packed. On elderly couple saw us waiting (two dirty, weary college degenerates) and invited us to sup with them. Sweet couple, putting up with us idiots. When they left, and we were still eating, we returned the favor and invited the next unlikely looking pair to join us. We got strange looks from those two good old boys as they declined our offer. Anyway, Waffle House, packed to the gills and the only game in town. It was probably the day that put them in the black for the year.
posted by Seamus at 9:06 PM on November 27, 2011
I went to college in Austin back during the dark days when the nearest WH was in Houston. Do you know the culinary dissonance that is created when you go to Houston, have a huge variety of great food to choose from and you just want to go to WH because it will remind you of the days when you didn't live in the shittiest place on the planet?
Awful, I tells ya.
posted by Seamus at 9:09 PM on November 27, 2011
Awful, I tells ya.
posted by Seamus at 9:09 PM on November 27, 2011
Michael Stipe once worked at a Waffle House. Or so goes the legend near where I live (and where he once lived while growing up).
posted by readyfreddy at 10:32 PM on November 27, 2011
posted by readyfreddy at 10:32 PM on November 27, 2011
Red Loop: " I never understood that marketing for hash browns. It always sounded to me like things you do to get rid of a body. Scattered, smothered, covered? Dismembered and chipped may be the other adjectives."
It is strange--I'd bet it grew out of the nicknames that old-school diner chefs and wait staff use for different kinds of hash browns, and someone at some point thought it would be a good marketing ploy.
posted by zardoz at 11:25 PM on November 27, 2011
It is strange--I'd bet it grew out of the nicknames that old-school diner chefs and wait staff use for different kinds of hash browns, and someone at some point thought it would be a good marketing ploy.
posted by zardoz at 11:25 PM on November 27, 2011
I live walking distance from the Waffle House museum (which is WH #1, the location of the first store), and even closer to WH #1000. It's a stop on the way home after a night out, when *nothing* in Decatur is open, save the McDonald's, and I'm completely unmotivated to make it all the way over to the Majestic. The staff retention is really good, which to me is indicative of it not being an awful gig... and they will make my hashbrowns extra crispy, for real. I love late night peoplewatching there. Drunk teenagers.
posted by sadiehawkinstein at 6:15 AM on November 28, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by sadiehawkinstein at 6:15 AM on November 28, 2011 [1 favorite]
I think one of the best indications of the increasing homogenization of our society is the blurring of the North/South IHOP/Waffle House line.
I must live right along that line, becuase that doesn't seem that interesting to me, seeing as we've had both around here (Indianapolis) for decades.
I'm more interested in the Tim Horton's/Waffle House DMZ which is still there, but getting smaller.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:10 AM on November 28, 2011
I must live right along that line, becuase that doesn't seem that interesting to me, seeing as we've had both around here (Indianapolis) for decades.
I'm more interested in the Tim Horton's/Waffle House DMZ which is still there, but getting smaller.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:10 AM on November 28, 2011
Waffle House is tops, you people are haters.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 11:30 AM on November 28, 2011
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 11:30 AM on November 28, 2011
Sorry I dashed that off in haste, let me rephrase that....
No I can't. Waffle House is the jam. Haters gonna etc.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 11:31 AM on November 28, 2011
No I can't. Waffle House is the jam. Haters gonna etc.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 11:31 AM on November 28, 2011
sadiehawkinstein, I live within walking distance of the WH museum too. Looks like the next ATL meetup needs to feature drunken tomfoolery and and hashbrowns!
posted by runningwithscissors at 7:38 PM on November 28, 2011
posted by runningwithscissors at 7:38 PM on November 28, 2011
WH occupies a niche below the chains like Applebees and Chili's which have bars and sell liquor, but above places like McDonald's and Burger King in sociality, being able to see your food being prepared, and variety. I will eat at WH if the only other alternatives are fast burger joints.
posted by localroger
There are times when Waffle House hits the spot, late at night, when you've been drinking, early breakfast...
There is no time when Applebees or Chili's hits the spot. Those are terrible restaurants that, if life were fair, would go out of business tomorrow. In every town there are great restaurants, and yet Chilis and Applebees and ruby tuesdays will have their parking lot filled despite having crappy food.
It's not like it's cheap. I have no idea why people eat at these establishments. Life is too short to eat such bland, uninspired food.
posted by justgary at 5:59 AM on November 30, 2011
posted by localroger
There are times when Waffle House hits the spot, late at night, when you've been drinking, early breakfast...
There is no time when Applebees or Chili's hits the spot. Those are terrible restaurants that, if life were fair, would go out of business tomorrow. In every town there are great restaurants, and yet Chilis and Applebees and ruby tuesdays will have their parking lot filled despite having crappy food.
It's not like it's cheap. I have no idea why people eat at these establishments. Life is too short to eat such bland, uninspired food.
posted by justgary at 5:59 AM on November 30, 2011
In every town there are great restaurants
There are large areas of the country where, sadly, this is absolutely not the case. I have been in lots of places where Ruby Tuesday was the good restaurant. Unless you prefer the funky local place that serves too much mediocre food cheap. Occasionally the funky local place will be a treasure, but usually not so much.
posted by localroger at 6:24 AM on November 30, 2011
There are large areas of the country where, sadly, this is absolutely not the case. I have been in lots of places where Ruby Tuesday was the good restaurant. Unless you prefer the funky local place that serves too much mediocre food cheap. Occasionally the funky local place will be a treasure, but usually not so much.
posted by localroger at 6:24 AM on November 30, 2011
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