Waffle House

[txstateends]

I remember for several years, a few of the DFW-area WH's had all-you-can-eat.  Not every item from the existing menu, but certain selections.  Great while it lasted, but it got phased out rather quietly.  I guess too many people were pigging out and/or they didn't make enough money off it.  I haven't been in a while.  There's one I've been to several times over the years that's now near a light rail line, another on a bus route about 3 miles west of my job which I believe I've been to once.  It would be nice to go after work but then it takes me forever to get home in the mornings if I stop anywhere.  Plus I do somewhat agree with the "pancakes dammit" posting above, if pancakes are available, I'd rather have those.

[vtk]

Several years ago, When I was briefly working for a call center, I was hanging out after work with a co-worker with whom we had a mutual acquaintence.  Another co-worker was tagging along because he needed a ride home.  We stopped in at waffle House, because it was late, nobody liked White Castle, and nobody thought of Stean n Shake.  Somehow it came up that the waitress was lesbian, and it was observed that the second co-worker was the only straight person there.  Then I said, "But wait, we don't know about the cook!"   The waitress then called out for the cook to say something.  He hadn't been following our conversation, so he responded with something like "what do you want now?"  in a voice a bit like that moustached effeminate man from Family Guy.  We all had a good laugh.

Tasty food, but that's probably because everything comes with a shiny coat of grease.

Disclaimer 1: Stereotypes are often inaccurate.  I would not normally have assumed the cook was gay based on his voice; on this occcasion, the waitress implied she personally knew the cook was gay, and comedically demonstrated that fact by invoking his stereotypically gay voice.  Disclaimer 2: It is just as wrong to assume someone is gay, given that they are not straight, as it is to assume someone is straight in the absence of any information to the contrary.  Some people are bi (like me), and some people aren't so easily categorized.

[Duke87]

That one in Covington and the one in Wilder, KY are pretty rough--lots of people leaving the area "bikini bars" after 2 AM eat there.

Eh. Covington may be "rough" by Kentucky standards, but I've seen a lot worse.

[tdindy88]

Going back to the two Waffle Houses in one town thing, I recalled being in a suburb north of Montgomery, AL, Prattville I think, which had two Waffle Houses as two different exits. The first one had people smoking in it and was a little dirty, but not too bad. The second one was in a cleaner shape and specific had no smoking allowed inside the resturant. We just assumed that there was one Waffle House for smokers and another for non-smokers. I used to live just down the street from a Waffle House and Indy and still frequent them every now and then. A new Waffle House just opened in Avon off of US 36 several miles west of I-465. I found that a bit odd for Indiana since nearly all Waffle Houses are off of interstates, primarly in Indianapolis and points south.

[cpzilliacus]

Going back to the two Waffle Houses in one town thing, I recalled being in a suburb north of Montgomery, AL, Prattville I think, which had two Waffle Houses as two different exits. The first one had people smoking in it and was a little dirty, but not too bad. The second one was in a cleaner shape and specific had no smoking allowed inside the resturant. We just assumed that there was one Waffle House for smokers and another for non-smokers. I used to live just down the street from a Waffle House and Indy and still frequent them every now and then. A new Waffle House just opened in Avon off of US 36 several miles west of I-465. I found that a bit odd for Indiana since nearly all Waffle Houses are off of interstates, primarly in Indianapolis and points south.

Clearly most Waffle Houses are close to Interstate highway interchanges.  But there are some which are sited on non-Interstate highways.  As I noted above, I recently saw a Waffle House on U.S. 13 near Dover, Delaware.  Somewhat close to a Relief Route (Delaware 1 Turnpike)  interchange (though I am not sure if there are logo signs on the Delaware 1 pike).  There is also one on U.S. 301 in Middletown, Delaware, some distance from Delaware 1 and I-95.

[Scott5114]

There is a Waffle House in my town. I've never been. Should I change this? Is it better than IHOP?

[cpzilliacus]

There is a Waffle House in my town. I've never been. Should I change this? Is it better than IHOP?

If you like waffles, by all means, yes. I also like their hash browns. It's not exactly expensive, either.

Other items, maybe not, though I have always like the "open" style of Waffle House, with the food being cooked in front of the patrons (if you sit at the counter).

EDIT: corrected typo.

[hbelkins]

There is a Waffle House in my town. I've never been. Should I change this? Is it better than IHOP?

I've only been to Waffle House a handful of times. I think IHOP and Waffle House are two different animals.

IHOP, to me, is like Denny's or Shoney's or Bob Evans. Waffle House reminds me of a diner.

[DandyDan]

I can probably count the number of times I've been to a Waffle House on one hand.  (They don't have them here in Omaha, or anywhere I normally travel to.)  On the other hand, the day I went walking across the Chain of Rocks bridge, I started that day eating at the Waffle House just east of there.  It's not bad for what it is, but I couldn't convince my one friend to eat at the one in AZ we saw there.  (I read somewhere Arizona has the farthest west Waffle Houses.)

[US71]

There is a Waffle House in my town. I've never been. Should I change this? Is it better than IHOP?

I've only been to Waffle House a handful of times. I think IHOP and Waffle House are two different animals.

IHOP, to me, is like Denny's or Shoney's or Bob Evans. Waffle House reminds me of a diner.

IHOP tries to be little more "upscale" than Waffle House, as does Village Inn. We have a new place called Egg & I which it sort of like IHOP except pricier.

[Brandon]

Byron, Georgia offers two Waffle Houses within walking distance of each other:

That looks like a former Stuckey's near the Texaco.

[hbelkins]

Byron, Georgia offers two Waffle Houses within walking distance of each other:

That looks like a former Stuckey's near the Texaco.

$28.99 for a motel room? Bet that place is a dump.

[Ace10]

There are a slew of Waffle Houses where I live. I can probably point out 10 of them on a map within a 15 mile radius of my house - and I live right off the Gulf of Mexico - and they don't build them over the water (yet)!

My absolute worst time at a WH (and best story to tell, consequently) was actually a pretty good experience at the restaurant itself. The service was pretty usual, and my total was a little over $5.00. I left a tip of $1.00 and used my card to pay - which I learned you are never supposed to do - because the next day I checked my account activity and noticed I was over $900 overdrawn.

I figured out what happened. The cashier forgot to press a very important button between entering my tip, and then the total, so I got charged around $1006.00. I got things situated at the bank, and I guess they called the restaurant on my behalf to issue the chargeback. One thing I can't understand is that I've gotten fraud protection calls here and there when I make big purchases, but I'm wondering how the fraud algorithms didn't catch a $1,000+ charge from WAFFLE HOUSE?!

From then on, anytime I visit a WH, I always make sure to bring cash with me.

[Alps]

My favorite part of WH is that you get to listen to the banter among the waitstaff, cooks, etc. I like the "behind the scenes" atmosphere, because what is there really to hide? My second favorite part is that when I did the 32 Hours of Delaware (TM), I was in and out of WH within 5 minutes. That became crucial when I barely made the earlier ferry and hit bad shore traffic in NJ.

[Ace10]

My favorite part of WH is that you get to listen to the banter among the waitstaff, cooks, etc. I like the "behind the scenes" atmosphere, because what is there really to hide? My second favorite part is that when I did the 32 Hours of Delaware (TM), I was in and out of WH within 5 minutes. That became crucial when I barely made the earlier ferry and hit bad shore traffic in NJ.

"32 Hours of Delaware (TM)"? Is that like when a friend and I drove from Fort Lauderdale, FL and didn't stop until 31 hours later in Rapid City, SD? (Minus the whole route-being-in-a-totally-different-part-of-the-country thing.) We also stopped at a WH somewhere in Georgia (south of Atlanta I believe along I-75) but stayed about 30 or 40 minutes instead of just 5.

[vtk]

My absolute worst time at a WH (and best story to tell, consequently) was actually a pretty good experience at the restaurant itself. The service was pretty usual, and my total was a little over $5.00. I left a tip of $1.00 and used my card to pay - which I learned you are never supposed to do - because the next day I checked my account activity and noticed I was over $900 overdrawn.

I figured out what happened. The cashier forgot to press a very important button between entering my tip, and then the total, so I got charged around $1006.00.

From then on, anytime I visit a WH, I always make sure to bring cash with me.

That seems like an arbitrarily unfair policy.  Seems like you'd have the same potential for similar problems at any small restaurant.  If you're going to hold a grudge, hold it against that one cashier specifically.

I once had lunch at Fazoli's somewhere in Kentucky, possibly London.  They processed my credit card transaction just fine (six dollars and change).  And then they processed it again the next day.  It's such a small error I didn't bother trying to get it straightened out.

[Ace10]

My absolute worst time at a WH (and best story to tell, consequently) was actually a pretty good experience at the restaurant itself. The service was pretty usual, and my total was a little over $5.00. I left a tip of $1.00 and used my card to pay - which I learned you are never supposed to do - because the next day I checked my account activity and noticed I was over $900 overdrawn.

I figured out what happened. The cashier forgot to press a very important button between entering my tip, and then the total, so I got charged around $1006.00.

From then on, anytime I visit a WH, I always make sure to bring cash with me.

That seems like an arbitrarily unfair policy.  Seems like you'd have the same potential for similar problems at any small restaurant.  If you're going to hold a grudge, hold it against that one cashier specifically.

I once had lunch at Fazoli's somewhere in Kentucky, possibly London.  They processed my credit card transaction just fine (six dollars and change).  And then they processed it again the next day.  It's such a small error I didn't bother trying to get it straightened out.

I made it less of a rule for myself and more of a general guideline to make sure whoever is running the register or machine seems competent enough. Actually, the time I went to the WH in Georgia that I mentioned in my last post above, I did use my credit card and there was no problem at all. I just get very, very cautious whenever I see my card being run at a terminal that's separate from the restaurant's POS computer and the cashier manually enters in the amount to charge. With buttons so small and lots of other stuff going on around, it can be very easy and understandable to make a mistake. I just like to prevent the chances of that happening whenever I can tell it would be easy to make them.

[cpzilliacus]

My favorite part of WH is that you get to listen to the banter among the waitstaff, cooks, etc. I like the "behind the scenes" atmosphere, because what is there really to hide?

That is one of the things I find attractive and even endearing about all Waffle House units.  I have also found that the wait staff at Waffle House is generally pretty good (and that's contrary to what seems to be the conventional wisdom about the chain).  I don't consider myself rich, but I always make it a point to tip wait staff as generously as I can (unless the service was lousy, which it rarely is (in my experience) at WH).

My second favorite part is that when I did the 32 Hours of Delaware (TM), I was in and out of WH within 5 minutes. That became crucial when I barely made the earlier ferry and hit bad shore traffic in NJ.

"32 Hours of Delaware?"  That sounds like the name of a new reality TV series to air (maybe) on TLC or the Travel Channel.

[cjk374]

Byron, Georgia offers two Waffle Houses within walking distance of each other:

I think every exit on I-10 in Mississippi have 2 Waffle Houses at every exit, one on each side of the interstate. Several are located on the Gulf Coast in the Gulfport/Biloxi area.

I am definitely not worried about calorie counts either.  The one in Ruston, LA is closest to me, & I have now become a weekend regular there.  I also recently started dating one of the waitresses.     & despite what you may have heard or experienced elsewhere, you won't find a more attentive staff or better tasting hashbrowns. (scattered, smothered, covered & sometimes chunked for me please!)   

[berberry]

I saw two Waffle Houses on the same corner near an interstate in Nashville in the late 90s.

You can throw a rock from one to the other here in Vicksburg; we've got 4 now.  And we're just a three-McDonald's town!

Funny how they're all near the interstate.  There's lot of Vicksburg that's not next to the interstate, but those areas don't have Waffle Houses.

When all the stars are aligned just so (and by that I mean when it's very, very early in the morning and most other food options are feeling way too fast) then there's nothing like Waffle House.  I like the scrambled eggs and bacon with hash brown.  Hate the grits.  Waffles are great ONLY with the blueberries.  I agree with the poster above who said that waffles are second-best to good pancakes, but if you add blueberries then either one is sooo excellent!

[mcdonaat]

My number one, and two, Waffle House is actually off of a non-Interstate, on US 165. One just north of Monroe, and another where La 2 West joins in Sterlington. Very relaxed atmosphere, and good food!

[cpzilliacus]

When all the stars are aligned just so (and by that I mean when it's very, very early in the morning and most other food options are feeling way too fast) then there's nothing like Waffle House.  I like the scrambled eggs and bacon with hash brown.  Hate the grits.  Waffles are great ONLY with the blueberries.  I agree with the poster above who said that waffles are second-best to good pancakes, but if you add blueberries then either one is sooo excellent!

Waffle  House waffles with blueberries are amazingly good.

[route56]

Don't forget: Waffle House is approved by Roger Dobkowitz

[berberry]

Waffle  House waffles with blueberries are amazingly good.

Yeah, I'm crazy for blueberries.  I don't think either the WH bb waffles or, let's say, IHOP bb pancakes - assuming that they're made properly - are any better the one than the other, but the waffles do offer an interesting change in texture.  The slight crunchiness makes them a little more like a cobbler.

[exit322]

$28.99 for a motel room? Bet that place is a dump.

Let's put it this way, Passport Inns are the lower-scale motels for the Hospitality International group, which include such upper class properties as Scottish Inns and Red Carpet Inns.  You've probably got something there.