I have fond memories (read: hazy recollections) of Waffle House from college. We used to cab to the closest WaHou -- which was about 15 minutes from campus -- around 3am to grub on what was clearly a fine example of pure culinary genius (PCG). It was almost always packed, but we crammed ourselves into a booth, laughing about old funnies and making new ones. Never had I seen the interior of a Waffle House by the light of day, but that didn’t matter. Ten-year-old memories tell me that Waffle House riggity rules.
Walking in this morning I felt the undeniable sense of regret. Should I have accepted this invitation knowing full well that the Waffle House of today can *never* live up to Waffle House circa 1998? Am I gonna haveta take the framed copy of the Waffle House menu out of my pantry? Do they still have that bucket of lard next to the griddle?
Hesitations firmly under wraps, I went with my ancient usual: a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich (on white bread, of course) and a waffle. What I learned was many-fold:
1) The waffles at Waffle House are not bad. If you are striving for a breakfast that qualifies as not bad, there you go. But the sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich (on white bread, of course) is not good.
2) Waffle House has made an attempt to get with the times and now offers “lite” items. Like a Lite Waffle. I barf all over this idea.
3) There is still a bucket of lard next to the griddle, making the previous item even more hilarious.
4) The salty cooks and waitresses are 100% the same, and 100% awesome. And the people-watching is not to be missed. For reals.
5) It seems likely that I will never eat at a Waffle House again.
In all honestly, breakfast this morning was crazy fun and did nothing to dispel my love of college-era Waffle House.
Good news: The framed menu can stay.
