My lunch from the all-day breakfast menu spread across three plates: one for the sausage, one for the waffle, and one for the eggs, toast and hash browns.  All this bounty from ordering the All-Star Special at the Waffle House.  

Waffle house, one of the largest restaurant chains in America, is a southern tradition. More than 2100 of the iconic yellow signs dot the highways and commercial roads across twenty-five states. They are as numerous in the South as Dunkin Donuts in the Northeast and stand in for our diners. 

Across the Mason-Dixon line, the signs begin to pop up with regularity.  There are a few as far north as Pennsylvania, but the largest concentration (431) is in Georgia where the chain was founded.

Open 24/365, Waffle House serves a limited menu of American standards to locals and travelers alike. Breakfast All Day covers one side of the placemat menu. A burger-focused Lunch/Dinner menu covers the other side. 

On the All-Star, over-easy eggs, just the way I like them, came with two slices of toast, hash browns (or grits), sausage (or bacon or ham) and the famous waffle with the restaurant logo embossed in the center.  The coffee, served in a white china mug, was excellent.  Refills (“Would you like a heat up?”) were poured from a pot,   

Marsha ordered healthy scrambled eggs with toast and sliced tomato. We didn’t get a chance to try the ubiquitous grits. 

My brother-in-law Mark knows satisfying food when he sees it.  He lives in California now, but has some history with the Waffle House menu. When I asked him for suggestions he replied: “Hash browns ‘all the way’ is one key to happiness in life.”

I didn’t see it on the menu but mentioned it to our server, India.  She leaned back and said, “You mean you want chili, white gravy, onion, tomatoes, jalapeño, ham, mushroom and cheese?”   I replied, “Yup” and explained that I was acting on family advice.  A little like loaded nachos but on potatoes, it’s one of those outrageously delicious things you have to know about – an insider thing. 

The most expensive thing on the menu is just ten bucks. Try as I could to run up the check with a full breakfast special and the hash brown add-ons, the tab was only $22.50 including coffee.  Menu prices include sales tax. 

At the Waffle House the servers call out the orders to the grill cook as they walk away from the table. Old-school, but effective. No fancy computer systems here.  Hand-written checks with cryptic notes on special requests have always worked.  An elaborate code system helps the cook get the correct food combos on plates. 

Eating at an iconic Waffle House is a draw for anyone visiting (or just passing through) the South.  Where we ate along I-75 in Macon, Georgia, there were cars with license plates from Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Florida, and, of course, Connecticut along with Georgia.  

Waffle Houses are open 24 hours a day no matter what. I understand that FEMA has an informal disaster index that includes the restaurants.  If the local Waffle House is doing business as usual, then disaster conditions are bearable. With limited hours or menu, more help is needed. If the restaurant is closed, the situation is urgent. 

We were told that Waffle House sells more steak than any other restaurant chain.  It seems improbable, but with all those outlets and steak and eggs on the menu, it could be right. There were no steaks on our menu; perhaps  another sign of covid-induced supply-chain issues. 

I told India how much I enjoyed my all-the-way hash browns.  With a smile, she reminded me to let Mark know.  

Frank Whitman can be reached at NotBreadAloneFW@gmail.com.