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I've never actually been inside a Waffle House, therefore my want is most likely entirely ironic and mocking.
And I'm not dissing the Waffle House. I can eat that kind of death.
But the very concept of a forest camo T shirt from a rather self-serious looking outdoor outfitter with the words "WAFFFLE HOUSE" emblazoned in bright black and yellow just butters my biscuits.
FYI: the Waffle House is known for it's breakfasts. They have the greasiest, most artery-clogging, heart-attack inducing food you can imagine. Yet, it is considered ambrosia by a large segment of the (U.S.) population. Canada's equivalent would be The White Spot.
For the Euros: Waffle House is a fast food chain specializing in (whatta surprise) waffles, operating primarily out of the Southeast. So much so that the Onion once ran a joke saying "Mason-Dixon line renamed Waffle House-IHOP.
My experience with Waffle House is limited to one rather desultory meal at a location in Savannah, GA across from a trailer park* where a neglectful waitress ignored me and the mrs to converse at legnth with a family whose daughter had a Furby. I'm more of a Shoney's or Steak & Shake guy.
*this visage of Savannah was especially disappointing. The name evokes visions of Tara like splendor. This looked more like Sit Creek.
My favorite waffle house story: three of us hit waffle house around 1:30 in the morning to get coffee and talk about fibre bundles or something that seemed important at the time. Anyway, the waitress took our orders ("Waffle. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee.") and then remembered to ask if we wanted separate checks ("Yes.")
As she was turning to walk away, we heard, "Oh, great. How the hell am I going to figure this shit out?"
The mrs. is a big fan of a midwestern Chain called Dutch Pantry, that I can't find a suitable link for. One place that I've never been to, since their based out of Texas, is Sonic, but for some reason we're bombarded with cable TV ads for them. They look really tasty. Are they good?
In some parts of the South - I haven't really pinned down the range - the dominant horrible-but-beloved breakfast-all-day place is not Waffle House, but Huddle House. Their menu reads like the Monty Python "Spam" sketch with spam replaced by grits. You can have bacon, sausage and grits, omelette and grits, cereal and grits, ...
Sonic is pretty gross, actually, although they do offer jalapenos on your hamburger, which is good. Also, you're supposed to sit there while they rollerskate your food out to you, ok, 10 out of 10 for cute, but -5 for annoying as hell. I prefer the straightforward all American drive thru.
Asheville is blessed. We have both Waffle House and Huddle House. I think I like Huddle better, but never underestimate the power of the Shoney's Breakfast Buffet. And Bojangles, which rocks, and which my son somehow misread as Banjalays, so now it's always Banjalays to us.
We also have a lot of local (cheap/grungy) places like the 5 Points Diner and the Silver Dollar Diner which are so much better than the houses of Huddle or Waffle that there's no comparison. But they're not open 24 hours.
The South, while still having a ways to go, has come a long way. There's a lot of ethnic diversity in many cities down there, how else could an insane Jewish Country Singer manage to get on the gubernatorial ballot in Texas. Like anywhere else, it's a complicated place.
And despite my Mediterranean/Hibernian descent, my fondness for flannel, denim, country music, fried food and sour mash makes me appear somehat good ol' boy.
lovely things can happen at waffle house:
traveling back exhausted from a pere ubu/pixies concert (possibly one of the most violent pits i've ever been in (?!)) we discovered they didn't take plastic and a waitress offered and ended up covering us (friend wrote her a check)
(ya meet all kinds of famouse people 'n dignitaries shoving waffles in their facehole, and i'll spare meself the storytellin')
and bad things happen at waffle house but the thing about the waffle house is the fact they have three songs about them on the jukebox.
i am deathly afraid jon and i may have been to many of the same dive diners and am in no state to check
the south made me like grits
and the big house gave me an occasional thing for cream of wheat
never been to a whataburger, but i warn you all away from the cracker barrel (name says it all) and po' folks should really go for the oiled dirt floor to complete the vibe.
oh how the list goes on but basically
truck stops rock
and mushroom burgers
and lots of stuff in the southwest
yes, it is an american thing, as gas use to cost less than your mortgage and we got lots of roamin' space and roads and cars and people need to stop, eat and use the facilities.
i believe there may even be many songs about the road trip but few about the eurail pass
made it to austin, but didn't get a whataburger
something's wrong there and i think it's the drive through liquor stores (LITERAL)
i was gonna say i liked something but i can't think of it as the US is a vast terrain of food abomination from cheese curds to scrapple that people are literally addicted to.
a really good veggie burger can kick your ass
and i can't wait until those Fifth Element drive up trucks happen so i can get samosas and noodles brought to my window
because face it, folks:
the true test of civility is delivery and everything should deliver
I used to work third shift at the Waffle House. Drunks, topless dancers, managers of the gay bars, professional wrestlers, navy flyboys, an adulterous anesthesiologist,Irish army dudes,cops, transvestites, tipsy small town politicians, lonely lawyers, a private eye, and *drum roll* the original Mr. Clean.
I waited on them all, cleaned puke off the juke box (thank God that only happened once) listened to their tales of heartbreak, woe and hilarity, went to their weddings, mourned their divorces, and listened to "Free Bird" more than any human should ever have to.
Speaking of that jukebox, the Waffle House songs have multiplied and threaten to take over.
If you haven't had your hashbrowns scattered, smothered, covered and chunked, you have not LIVED.
(Jonmc, call me if you are ever in the neighborhood. I'd take you there.You'd be in hoggy heaven.)
Long ago we used to frequent the Waffle House right across the Ashley River from downtown Charleston. Usually we went when the bars closed at 2 and stayed until 4 or so. The late night waitresses were all older ladies and I would think in horror that that was probably where I'd end up at 70, pouring endless cups of coffee at 3 am for drunken college students who are too broke to tip. It still worries me and it still seems all too likely.
I went looking for lyrics to the Rev. Billy C. Wirtz Great Waffle House Fire and check out his homepage, Jon, he's just had two operations for kidney stones.
Perhaps, but the entire history of human conflict, war, hatred, etc. is people storing of grudges and holding on to them forever and waiting to get some form of payback. Eventually, letting go has to happen.
(and as someone who's taken shots from other white/straight/christian folks for associating with all kinds of "others," I don't appreciate the implications of what you say, and I'm not ready to write off huge swaths of the population based on where they happen to live or work)
On preview: those are both ugly incidents, and disturbing and should be addressed, but the soul of prejudice is blaming an entire group for the actions of a few, and since none of the human races can plead complete innocence on the prejudice front, I'm disinlined to be judgemental, y'know motes and planks and all that.
Agreed, eth. I'm tired of unending, unresolvable arguments, especially with people I consider friends. That's why I hang out here more than at Big Blue anymore. Argument retracted.
jonmc: Stay away from Sonic. They make a hamburger with tater-tots on it.
That sounds delicious. White castle makes a breakfast sandwich with a hashbrown patty in it*. Cuban pan con bistec sandwiches in Miami feature fried potato stix as toppings. Meat 'n' taters, mmmmm.
To say nothing of the infamous Surf & Turf (a double cheeseburger with a fish filet in the middle, according to the counterlady, invented in Jersey. figures.)
Perhaps, but the entire history of human conflict, war, hatred, etc. is people storing of grudges and holding on to them forever and waiting to get some form of payback. Eventually, letting go has to happen.
Dude, I'm talking about the fact that as a chain Waffle House has a tendency to get itself into racism lawsuits, and how given that fact, matteo's comment was not from outer space. I'm not talking about wiping all Southerners off the face of the planet. I'm not even talking about not going to a Waffle House, though I probably wouldn't, as my desire to visit the South is about as low as my desire to visit Russia, and for the same reason: just doesn't appeal.
But it really isn't your place to tell people when it's time for them to "just get over" something. That is beyond presumptuous. You'll notice I didn't tell you what to do with the information.
On preview: If you don't want to get into old arguments, maybe you should stop seeing old arguments in statements of fact.
how given that fact, matteo's comment was not from outer space.
Well, at the beginning of the thread matteo's "?" at the existence of Waffle House tells me that just maybe he was drawing conclusions based on a jaundiced veiw of the South. But that's neither here nor there. But we've managed to turn a nice conversation about fast food into a racial argument. I say we all stop. This isn't MeFi.
Well, damn, I just wrote an extremely long post about racism and the lack of it in the modern South, about which, yes, I can judge, as I have lived my entire adult life, with the exception of two years in NY, below the Mason-Dixon line. But the hell with it - jon's right. Dame, matteo, anyone - come visit me anytime, darlins', and we'll have fun, and you will be amazed at how friendly everyone is, and how all multiethnic and shit, and the general beauty of the scenery, and the great live music, and, also, last but not least, how lovely and cheap the beer and the cigarettes and the diner food can be!
Jeez, if you think I derive any fun from stuff like this, then you don't know me as well as you think you do. I'd much rather coast along chattering about cheeseburgers and old 45's. I'm too old to find conflict fun.
Beside, Waffle House isn't the establishment that's had the problems with charges of racism, it's Denny's. I mean if we are going to get all "MeFi" let's at least get the parties right.
*ahem*
hi
i've actually been to waffle house
i've actually lived in the south
i've actually lived in nyc and abouts
i've actually had to deal with the racism and bullshit you all want to debate about with lofty theoreticals and examples you have to look for
i'm here to tell you that yes racism is alive and well all over the place and i've got the scars to prove it
especially being an actual minority
as in alien no people like me around
and that the food in the south is amazing
go to ma something on jones street
and now i'm going to sleep
because i've been awake checking to see if people outside and inside the us are alive or not
and all i really wanted to do online was listen to music because i never get to
i do try to make myself easily skippable but gimme a golfarbfreakin' break
oh i and i meant it was wrong i didn't get to have a whataburger, not austin
but if someone could actually send me some indian/thai/greek/real food
that would be great
Ok, as the resident expert, I personally observed racism at the WH. Everything I have ever seen in that regard is because in many WHs the typical employee is a redneck divorced woman with the typical prejudices of same. I was disgusted to work with a gal who not only gave rotten service to black patrons but made racist comments to me about them. (That crap don't fly with me, btw.)
On the other hand, the lovely WH repast I was served last night came courtesy of our friendly and competent African-American waitress and prepared skillfully by an African American grill operator (fancy WH talk for the cook.)The cook makes or breaks the experience, and he is the first one in years who actually knew how to make my hash browns as crispy as I want to eat them.
I have eaten in lots of different Waffle Houses and truly YMMV when it comes to the redneckitude. As far as I can tell (and this is from the perspective of one who is also married to a former WH manager) any racism encountered there is of the individual, not the corporate variety.
Now, to really step in it-it was popularly assumed by the waitresses back in the day that African Americans were lousy tippers. OTOH when I waited on them, I was interested to note that not only did they usually tip, but almost to a person they insisted on handing it directly to me instead of leaving it on the table. Not really sure why.(This was in Pensacola, Florida which in my opinion-at least a decade or so ago-was not without its racial problems.)
Another experience I had was of a Black couple who I waited on-the gentleman was quite courteous while his companion seemed hellbent on being as nasty to me as possible. I am not sure whether it was because I was white, female, or just there that day. I think he assumed I would think it was racial as he did everything short of stand on his head to make it up to me.
If any of you northerners or other variety of nonredneck folk would like to try a Waffle House I would recommend you come to Fayetteville. Because of the military we have an incredible cross-section of any variety of humanity to include Yankees and furriners. (j/k) Seriously, we all know how to get along here.
And jonmc, I don't blame folk for being sensitive on the racial front. I have seen enough subtle racism-as a bystander-to confirm it does indeed exist, and on the occasions it might seem that someone would overreact I have to say that there is enough of the real thing out there for folks to get tripped up in the event they happen to be mistaken. It sucks, but that is how it is.
bunnyfire, I'd be the last person on earth to deny the continued existence of racism of all kinds, since I've seen it inflicted on those close to me with my own eyes and ears, too. I'm just sad that ugly political arguments have to invade our little playground here, since they rarely result in anything but hurt feelings and grudges. I come here to get away from that stuff. Can't we get some peace from it?
Yep. I'm not sure what got this going but I know my "back got up" when someone suggested that Savannah is more likely to be racist because (the way I interpreted it) it is in the South. I'm not from Savannah and I've only been there once but I am from the South and such suggestions tend to make my blood boil. We've got more than our fair share of racism but I don't know a region that doesn't. My impression is that some (not jonmc) like to point to the South rather than being realistic about the fact that it's in their backyards too. I am, almost certainly, hypersensitive to that finger pointing South.
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