I’m looking at you,Waffle House.
Waffle House actually is still good.
Not good like a local and seasonal, chef-driven restaurant.
Photo: Dana McMahan, Eat This, Not That!
Scattered, smothered, covered, are you with me?
What if I now tell you that there’s a way to level up your Waffle House experience?
Yes, you’ve got the option to take what’s good and make it even better.
A pecan waffle cooked extra crispy at Waffle House.Photo: Dana McMahan, Eat This, Not That!
I give you: make itextra crispy.
Anyway, the why doesn’t matter so much as the what.
We’ll start with the pecan waffle, my go-to.
A bite of the original pecan waffle (left) versus a bite of an extra crispy pecan waffle (right). Note how the squares hold the syrup.Photo: Dana McMahan, Eat This, Not That!
A waffle is normally cooked for three minutes, I learned on my exploratory mission.
What happens in that extra minute?
At that moment, the extremely cheerful and competent young waitress blew the lid off for me.
When Waffle House hash browns are cooked extra crispy, every bite is the perfect combo of crunchy outside and creamy inside.Photo: Dana McMahan, Eat This, Not That!
“Do you want your hash browns and bacon extra crispy, too?”
Yes, yes, I very much do!
Here’s the trouble with hash browns, as a rule.
The crispy golden shreds are a joy.
The pale, nearly raw pieces that don’t make much contact with the griddle?
I didn’t think so.
And certainly I don’t want to do that.
