When we went to Hershey Park back in September, we visited the Waffle House one morning.  It was the first time I had ever been – they’re not really prevalent in New Jersey and I guess I just haven’t been lucky enough to visit them when we’ve left the state.  And I just checked to make sure I didn’t overlook a nearby location (since I only recently found out we have a Hooters fairly close by, who knows what else I’m missing?); the closest Waffle House is some 60 miles away, not terrible though.

When we walked in on a busy Sunday morning, I wasn’t expecting that they could seat us any time soon.  There were 12 of us, and let’s face it, the restaurant is pretty small.  But the staff went to work right away combining tables and figuring out how best to work our crowd, and within minutes, they had all the kids seated at the counter, and 5 adults (and Madeline) seated at a table.  They were off to an awesome start.

Have I mentioned I don’t like waffles?  Waffles and pancakes just rarely do it for me.  I have never made waffles, though occasionally buy the frozen ones when Nick goes through a random and infrequent hankering for them.  But here I am at the Waffle House – how could I not give them a try, right? I’ve got to say, they smelled amazing.

When I saw the menu and all the different variations you could get for hash browns, I was instantly smitten.  Especially with ooey gooey melty cheese over the top.  But I restrained myself, clean eating and all, and stuck with the waffle.  I don’t mind eating a little out of the box, but I wasn’t going to completely abandon the mission, you know?

When the pecan waffle came, I was pleasantly surprised.  It was thinner than most waffles, slightly crispy but still soft, carefully studded with little pecan pieces.  So good.  I still am not a huge fan of waffles, but Waffle House waffles are another story entirely.

The service we had that morning deserves a special mention.  I don’t know if it’s true of all Waffle Houses across the board, but I swear it felt like good old-fashioned Southern hospitality, right there in Pennsylvania.  Each staff member that we encountered went above and beyond to be courteous and accommodating.   When Madeline’s hat ripped, they came right over with a replacement for her.  When one of the waiters saw me taking pictures, he adjusted a few things to make the view neater for me.  Just the fact that they were able to seat 12 on a very busy weekend morning made me an instant fan (especially after we had just walked out of another restaurant after waiting for 45 minutes, watching as they sat group after group after group).

And the prices?  I mean, look at the menu!  Better bargains would be hard to find.

Have you been to Waffle House?  Favorite menu item?  Share with the class.

As we were getting ready to pay the bill (which, by the way, was $41 for the whole group), the waiter asked me where we were from.  When I told him “New Jersey,” he said, “But you don’t have an accent!”  I looked at him for a second and then it clicked.  “You mean like on TV?” I asked.  He nodded.  “Right, well, the people from New Jersey I know don’t talk like The Real Housewives of New Jersey, the cast of Jersey Shore or even the Sopranos.  And I’m born and mostly NJ bred.”  He laughed.  “No, huh?”  “No, sorry.”  New Jersey totally gets a bad rap with some of those shows, and it doesn’t just stop at the accent, but I assure you … those people you see on tv are the exception, not the rule.

Project 365
November 4, 2010, Photo #205

In typical New Jersey fashion, Fall seems to have come and gone in a blink-and-you-missed-it manner. Today was cold. Like a can’t get warm, better stay in bed, have soup kind of a day. I miss Summer already. I definitely miss Spring. I think I missed Fall.