By Olivia Schwartz ’14, Contributor

The place to go in Cincinnati for a waffle is the Waffle House. Sure there are other places to get waffles, but none are as good as the real thing, hence the name: Waffle House. The chain has been around since 1955, and with 1,400 locations in the U.S. they must be doing something right.

You can’t miss the restaurant with its yellow and black beehive décor and red awning. Even though it’s a small place, it doesn’t feel that way when you’re inside because of the band of windows that stretch across the length of almost the entire restaurant. When you drive up, there is usually a variety of cars parked ranging from a rusty old truck to a sparkling new Escalade.

Once inside, you see the globe lights that hang over the counter like planets in space. You can see the whole kitchen from the moment you walk in the door. There are a variety of people with different ages, cultures, and hair lengths. Guaranteed, I wouldn’t want to talk to every person sitting in the Waffle House, but it is interesting to hear stories from people I wouldn’t normally talk to. Once seated, the waitress will hand you the single page menu that looks like a page full of comic strips. The menu is reasonable with a split section of choices for breakfast or lunch/dinner.

The Waffle House offers a change of atmosphere. Some people have poor opinions of the Waffle House. You might hear it’s cheap or disgusting but it’s not. It’s a place where you can get away from your day to day life and see a melting pot of people. Last weekend, an elderly man came and sat next to us at the counter and asked the waitress “What’s the cheapest thing on the menu?” She replied “Well sir, the hamburger is $1.” He said “I’ll take the hamburger.”

On seven visits, I’ve only had one meal. It’s a formula made up of waffles, sausage patties, hash browns and hot tea and it is excellent every time. The waiter/waitress serves the waffles to you right off the waffle maker. They aren’t too hard or too soft, but light, thin, fluffy, and golden brown. At the ideal temperature, the distinct taste reminds me of that first taste of delicious cake. The pecans are soft and the flavor is subtle. The finishing touch: syrup, which is perfect, neither too thin nor too thick. The sausage patties come out very hot and very tasty, seasoned just right. The scattered hash browns are crispy and delicious. You can also order them smothered with onions, covered with melted cheese, chucked with grilled hickory smoked ham, or choose from four other varieties. I’m not sure if everything on the menu is good, but it can’t all be bad since there are people constantly coming in.

I would definitely recommend going to the Waffle House for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It may not be the most beautiful restaurant in the world, but you will leave feeling satisfied. One of these days, I might even try something else off the menu.
Photo courtesy of www.wafflehouse.com