It’s not just a Southern thing

Maybe it’s just a Southern thing (it isn’t), but there is just nothing better than Waffle House for good ‘ol country breakfast. Sure there are other places that specialize in pancakes, or country store atmosphere, or even farm to table cooking, names need not be dropped, and those eateries certainly have their charms and delicious food. But in my humble opinion, the only place you can get the authentic “Grandma’s southern kitchen” dining experience, is to look no further than Waffle House. From the moment you walk through the door, the smell of coffee and bacon hits you like a cozy old quilt that you slept under on Grandma’s living room floor a hundred times as a kid. Sit wherever you are most comfortable, I like the counter where you are almost literally in the kitchen, reminiscent of watching my grandma cook.

I don’t have many memories of my paternal grandmother. Once when I was 7 (it was not long before she passed away) everyone, aunts, uncles, and all my cousins were at my grandparent’s house in Oklahoma for Christmas. They didn’t have a lot, so gifts were not the main event. All the grandkids got slippers and flashlights, I guess my grandma envisioned epic rounds of hide and seek at night, I don’t remember though because my slippers were too small and my flashlight didn’t work. At first I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, that’s the kind of kid I was. Somehow though, she found out and the next thing I knew, I was bouncing around in the old pickup (no seatbelts) heading down the dirt road to town, just me, my mom, and my grandma. That Christmas, when all my cousins and my brother were playing flashlight tag in their slippers, I was prancing around with my very first purse and sunglasses, the seven year old version of my beautiful mom.

All the other memories I have of my grandmother are about how great of a cook she was. She was famous for her biscuits and gravy and if my cousins Jim and Mike were in town, you didn’t get any unless you were in front of them once it hit the table. She made everything from scratch and we never left a visit feeling under fed, more likely it felt like you had to be rolled to and then stuffed into the car when it came time to go home.

These memories are some of my most cherished, which is part of why Waffle House is such a wonderful place. Those other restaurants that try to be an example of old country stores & memorabilia, but Waffle House has completely nailed the flavor. Science has shown us that the best way to conjure memories is by smell and taste, all you have to do is order breakfast here and you can experience the proof.