Waffle House

Sometimes you just need a classic. Last night I got home at 9:00 and was too tired to cook. The house already smelled of popcorn, so I knew the boy had given into its quick and 94% fat free delight. I followed suit and made some for myself, though that was the beginning of the sinning.

You see, a couple weeks back I needed some pasta so a stole some from a box of mac n' cheese. I threw out the box and saved the cheese packet because I thought I could use it "for something." That something ended up being sprinkled over the 94% fat free popcorn which quickly morphed into 94% fat popcorn. And boy is it good. You only need like a tbs from the little packet, and it is wonderful.

My brain was pretty tired so I tried to soothe it with a martini or two, and I must have relaxed it too much because several episodes of Law and Order later I was starving. So was the boy. We were practicing french and thinking about what food we wanted to eat there when we visited when I remembered a french version of french fries, cheese and gravy called poutine. (Something we used to eat in New Orleans alot.) We decided we need to eat this right away. So we headed to Waffle House.

Mind you, the martinis conveniently hid the fact that Waffle House does not serve french fries or gravy...but we didn't care. We walked in to a packed Waffle House at midnight, and on the Waffle House jukebox JT informed me that while I ate, he would be 'bringing sexy back." There was no turning back.

First we ordered: the boy had coffee, a philly cheesesteak melt, chili with cheese and hashbrowns smothered and diced. I had a diet coke with a philly cheesteak melt and hashbrowns covered. Then we hit the jukebox and played: Johnny Cash, Usher, Marvin Gaye, Jan and Dean, Barry White, Al Green, Death Cab for Cutie, Gnarls Barkley, John Cougar Mellancamp and Gretchen Wilson.

We dug into our food and finished it all. In a fit of madness I ordered a double order of hashbrowns all the way, and in a guilty and increasingly painful silence, we ate them all as well.

It was, as all our meals at Waffle House are, delightful in every way. We are such fans that I have written the corporate headquarters extolling the virtues of their organization, and gone so far as to inquire about franchising opportunities, which interestingly enough are available only to employees. I love that. A company with a heart. A company that is centered around nurturing and encouraging their employees from the ground up, and they serve great food at great prices by a great staff 24 hours a day. No wonder they are so successful and so prolific.

It was a good night. I promptly went home and immediately went to sleep.