Taking Sides: Waffle House vs. IHOP

When visiting a friend in upstate Louisiana once, I expressed a desire to eat at a Waffle House. My friend and compatriots humored me but made it clear that IHOP was superior. Strange times.

It was all worth it for the way Dan first said "Fresh...FROZEN...strawberries."

- The silverware at our table was CAKED with food; it looked like the previous diners had eaten their meals and then reset the table with their used cutlery. We asked for more silverware but it took them three attempts to find some that was actually clean.

- Shaken, I went to take a drink of water. My mother abruptly shouted, "DON'T DRINK OUT OF THAT!" and grabbed my hand. Puzzled and slightly shocked, I took a closer look at the glass and finally saw the ring of orange juice pulp around the inside of my glass.

- At this point, most of the family had lost their appetites, but my dad is stubborn and wanted to eat right then. He ordered a salad with oil and vinegar salad dressing. He had poured on the oil and was going for the vinegar when my middle brother said, "Dad, before you do that, what's on the top of that vinegar?" Dad glanced at it and said, "Oh, that's just pepper." My brother said, "Since when does pepper have WINGS?" Dad put his gnat-topped vinegar carafe back on the table and ordered the check.

We walked out of the restaurant and went straight to McDonald's. I think I've set foot in Denny's maybe once since then (the whole "we don't like black people" thing from the early 90s was an unnecessary nail in an already-sealed coffin as far as I was concerned).

Denny's quality is seriously a coin flip. There were two Denny's just a mile away from each in Orange County. One was in the more upscale city of Irvine. The other was in a slightly more grimy but not so necessarily gang-ridden part of Santa Ana. The Santa Ana Denny's EXCELLED! I actually fondly remember great meals there a couple of times. Service was excellent. It even beat the Norm's right across the street. The Irvine Denny's on the other hand was a complete inately run shitbasket.

It really just depends on who is managing the place. The range is quality is huge and astounding.

*cue EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUGHH!*

"So I urge you to telephone your congressperson immediately and state your position on this issue clearly and forcefully, as follows: 'I favor gluing turkey rectums!'" -- Dave Barry

Although this means some number of people would be employed as turkey rectum gluers. TS: gluing turkey butts vs. eating at the Denny's Dan described.

Village Inn "Santa Fe Chicken Skillet" is pretty great if sufficiently drunk and hungry.

waffle house all the way. that said, in the 3 million times i've drunkenly eaten there, they have a 0% success rate at getting even the simplest order 100% correct, bless em.

um, i ordered grits as well.

oh. ok. i'll get them in a minute, honey.

Country fried steak & eggs w/sausage gravy. Awesome.

IHOP gets points for just putting the damn pitcher of coffee on your table, allowing you to serve yourself. However, last time I was there, the A/C wasn't working. The hostess just gave me a menu to fan myself.

Also, at IHOP and Denny's, there's the odd chance that you might get seated at an actual table. Fuck that, bring on the booths. Denny's does have those U-shaped booths than can fool a drunk into thinking that he's been seated at the Peppermint Lounge or somewhere.

I've told this story before, but I'll tell it again. A friend and I were at the Perkins off Riverside in Minneapolis. We both had the raspberry pie, and it was sooo good. The waiter came by and asked how it was, and my friend replied, "My God, it's orgasmic!"

Without missing a beat, the waiter responded with "That's great! I'll bring over some more napkins."

And THAT, my friends, is what you call a snappy comeback.

waffle house CRUSHES all opponents, but the last time i was at a denny's (in the middle of the night while drunk SHOCKAH), my glob of greasy melted crap was darned tasty.

i imagine that the Best IHOP Ever might be pretty great, but by and large they seem medicore at best. Waffle House has more personality, as a chain, but i have had far fewer WH experiences.

The IHOP has good coffee, good OJ, and I like their variety of pancakes. I'm biased though...IHOP is one of my favorite chains, everything smells so good and looks so good. I suppose they'll get bombed out of business now that I said that.

But I've never been to Waffle House so I don't know.

I would probably like Waffle House more though, if I had been there more than once. They seem to be KEEPIN IT REAL.

WHAt ABOUT EMBER'S? ALWAYS FORGOTTEN...

but you totally order so much stuff, if memory serves correctly!

my vote goes to waffle house.

I like Embers fine but it's no Perkins.

Are there still Happy Chefs out there? I miss seeing those square boxy buildings with the marquee bulbs lining the edges.

Waffle House by fucking miles. IHOP tries to trick you into thinking the food isn't nasty, WH is upfront about their total skeeviness. Pecan waffles, hash browns with chili and onions, sausage patty with maple syrup. Mmm. I can feel my arteries hardening with anticipation already.

Potato pancakes are pancakes too.

Oh hell yeah. There's a non-chain pankcake house place only two blocks from my house that convinced me of just how amazing those things can be.

Sadly I've never lived anywhere there were Waffle Houses, but I saw plenty of them while driving across country and I think I ate in one, but don't remember much about it. IHOP, on the other hand, is just alright, I guess.

My Dad is a retired chef originally from Germany and he makes the most incredible potato pancakes. To be perfectly honest though the best I've ever had weren't his but my 87 year old German grandmothers. They were fucking amazing. Would never tell him that though.

ihop, beyond the serviceable pancake menu, serves some of the worst food known to man

i made the horrific mistake of ordering biscuits and gravy there once : (

It's fitting that the "Cats are not for eating!!!" screen name turns up on the Waffle House v. IHOP thread.

(xp)

ha

Even though I've never been to Waffle House I have to say I'm surprised this is even a question. IHOP is pretty gross.

Waffle House is probably objectively better, but I'd go with IHOP because it is what I grew up with, I've been there a million times, and there's one right near my house that my son likes me to take him to when we are having special father/son time. I can't say that I've ever been to Waffle House either.

Original Pancake House is indeed a great place, really a step beyond some of these more generic ones. We haven't gone there for a while, even though it's come up in conversation - maybe this weekend...

Also, I love me some Cracker Barrel, though once or twice a year is plenty, thank you very much.

Waffle House CEO accused of sexual improprieties

davycoolguy
Innocent until proven guilty. I am not automatically going to believe this womans story. I have a brain and use it for critical thinking.

http://i.imgur.com/zi7hd.gif

Since the opening of its first restaurant in the Atlanta suburb of Avondale in 1955, Waffle House has become a culinary staple of the South with more than 1,500 restaurants that are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It is known for its signature shitty yellow signage, jukebox music and breakfast offerings.

Whatever, that signage is cool! I like the little plastic signs they stick in the oreo pie.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/ten-miles-square/2014/02/waffle_house_and_the_american049162.php

There are just 10 in all of Yankeedom, which has 55 million people. Those three nations - the “blue” coalition of contemporary politics - comprise 29 percent of the national population, but just 0.6 percent of all Waffle Houses.

waffle house owns

You go back in time, kill Hitler, come back, and see this. Now what do you do?

https://i.imgur.com/G3bix4g.jpg

I would kill for some double hashbrowns covered right now.

^ correct answer.

Waffle House forever and ever. probably my favorite restaurant of all time at this point. give me cheese eggs, cheese grits, and a biscuit, a cup of coffee, and im in heaven.

lot of good memories of my early 20s hanging/pre-gaming w friends at the Waffle House back when you could still smoke cigarettes.