When it comes to late night dining, Los Angeles has its fare share of offerings; although, truth be told, we could always use more. I can only go to my after-hours haunts so many times before ennui kicks in. That why I'd been so excited to try The Waffle, one of the latest entries in the LA pseudo-diner circuit. The 22-hour restaurant opened earlier this year, and already, it has stirred up quite the controversy in the food-blogging community. Some people love the kitchen's wide variety of dishes; others feel its overrated. There's been backlash, and there's been backlash on the backlash — so as you can imagine, I really didn't know what to expect when I wandered into the restaurant with my friends, J-Unit and IndianJones, this past weekend.
I'll sum it up in one clear, unfortunate word: overpriced.
The simple truth of the matter is that despite some well-prepared dishes, this restaurant is woefully overpriced, even by Hollywood standards. J-Unit ordered a kiddie-sized mac and cheese plate as a starter, and what was given to him was little more than a few pieces of gruyere-covered pasta in essentially a ramekin. And no, not the big kind. Flavor-wise, it worked, but for $5, it was teetering on rip-off — even for kiddie-size.
The most flagrant offender, however, were the pecan waffles I ordered for a whopping $9.50. For those prices, I expected big things. What I received, however, nearly made my jaw drop: two small waffles that were just barely larger than coasters. That's right. I'm talkin' tiny. Look, I've had a lot of waffles in my time, but none as brazenly petite as these. Just one look at my photos and you can see: they only have a 3 x 3 grid! For nearly $10, I'd expect a third waffle, or at the very least an upgrade in size. How could a restaurant called The Waffle skimp on such a vital dish? To give you an even better idea of how small these little guys were, I took a picture with my fork for scale:
Each waffle is about three or four bites each. That's six to eight bites total, for those who can't keep up.
Yeah. That's right. To me, all the internet hubbub about The Waffle begins and ends with this photo. This is not me being cheap. This is me being a reasonable customer, and $9.50 for two below-average-sized waffles borders on offensive. The only way such silliness could be excused would be if the best ingredients were used and the resultant waffles tasted all the better for it. And that, of course, brings us to the most important question of all: was it worth it?
Eh.
Flavor-wise, the waffles were very tasty — perfectly crisp on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. However, the experience was too short-lived and not amazing enough to outshine the other late-night joints, let alone to warrant the relatively steep price tag. If high quality ingredients were used, I wouldn't know, and I'd like to think that's a reflection on the restaurant, not me. For less money, hungry diners can nosh on arguably the city's best waffles just down the block at Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles, and believe me, they do not skimp there. The point is that despite being a strong dish, I left very hungry — which is kind of antithetical to the whole late night eats gambit.
Luckily, not all dishes appeared to be such a sham. The sandwiches all looked sizable and replete with many sides, and the Pancake Breakfast (at a mere two dollars more than the waffles) was overflowing with pancakes, eggs, and bacon (the latter of which was somewhat overcooked, but still enjoyable).
Still, for a place that wishes to make a name for itself with signature waffles, I couldn't imagine a worse way to do so. When there are seriously better waffle alternatives just down the street (Roscoe's), across the street (Denny's), and throughout the neighborhood (101 Coffee Shop), there's very little reason to hit up The Waffle for waffles.
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i remember the j-unit/edhill/sgdub Roscoe celebrity encounter story.
at least it was better than the lame story about sg's futon falling forehead rug-burn.
hb
Bummer. After a night out, you always look forward to some food before heading off to night-night. I remember fondly my Burrito Supremes, after a night partaking of some tasty beverages (I was young back then...Taco Bell was my late-night fare)
That fork picture says it all. You could have hit up Denney's for a bigger portion. So sad.
And KikiC, you know what's located across the street? DENNY'S.
If LA is that desperate for waffles, we have about 100 extra Waffle Houses in Atlanta alone that we can send you. I'll even throw in the Gladys Knight Chicken & Waffles for free.
dsc805
(Am I the only person who has problems logging in with this Moveable Type thing?)
dcs805, you're ALIVE!!!!1 Your father and I have been worried sick about you, young man.
I, too, have been shunned by cruel Moveable Type gods. So I have to log in anonymously like a commoner.
I ate at a Waffle House once. In St. Louis. In May of 1995. I remember that so vividly, why? Because those damned waffles are STILL lodged in my stomach.
I continue to use old, reliable Type Key.
Now I want waffles.
OD, I emailed dsc805 with the same comment earlier today. I can't stop thinking about waffles. Fluffy pecan waffles. Perhaps B-Side should harness this power of suggestion and use it for profit, but how?
Hicks, I am also bristling at being treated like a commoner. I have to squander my valuable time entering random sets of 6 letters just like the riff raff. And half of the time I get it wrong because I can't tell what the letters are. Perhaps I can teach my houseboy how to do that for me so I can save keystrokes.
I'm so mortified that my faithful readers have been reduced to the lowly depths of the CAPTCHA universe. This is appalling!
Nevertheless, in the meantime, I'm glad I've inspired a nationwide hunger for waffles. Maybe I should go to Roscoe's, take some pictures of those waffles, and show you what real eatin' is all about.
I am the commoner your mother warned you about.....
Me want food.
I love a good waffle.
to continue with the msr comments...
I made beignets and bacon for breakfast this a.m. I suck at waffles.
I too still have to comment anonymously, and I too prefer the Waffle House scattered, smothered, and covered. I don't want chicken with my waffles (ew!).
I have never tried to comment using Moveable Type. Why are you all not using TypeKey? Didn't we all have to get TypeKey accounts when TVgasm started requiring us to sign in to comment? That's how I got my lame screen name - I chose a name that had relevance to my comment on "24" without realizing I'd be stuck with it forever.
That still makes me laugh. Especially because now, you so ARE Bauer's Sweetheart. Like, you can never ever change that name.
I'm using Movable Type to comment as an experiment (TypeKey always logs me out, and I want to see if Movable Type is better). However, I don't think you can just sign up for a free Movable Type commenting account. I have one because I use MT to publish this blog. I dunno. I'll ask J-Unit.
btw, I'm so going to Roscoe's, eating waffles, and taking pictures sometime in the next few days.
zb - fried chicken with waffles and maple syrup is righteous.
b - still waiting for muffin tray usage.
bauers - what would you change it to?
hb
..."before ennui kicks in."
There's a word that just doesn't see enough print: ennui
"N is for Neville, who died of ennui"
you are a crafty wordsmith B-side - you keep me smiling. And now you make me hungry. Waffles......
Bauer's, I always thought that you were either a 24 freak or that Bauer was your husband's name....That's pretty funny 'cause now you really are stuck with it :)
Hey!!1 I know almost all of you people.
mmmmmmm waaaaffflllees
Yes, we the great unwashed of msr are taking over (and commenting anonymously).
We are also hungry for waffles!!!!1
hey my ex told me about that place roscoe's chicken and waffles...he and his band would go there late after a show.sounds yummy.