The Waffle House Menu Item That Impressed Anthony Bourdain

In his 2015 "Parts Unknown" episode set in Charleston, South Carolina, Anthony Bourdain was introduced to the Southern institution that is Waffle House. After a round of drinks and a few more rounds of drinks (and a couple more drinks), his guide, James Beard Award-winning chef Sean Brock, introduced him to the famous all-day and all-night restaurant. Brock led Bourdain through a tasting experience of Waffle House's delicacies, starting with a dish Bourdain almost avoided out of unfamiliarity: the pecan waffle.

"You know what I know? I don't want the waffles at the Waffle House," Bourdain announced while looking at the menu. Brock quickly corrected him, and the episode launched into a waffle-making montage with Vivaldi's Winter violin concerto from The Four Seasons, dramatically playing like an episode of "Chef's Table." The plate arrives, and Brock gives his instructions for dressing the dish. He covers his with the whole packet of butter, then gets it "swimming in syrup." After his first bite, Bourdain, surprised, says, "Oh, that's good." In what's presumably a half-joke, Bourdain, ever the champion of everyday food, declares, "This is better than the French Laundry, man." Shortly after the experience, he went on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." He told Colbert that he "discovered the glories of the Waffle House." It was the first introduction that turned the chain into a Southern spot Bourdain swore by.

It seems counterintuitive to think that a place with "waffle" in its name would have bad waffles, but Anthony Bourdain always liked to go against the grain. Perhaps he thought the best order would be over-easy eggs and hashbrowns, two foods a diner almost always gets right. It's fair, the restaurant goes through a lot of eggs each year! Little did he know that the Waffle House prides itself on its namesake food.

The batter is made with specially milled flour from C.H. Guenther & Son Inc., a flour mill based in Texas. The mill makes the mix, and in the restaurant, cooks add eggs and half-and-half to create the batter. Waffles are made to order; you can watch them poured into the waffle iron right in front of you if you sit at the counter.  There are three toppings to choose from that you can add to your waffles: chocolate chips, peanut butter, and pecans. A generous helping of pecans is added straight into the batter in the iron. The result is a new choice dish for Bourdain, but one Sean Brock already knows well.