You may read this title and think to yourself that you’re about to read a satirical piece, however despite the contradictory title, I promise that I am being completely serious.
For any waffle fans out there in Winston-Salem, look no further than The International House of Pancakes.
We all know what a good waffle tastes like – crisp on the outside, yet light and fluffy on the inside. The perfect balance is hard to find, because a great waffle requires syrup, maybe some whipped cream or some fresh fruit sprinkled in for good measure. However, too much syrup or too many toppings, often leave waffles soggy or weighed down, which decreases that fluffy texture we expect to see the first moment we cut into the waffle.
I thought this was going to be the best week of my life; I got to spend my week eating waffles of all different kinds. Unfortunately, my expectations were a little too high.
Most of the waffles I ate really dragged the golden reputation of Belgian waffles through the mud- mud that was almost as thick and gooey as the waffles themselves. Most were undercooked, soggy and lacked that certain balance between the crispy and fluffy components which are a necessity in any waffle.
Surprisingly, Waffle House had the worst waffles between the three restaurants I attempted to choke down waffles in.
I ordered a chocolate chip waffle and was surprised to find that there were no chocolate chips in the waffle, and sparsely any on top. Not to mention the texture was anything but crispy. Instead, it was like it had been sealed into a plastic bag and surrounded by condensation for a couple minutes. Needless to say, despite its name Waffle House is not the destination for waffles in Winston but if you’re into the whole “trucker vibe” I would suggest making a trip.
The second restaurant I went to was Cagney’s Kitchen, a comfort food restaurant on the corner of Cloverdale Ave. There, I ordered a plain Belgian waffle, which wasn’t good or bad. It was a little on the undercooked side, but not the worst waffle in the world, but it only cost $3.95, so to put this shortly, you get what you pay for.
For $2 more though, I would suggest going to IHOP and getting one of their Belgian waffles. The golden exterior was perfect, and even with syrup and whipped cream on top the waffle still maintained a crunchy edge to it. Regardless of the name, skip the pancakes at IHOP and order the waffles, I promise you will not be disappointed.