7 Things Southerners Order At Waffle House—And 3 Menu Items We’d Never Order

With its bright lights and yellow signs, Waffle House, or WaHo as fans know it, is a beloved Southern beacon for anyone making their way on a road trip or waking up on the weekend craving a comforting meal. While Waffle House has slowly made its way across the nation, the South is still the home of the Georgia-based restaurant.

The always-open diner may have “waffle” in its name, but that’s not the only order than any self-respecting Southerner would tell you to get, from the famed order-as-you-like hashbrowns—scattered, smothered, covered, chunked and more—to the hearty, packed-high combination plates. 

Whether you’re a first-timer, visiting after a long hiatus, or simply want to confirm what you already know, here are 7 things Southerners always order at Waffle House—and 3 things they wouldn’t dare. 

Best Waffle House Menu Items

Pecan Waffle

Hands down, the best item—and best waffle option—on the Waffle House menu is the pecan waffle. It adds the perfect nutty flair to the classic waffle, along with a welcome crunch and dose of Southern attitude. Drench in butter and syrup to make us proud, and the bravest customers can even ask to have a bit of syrup warmed up on the griddle. However, we prefer it straight from the old-fashioned syrup dispenser—and not to get on the kitchen’s bad side. 

Hashbrown Bowl

We like to think of this menu item as a much more interesting alternative to a basic egg breakfast plate. Instead, you get all the accompaniments—cheese, eggs, and choice of breakfast meat—served on top of a double order of the famous hashbrowns. Pro tip: Always ask for the hashbrowns well-done, or Scattered. 

Large Grits, All The Way

While you can order a Grits Bowl fashioned in the same way as the Hashbrown Bowl, we prefer the less-known hack of ordering a large side of grits with toppings tailored just how we like it. You can choose any of the toppings that are optioned for the hashbrowns—you know, scattered, smothered, covered, chunked and more—but atop a bowl of grits instead.

“All the way” means just what you think: all 9 toppings, including gravy and Waffle House’s legendary Bert’s Chili. (However, we recommend getting those last two on the side, in that case.) 

Texas Melt

Any first-timers might mistakenly make their way only through the most obvious options—classic breakfast plates and waffles—but the Texas Melts have always been perhaps the most delectable category on the menu. The star here are the pieces of thick, buttery Texas Toast that are the vessels for any sort of sandwich, whether you choose one of the breakfast options (such as sausage, egg, and cheese) or lunch options (such as the Texas Patty Melt or Texas Chicken Melt, which are both downright heavenly). 

Grilled Biscuit

While the breakfast biscuit sandwiches wouldn’t be most Southerners' idea of the best biscuit in town, getting a “grilled biscuit” as your side on a breakfast plate is a total game-changer. You must always order some sort of bread anyway, and while most might go for classic toast, many forget you can get a biscuit that’s been warmed and toasted on the griddle with butter.

Waffle Melt

Now, this has not been a delegated menu item in the past, but it has quite the cult following. If you’re nice and put forward your best manners, the kitchen will agree to make any breakfast sandwich or Texas Melt of your choice with waffles instead of bread. We recommend going with a classic bacon, egg, and cheese Waffle Melt. Sweet, salty, and savory, you really get the best of all worlds. 

All-Star Special (Obviously)

Now, we couldn’t ignore the most obvious choice, particularly for first-timers at Waffle House who want the full proper experience. It’s basically a generous breakfast plate of eggs and optional accouterments (you have the choice of grits, hashbrowns, or whatever you fancy), and it also comes with a whole waffle on the side. If you really want to make a Southerner proud, make it a pecan waffle. 

What Not to Order

Chicken & Waffles

This might seem controversial—but if you know, you know. Waffle House isn’t in the business of frying things, and instead relies on its trusty griddles and waffle irons. Therefore, when you order Chicken & Waffles, many are surprised to find that the chicken is, in fact, not fried but grilled on the griddle. You could imagine why that might be disappointing to those expecting a more traditional fried-chicken-and-waffles dish. 

Peanut Butter Chip Waffle

Even us indulgent Southerners know when to cross the line. It’s not at the buttery Texas Melt, or the loaded-down Grits Bowl, but rather the totally unnecessary Peanut Butter Chip Waffle. The waffle is already sweet enough, and the only things we’re adorning it with would be pecans, syrup, and butter. 

Pork Chops & Eggs Breakfast

No hate to the pork chops brigade, but there are just so many other items to consider before having to resort to the grilled pork chops that are tender on a good day, tough-as-old-boots on a bad one. However, there will always be the select few who love it, and we’re not in the business of yucking anyone’s idea of delicious. 

Waffle House Vocabulary to Know

While the menu is fairly straightforward—it even has photos for goodness’ sake—there is a certain vocabulary that is helpful to know, particularly when ordering hashbrowns. (Which is practically a requisite for any trip to Waffle House.) Here’s what the iconic Waffle House “language” means, so you can study up before your next visit.  

• Scattered: The cook will spread the hash browns across the grill to get them ultra-crispy (otherwise they’re grilled in a steel ring and served more patty-style).
• Smothered: If you’re interested in aromatics, you’ll ask for onions to be sautéed alongside your hash browns.
• Topped: If you're craving something with a hint of Tex-Mex flair, you’ll flip for these hash browns covered in chili.
• Covered: Not to be confused with hash browns smothered in melted American cheese.
• Chunked: Hash browns peppered with pieces of diced ham.
• Diced: On the flip side, this order refers to hash browns with diced tomatoes.
• Peppered: Here’s a fairly intuitive one; these hash browns come spiked with jalapeños.
• Capped: Grilled button mushrooms crown this hash brown order.
• Country: A generous dose of sausage gravy coats these hash browns.
• All the way: Make a meal out of the hash browns by opting for what the menu describes as "world famous golden delicious hash browns with grilled onions, melted American cheese, hickory smoked ham, diced tomatoes, jalapeño peppers and grilled mushrooms, then topped with Bert's Chili,™ and sausage gravy."

Go forth, and scatter, smother, and cover to your delight.