Waffle House – North Canton, OH
5424 Whipple Avenue NWI know there are a lot of people out there that if they could pick one national chain that we don’t have here to come here, would pick In-N-Out Burger. I would be opposed to such a move, but that’s not the first chain I would pick. Oh no. The first chain I would pick would be a 24-hour diner famous in the south, but non-existent in our great state.
The last two out of state trips I’ve taken to work have worked out pretty well. Both times, I had a hotel about an hour from the job site which, let’s be honest, kind of sucks. It would have been nice to be in downtown Indianapolis or downtown Cleveland, but our lives were made easier by being outside of the city. The benefit both times is what was across the street. Both times….Waffle House.
The Waffle House in North Canton is on Whipple Avenue just around the corner from the I-77 exit for Everhard Road. It’s right across the street from the Hyatt Place I was staying in and the 24-hour restaurant was a life saver one night.
Our days in Cleveland were long. We’d start at 7:30 in the morning and get back to the hotel sometime after 1 AM. Lunch and dinner were catered on the job site, but there wasn’t always time to eat.
One of those days, I didn’t get a chance to eat at all. The night before I had actually hit up a Taco Bell due to similar circumstances. My plan was to eat at Waffle House at least once before we left, so what better time than 2 AM after a 17 hour work day?
I walked across the street to the Waffle House with my laptop because I actually still had some work to do. I figured I might as well do it at the counter while I was waiting on my food to cook.
There were two other tables of people when I walked in the door and one waitress working by herself. I found that odd at first but later learned the other woman working had an emergency at home and she had to leave.
I took a seat at the lower lunch counter and grabbed the menu. I did breakfast at Waffle House when I ate the store in Shelbyville, Indiana. This time, I wanted to try something off their lunch/dinner menu.
I ordered a Coke to start with then put in an order for the Texas Cheesesteak Melt with double meat and bacon but without the onions. The sandwich comes with hash browns…because of course they do…I ordered mine covered (with cheese) and chunked (with ham).
Texas Cheesesteak Melt w/Hash Browns
The waitress took the order and headed to the grill. She told me later she doesn’t cook that often and she kept asking if everything was OK and offering to remake something if I wasn’t happy. That wasn’t necessary as everything was a delicious, greasy mess…just the way I wanted it to be.
I started with the sandwich first and damn, was it good. The sandwich is two buttered pieces of Texas Toast toasted on the flat top and filled with sliced beef. The sandwich was overflowing with beef coming out of all sides. I don’t know why, but the sandwich just really hit the spot. The toasted, buttery bread and the seasoned beef strips made for a helluva sandwich. The bacon on top was really crispy and just added another texture and flavor level to an already tasty sandwich.
Texas Cheesesteak Melt w/double meat, bacon and no onions
The hash browns were what the waitress/cook was really worried about. She thought she had burned them, but I kept assuring her they were fine an I like my hash browns crispy. They were actually very crispy on the outside (no lie, the way I actually like them), but still soft and pillowy underneath. The cheese and ham all had some browning/carameilization as well which added more flavor to a pretty simple side of hash browns.
Hash browns Covered and Chunked
The total for my meal was a little over $12 and I made sure to tip the waitress generously. She was very unsure of herself as a cook and I thought she did a great job. I couldn’t have been more pleased with my 2 AM dinner.
I will never pass a Waffle House when traveling in an area that has them. Both of my experiences have been really positive and I love that you can get delicious, greasy diner food any time of night (or day). Yes, a lot of this positivitey probably has to do with my limited exposure to Waffle House, but damn, I just can’t help get excited whenever I see those block yellow letters
SW Michigan Dining 