Waffle House (Wesley Chapel)
5421 Village Market I don’t go to the south without going to Waffle House. It’s like a rule or something.
We did a couple of Waffle House trips late at night last year on our trip to Miami but this year was different. COVID kept us out of the restaurants for the most part and Waffle House’s aren’t very big to begin with.
While we were working a lot in downtown Tampa, our hotel was actually about a half hour north of the city in Wesley Chapel. It would be closer to 1:30 by the time we got back to the hotel every night and even then, there were nights I still had some work that needed to be done before we got back at it the next morning.
Friday night was finally the night I didn’t have much to do when we got back. I was kind of hungry and didn’t want to leave without getting my Waffle House fix.
The Waffle House closest to our hotel was the one in the Village Market Shopping center right off I-75 and Wesley Chapel Boulevard. This is a pretty commercialized area of town with several chain and not chain restaurants and some big box store shopping. The Waffle House sits near the front of the parking lot and is easy to see from the road before you turn at the light to get into the plaza.
I could have called in an order but with my luck, I would have called the wrong one. I figured it was Waffle House and it wouldn’t take long if I just went to the counter and put in an order to go.
There was a waitress already standing at the register when I walked in so I put in an order for my absolute favorite sandwich from Waffle House, the Texas Cheesesteak Melt, and an order of hash browns covered and chunked. The cost was a little over $12 before tip. I took a seat at the lunch counter while I waited for my meal to be put together.
I don’t sit at the counter often because I’m usually with other people when I stop at a Waffle House but I love it when I get to chance. There’s just something about watching the cooks work the flat top with multiple tickets going no matter what time of day it is. I’m sure all breakfast joints look like this but this is the one where you can actually watch them do it. You learn so much about why you can’t recreate good diner food at home.
It was less than ten minutes before I watched my sandwich and hash browns being put in to a plastic to-go container. I grabbed the bag and some silverware then headed back to the hotel to eat.
I don’t know why but I really like their Texas Cheesesteak Melt sandwiches. They’re really simple..nothing too hard. Just some delicious buttered and grilled Texas Toast with a lump of sliced steak and a slice of cheese. I added bacon on because…why not? Diner griddles always give you that delicious salty, greasy taste from all of the previous meats and fats that have been grilled. I inhaled in the sandwich in a couple of bites savoring each little bit of steak that was lucky enough to be part of this sandwich.
The hash browns at Waffle House are always winners but these were some of the best. There was a good char on both sides of the thickly sliced potato strips. Covered and chunked means I got my hash browns with cheese and diced ham. One of these days I’m going to remember to go with topped and get some chili thrown on their too.
Like dang near everything this year, this Waffle House stop was different than the ones in the past. I had never done carry-out before and it really didn’t change anything as far as the food goes. Breakfast is probably the one thing I really miss about eating out and even though this wasn’t technically a breakfast sandwich, it sure tasted like a tasty start to the end of my day at 2 AM.
SW Michigan Dining 
My husband and I love the Waffle House in Wesley Chapel been eating at Waffle House for years and love our waitress Brandy and her Dad Rich whose the cook