[HN Gopher] Waffle House's Magic Marker System
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Waffle House's Magic Marker System
Author : Tomte
Score : 95 points
Date : 2024-03-18 19:29 UTC (3 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (kottke.org)
(TXT) w3m dump (kottke.org)
| ramesh31 wrote:
| There's something absurdly comforting in the banality of this.
| somewhereoutth wrote:
| Indeed. But also a little disturbing, given that no matter how
| many choices for the customer this signalling system
| facilitates, they still get equally low quality food.
| TheGRS wrote:
| I was feeling the same way, there is probably some camaraderie
| that develops in the waffle house staff just around this unique
| shared language.
| wannacboatmovie wrote:
| Eating at a Waffle House (preferably at 1am following a night
| out) is a unique American cultural experience that especially
| those confined to the Bay Area have been denied. It's a place
| where those from all walks of life come together.
| treflop wrote:
| Sounds like IHOP / Denny's in other places
| dartos wrote:
| As someone who lives near all 3 and a Cracker Barrel.
|
| Waffle House is special.
| i_am_soo_tired wrote:
| Cracker Barrel is truly awful. Worst chain restaurant in
| America.
| kjkjadksj wrote:
| It could be worse, they could take away the rocking
| chairs and peg board game one day.
| brk wrote:
| Olive Garden has entered the chat.
| HeyLaughingBoy wrote:
| Nope, just when you think Olive Garden is awful,
| Applebee's manages to dig the hole deeper.
|
| TBF, we should just agree that they're all nasty at this
| point.
| HeyLaughingBoy wrote:
| The sad thing is that they used to be good. At least not
| that long ago, the one near me was my go-to for corned
| beef hash. However, after the last visit barely 5 years
| ago, never going there again.
| kjkjadksj wrote:
| These places are far more civilized than a waffle house.
| Waffle houses have to hire security guards to deal with the
| drunken foolishness that goes down inside most weekend nights
| (at least those sited nearish to bars). Everything in the
| waffle house is able to be cleaned with a hose.
| toomuchtodo wrote:
| One day I hope to have time to have a brief stint as a WH
| short order cook, and learn the art of catching a thrown
| chair. It's also the only way to buy shares in the org, as
| they're private but have an employee stock plan. A special
| slice of America; if you haven't been, highly recommend.
|
| https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/waffle-
| hou...
| sokoloff wrote:
| I read this as "catching a thrown chair is the only way
| to [earn] shares in the org..." which seems kind of
| fitting, to be honest.
| happyopossum wrote:
| > Waffle houses have to hire security guards to deal with
| the drunken foolishness that goes down inside most weekend
| nights
|
| As is so often true, this is _highly_ variable based on
| geography and local culture, and the contention that a
| Denny 's is more 'civilized' than a Waffle House has a lot
| more to do with which one's you're frequenting than it does
| with the restaurants themselves.
| kjkjadksj wrote:
| Just the way they setup the restaurants is enough to
| quell a certain level of chaos in a typical dennys.
| Usually they are pretty sprawling on the inside. Plenty
| of space between booths. Kind of dimmer/hotel lounge
| aesthetic in the more recently renovated ones (don't ask
| me why I am so familiar with short order breakfast
| chains). Same with ihop only they lean heavily into the
| kid friendlyness, with posters of decadent sweet
| pancakes.
|
| Waffle house is cramped, brightly lit with harsh
| fluorescent light, and nothing but hard surfaces. A few
| drunk people talking is enough to fill the entire
| restaurant including the exposed kitchen with sound. If
| they start throwing anything it quickly hits everyone in
| the restaurant including the line cooks. I've seen
| probably four people vomit all over the place in a waffle
| house. I can't say I've seen anything quite the same in
| the dennys, usually its truckers and the elderly there
| not people showing up after last call at the bars.
| billjings wrote:
| They're designed so that, if necessary, they can be
| operated by a single employee. That's why they're so
| tightly cramped around the grill: so that someone can
| cook and still keep an eye on a table.
|
| This is also what makes it really easy to get attached to
| your local Waffle House: the staff make the place what it
| is.
| seanmcdirmid wrote:
| I'm fairly sure IHOP/Denny's have similar problems with
| patrons these days, they have plenty of high/drunk
| foolishness to contend with, unfortunately.
| sophacles wrote:
| Near bars (and colleges, etc), you'll find security guards
| Denny's and IHOP both. Mostly to deal with the drunken
| foolishness that goes down.
| rcmjr wrote:
| It is very different because of the size and layout. You
| almost feel like everyone, including the cooks, are at one
| big table. It is honestly one of my favorite places to eat
| alone. It can be really fun at times. Also, kind of dangerous
| too
| zer00eyz wrote:
| Waffle House is an entity unto itself:
|
| See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffle_House_Index
|
| See: https://www.motherjones.com/criminal-
| justice/2011/11/four-se...
|
| See: https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/kid-rock-
| arrested...
|
| And the man himself:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bct8stbZafI
|
| Waffle House goes from nice to war zone and back again just
| about every day. It never closes, never... If a Waffle House
| is closed you better have a boat or a gun cause what ever
| comes next will likely require one or both.
| keane wrote:
| >Waffle House goes from nice to war zone and back again
|
| Saturday Night Live did a skit about this:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYNFqmu2toI
| zer00eyz wrote:
| That was funny and shockingly accurate.
| js2 wrote:
| Waffle House is for lovers too:
|
| - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlqyWYgE6go (How About
| the Waffle House for Valentines Day?)
|
| - https://www.wvlt.tv/2023/11/01/newlyweds-hold-reception-
| waff...
|
| Lots of other tidbits:
|
| - https://www.mashed.com/99239/untold-truth-waffle-house/
| marcus0x62 wrote:
| If you work there and can't get a day off to get married,
| apparently, they're cool enough to let you hold your
| ceremony in the parking lot!
|
| https://www.grubstreet.com/2008/09/national_gettin_hitche
| d_a...
| dbcurtis wrote:
| Didn't I read once that FEMA has an official "Waffle house
| indicator" where they track WH closures to estimate the
| impact of hurricanes and such?
| js2 wrote:
| It's the first link in zer00eyz's comment. :-)
| js2 wrote:
| Anthony Bourdain, upon visiting his first Waffle House,
| remarked "This is better than the French Laundry":
|
| https://youtu.be/bct8stbZafI?si=ru9hL8xH_a_75J5I
| IncreasePosts wrote:
| Yes, but it isn't.
| nerdjon wrote:
| I don't think Waffle House has locations in any major Urban
| location.
|
| I really wish we had them in Boston also. It is an experience
| that even other diners don't really replicate.
|
| Especially the price, I am always shocked when I go to visit
| parents just how much you get at Waffle House for multiple
| people for what I am used to spending on just myself.
|
| But it is more than that. The size, the layout, the code words
| for how you want your hash browns, etc.
| skyyler wrote:
| >I don't think Waffle House has locations in any major Urban
| location.
|
| Columbus, Ohio and Atlanta, Georgia both have Waffle Houses.
| I don't think it's universally a rule that they stay out of
| cities.
| selimthegrim wrote:
| Also New Orleans (by the VA Hospital). And I recall eating
| at one in on the northside of Dallas (which may or may not
| be "urban")
| madcaptenor wrote:
| Here's their map: https://locations.wafflehouse.com
|
| Waffle House started just outside of Atlanta, and you can
| still see that. In other big cities they seem to stay
| outside of the core - I suspect they don't want to have
| locations without parking. (But off the top of my head I
| can name two Atlanta-area Waffle Houses that don't have
| their own parking, namely the one right off Centennial
| Olympic Park and the one in downtown Decatur.)
| CatAtHeart wrote:
| To your first point, they are prolific throughout the South.
| Very prominent in Atlanta
| gte525u wrote:
| It may vary on your definition of major - but they definitely
| do in the southeast and lower midwest.
| notaustinpowers wrote:
| Come to Atlanta, down the street from me are two completely
| separate Waffle Houses built right next to each other that
| share the same parking lot.
| madcaptenor wrote:
| This sounds possible, but where is it?
| bombcar wrote:
| A quick Kagi found a few of them, apparently a Waffle
| House has to be a certain size, and if they can do more
| business, it spawns another one.
| jrochkind1 wrote:
| How do you decide which one to enter?
| CPLX wrote:
| Downtown Atlanta for sure. There was also one near me when I
| lived in downtown Colorado Springs, which has half a million
| people.
| brodouevencode wrote:
| Every large city in the southeast.
| chrisdhal wrote:
| They have quite a few in Houston, only the 4th largest metro
| area in the US.
| packetslave wrote:
| It's a running joke that any driving directions in the
| Atlanta Metro Area will include the words "go down Peachtree"
| and "when you see the waffle house..."
| jiveturkey wrote:
| Well, not VC or tech elites, apparently.
| PopAlongKid wrote:
| I have never lived near a Waffle House, but did eat lunch at
| one in Mobile AL about ten years ago. I found nothing
| particularly unique about it.
| lastofthemojito wrote:
| I think it's the affordable, approachable 24/7 always-welcome
| aspect more than the food.
|
| People have fond memories of going to Waffle House after
| partying, or going with their tween friends as the only place
| they could afford to go out to eat, or going after softball
| games in their still-dirty uniforms.
|
| Another commenter mentioned that Anthony Bourdain said Waffle
| House was better than The French Laundry (while eating Waffle
| House drunk, late at night).
|
| To eat at The French Laundry you need to plan ahead and try
| hard to get a reservation. You have to act and dress
| appropriately and show up in maybe a 15 minute window for the
| hostess to deign to grant you the privilege of being seated.
|
| You can eat at Waffle House on a whim, with anyone you like,
| in (just about) any state you like.
|
| Having had both I wouldn't say that the food at Waffle House
| is actually better than the food at The French Laundry. But
| there is something that people appreciate about Waffle House
| being the reliable place you can always show up for comfort
| food, at minimum cost with minimum judgement.
| brodouevencode wrote:
| I've been eating there all my life (I'm from the south). No
| there's nothing unique about it to be gauged from a single
| visit. You'll need to go multiple times to understand and
| appreciate 1) the consistency in both the food and the
| service 2) how cheap it is (or really, was) compared to other
| diner places 3) how they never run out of anything despite
| being open 24/7 4) how you never really know what's going to
| go down, especially late at night.
| karaterobot wrote:
| This comment does not substantively contradict its parent.
| serf wrote:
| > I found nothing particularly unique about it.
|
| it's cheap, it has a basic menu that covers most dietary
| requirements, it's understaffed by design, and it's open
| 24/7.
|
| I live in LA -- there is a distinct lack of 24/7 shit even
| here. I wish we had waffle house simply because i'm sick of
| Dennys and Norm's being the only 24/7 choice to wander into
| if I don't want to drive my ass to Canters'.
| signal_space wrote:
| the counter?
| brodouevencode wrote:
| fun fact: Waffle House used to sell Chick-fil-A sandwiches
| chasd00 wrote:
| > from all walks of life come together.
|
| that's an interesting take and i suppose in a way you're right.
| Another way to describe waffle house at last call is imagine
| you picked up a zoo and shook it really hard for about 5
| minutes then set it down and walked in.
| rvba wrote:
| Does USA have places that sell kebab?
| stouset wrote:
| Yes but no.
|
| What we consider "kebabs" are skewers with grilled meat
| and/or veggies on them. I'm guessing you mean doner kebab. We
| do have shawarma which is similar, but I've never seen
| somewhere that really nails the kind of doner kebab I had in
| Europe.
| TheGRS wrote:
| Think this is catching on slowly, give it another 10 years
| or so we will probably have something like that everywhere.
| America is pretty good at adopting popular food vehicles.
| shakabrah wrote:
| and just like fight club, if it's your first time, you have to
| fight.
| 082349872349872 wrote:
| which, with a little surfing, leads to:
| https://www.acontinuouslean.com/2009/03/02/hand-signals-at-t...
| frankus wrote:
| As a regular customer of the onboard dining on BC Ferries, I was
| always a bit mystified about how the cashier (maybe 20 m from the
| counter where you order) seemed to have some kind of clairvoyance
| regarding which type burger(s) to charge for, as they all use the
| same kind of wrapper.
|
| It turns out the wrapper (that's printed with patches of stripes
| and crosshatches in different colo(u)rs), can be wrapped in a way
| that exposes a particular pattern on the outside of the finished
| package that indicates what's inside.
|
| I'm sure this sort of system is used elsewhere but I've never
| noticed it anywhere else.
| sjsdaiuasgdia wrote:
| Lots of fast food places use wrappers like this. Here's a
| picture of a Taco Bell wrapper that can be a regular taco, taco
| supreme, double decker taco, or "special" depending on the
| fold: https://www.flickr.com/photos/target_man_2000/16329290081
| jiveturkey wrote:
| I first saw this at McDonald's. Drink lids (everywhere) have
| those little bubbles that can be pressed to indicate what type
| of drink as well. Diet, Sprite, etc.
| sp332 wrote:
| Sure but aren't those all the same price?
| throwway120385 wrote:
| Yeah but if you order a diet coke and your friend orders a
| regular coke you want to make sure you get the right drink
| out of the carrier.
| HeyLaughingBoy wrote:
| Especially since I'll probably spew as soon as I taste
| the Aspartame!
| bombcar wrote:
| They're used rarely these days, but in some places they're
| busy enough that they will make have someone making the
| drinks and marking them.
|
| Which is why they don't have to indicate "sprite" or
| "orange" because you can see the color through the lids.
|
| Where drinks are self-serve they're not needed, but usually
| still exist.
| helph67 wrote:
| Values of electrical resistors are often indicated via a
| pattern of coloured rings around the body.
| piinbinary wrote:
| That's how you can identify a 24-ohm snake
| https://xkcd.com/1604/
| imacomputer wrote:
| I haven't had a breakfast on BC Ferry for a while since they
| redid the interior/livery on all of the boats. Pretty sure I
| used to eat the jam packets on the tables.
| peppertree wrote:
| Pro: less likely to mixup orders since the order is encoded into
| the plate. Con: running out of condiment could be a show stopper.
| skyyler wrote:
| They have at least two weeks worth in storage.
|
| Waffle House running out of any particular ingredient should
| never happen, barring serious supply chain malfunction or mis-
| management.
|
| I briefly worked at one before getting into IT and it was neat
| to learn how tightly controlled the operations of a restaurant
| can be. Glad I have those memories.
| keane wrote:
| This reminds me of the simple substitution cipher that coin,
| diamond, and antique dealers use on their price tags to encode
| the lowest price their staff are allowed to take during
| bartering: https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/760945/how-
| do-deale...
| https://puzzling.stackexchange.com/questions/109089/cracking...
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substitution_cipher#:~:text=In...
|
| Also related, only very tangentially, but ever-interesting,
| FEMA's Waffle House Index (2016):
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15105662
| fckgw wrote:
| Oh wow, this brought up an old memory. Fry's Electronics used
| to have a code like this in their old "green screen" quote
| system. There was a group of letters at the bottom of every
| screen that listed the true cost of the item. The cipher word
| was "Pathfinder". This was used to help sales managers
| determine discounts and markdowns on used/damaged/clearance
| product.
| Closi wrote:
| While I sort-of-love-it, it does seem very complicated for new
| starters.
|
| I'm sure this system is great once you know it, but it is a high
| learning curve and I do struggle to imagine a world where ePOS
| with a ticket system doesn't work better (both for the 'caller'
| and for the chef).
| giraffe_lady wrote:
| I've learned similarly complex food signaling systems and the
| thing is that you're seeing dozens if not hundreds per shift,
| and training already takes a couple weeks for other reasons. So
| by the time you're on your own and needing to know it
| confidently you've had _plenty_ of practice.
| taylorfinley wrote:
| I don't know how common this is, but for me pickles (and their
| juice) trigger intense disgust and involuntary gagging. If
| pickles were on the cutting board or touched the knife, I will
| not be able to enjoy the sandwich. When ordering a sandwich I'll
| always ask for no pickles on the sandwich or the plate/take out
| container. It seems I'm an edge case this system doesn't
| anticipate, I wonder how they handle pickle-averse customers?
| scottyah wrote:
| From what I've seen, your level of pickle sensitivity and hate
| is very uncommon, and based off how much they seem to cater
| their menus to people I do not expect they have a system in
| place to address it.
| jzemeocala wrote:
| Hooters does the same thing with various coloured toothpicks,
| plate papers and pickles
| TheGRS wrote:
| I can't help thinking its simultaneously ingenious and
| hilariously convoluted. Looks like it would be fast to setup,
| easy to read from the line cook area, and also simple to modify.
| I'm sure if I was doing the work I could learn the system pretty
| quickly, but glancing over it as an outsider all I can think
| about it how ridiculous it sounds that an upright jam packet over
| a mustard packet means 3 eggs.
|
| And they use what they have, these places always need pickles and
| jam packets, whereas a real magic marker can dry up and you might
| forget to order replacement. Fascinating for sure.
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