My last excursion to North Carolina was so great that I decided to return another year later to see how much has changed (not much) and see if I can try out the other great restaurants in the Chapel Hill area.  One place that looked really interesting that I didn’t have a chance to try was Ye Olde Waffle Shoppe (think Waffle House, if Waffle House was founded in 1832).  Ye Olde Waffle House is not that old, but it definitely acts as if it is.

How do you know you’re in a Southern Diner?  Look for folksy puns on the menu.  Only the pun on this menu is confusing as I think they mean “good food, no yolk”, replacing “joke” with “yolk” as they serve a lot of egg-based foods here.  But I guess they thought they weren’t going far enough with their pun, so they punned “yolk” and “yoke”, which is strange, as a yoke has more to do with oxen, and has a slight connotation of the slave-holding history of the South.  Or they could just not know how to spell yolk.  I tend to overthink these things.

I was so hungry I didn’t realize I should be taking pictures before eating (a rare feat for me), so you’ll have to forgive me for not getting the missing piece of waffle in this picture.  But, I’ll promise you that the missing piece tasted exactly like the rest of the waffle… delicious.  Ye Olde Waffle Shoppe waffles have a slightly “doughnut” batter taste to them, which is pretty awesome.  It’s almost like eating a funnel cake with butter and syrup (ooh! idea!).

No Waffle House/Shoppe meal is complete without some hash browns.  I got them with onions, peppers, mushrooms and cheese (the works).  They were a little overcooked in my opinion, but were fine with some hot sauce.  It’s pretty hard to ruin potatoes and cheese without completely burning them.

Ye Olde Waffle Shoppe is a quaint folksy place to come grab breakfast or lunch if you’re in the Chapel Hill area.  It’s popular among the local students, so expect to fight for a table, or you can just sit up front.  There are not a lot of vegetarian friendly choices (as per usual), but otherwise it is pretty good.  The prices are reasonable by Boston standards, but may be a little steep for a Waffle House clone (or progenitor?).  So, I’ll give it three and a half cheese sandwiches.

Ye Olde Waffle Shoppe
173 East Franklin Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27514 
(919) 929-9192

My previous foray into the New York food cart scene was a byproduct of my search for the much ballyhooed waffle food cart Wafels and Dinges.  First recommended by Hakeem and Chamique, I was finally able to track down the ephemeral cart while strolling through the South Street Seaport area.  It turns out there are two Wafels and Dinges carts, one permanent location in South Street Seaport, and one nomad cart that is located at different spots in different days.

Since my youth, I have been a fan of waffles, though primarily of the Eggo variety.  Having a freshly made waffle compared to a frozen is like seeing color for the first time in a black and white world.  Or like being a blind man who finally gets vision.  (Yes, I mad a reference to both Pleasantville and At First Sight in this blog - sue me!)  Waffles and Dinges makes outstanding waffles, providing one topping (“dinges”) for free and one extra dinge is only a dollar, and for two dollars you can get a Waffle of Mass Desctruction (with unlimited dinges).  It proves the concept that the only reasonably priced food in New York is from a food cart.  Wafels and Dinges is basically a one trick pony that makes pretty good, but not the best waffles I have ever had (the best I have had is the Liege waffle from La Petite Abeille).  If you are vegan, you won’t be able to get anything.  As such, I can only review the cart from the quality of the Liege waffle with chocolate that I had, and it was worth four cheese sandwiches.

Wafels and Dinges
Fulton and Front Street
New York, NY 10038

Belgians are quite fairly maligned in today’s society, as best evidenced by the film In Bruges. Set in a picturesque medieval town, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson do nothing but complain about how boring Belgium is, so it perhaps somewhat surprising that there are four locations of Belgian restaurant La Petite Abeille in New York.

Actually, it is entirely unsurprising once you enter La Petite Abeille and are greeted by stacks of hot fresh Belgian waffles. Hakeem was supposed to have a “power brunch” with some Italians for a website that they work on called Nuok.com (it’s like Cheesesandwich.org, but for Italians instead of Vegetarians, and is not specific to restaurant reviews). Chamique and I tagged along to try out the brunch as well. I have previously been to two other locations and have enjoyed their macaroni and cheese and frites, so I was looking forward to their take on brunch.

Unfortunately, there is nothing particularly Belgian about this brunch, as they have the same standard brunch options as any other restaurant (omelets, sandwiches, breakfast items, etc.). There is a slightly better than average selection of waffles available (though the variety is not as impressive as I would have hoped for a culture whose best known dish IS the waffle).

The Gauffre de Liège, a miniature version of the regular waffle was made with pearl sugar that creates a fantastic caramel flavor and creates a sugary crunch. This dish was quite tasty and definitely the highlight for me of the meal. However, when I first tried it, it was not hot and was not as tasty as Hakeem’s, as he ordered one after I did (and his was likely fresher). Few things can beat a fresh Belgian waffle, and Hakeem’s was delicious, while mine was just pretty darn good.

Also on tap - the asparagus, tomato and goat cheese omelet, which was scant on the goat cheese, and quite bland. In general, I find omelets pretty boring, as they only taste good if they’re doused in ketchup and hot sauce. And by that point, you’re really only appreciating the ketchup and hot sauce rather than the omelet. If somebody can create an omelet that is inherently delicious (outside of huevos rancheros variants), I would love to try it.

Overall, food at La Petite Abeille is what you’d expect from Belgian food in general, bland, boring, and with a slightly pretentious attitude. The waffles are quite fantastic, but that is primarily because they are fresh, and so few restaurants still make fresh waffles. So, in that way, La Petite Abeille is unique and holds a valued place in the dining world. As a result, I’ll give it three cheese sandwiches.

La Petite Abeille
401 E 20th St New York, 10010
(212) 727-2989