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.
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
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.
As someone who tries to minimise my sugar intake, one of my nightmares is getting served a non-diet drink by accident, because one of the lids gets pressed wrongly along the way.
I wonder if there's technology out there for cheap sugar testing sticks… huh, it looks like a company finally launched like that in 2021.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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'.
An astute observer traveling in the vicinity of Mobile, AL on I-10 will notice that one exit in particular has a Waffle House on both the north side and the south side of the interstate. For travelers' convenience of course.
What we consider "kebabs" are skewers with grilled meat and/or veggies on them. I'm guessing you mean döner kebab. We do have shawarma which is similar, but I've never seen somewhere that really nails the kind of döner kebab I had in Europe.
There are a few outposts of The Kebab Shop (https://thekebabshop.com/locations/), and here in San Jose California area there are a lot of Mediterranean restaurants selling shwarma.
In any large city, yes there will be a palce to get kebabs. Most college cities, too. A lot of times it's just a tiny restaraunt with 4 tables in the back of a grocery store, but that's when you know it's gonna be good.
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.
I think it is very different. IHOP is a low grade sit-down restaurant where all the food is too sweet. Denny's is sometimes better, but still decidedly low grade. The problem with both is they kinda try to serve stuff that could be better, but they suck at it.
Waffle House has no pretensions, they are unashamedly serving super simple food with zero attempt to be fancy. But they're pretty good at what they do choose to serve (or at least pretty consistent).
I love going there any time I'm in the South. I really wish we had them in the PNW. We're finally starting to get some In-n-Outs here, I'd be in heaven if we got Waffle House too. I can dream...
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.
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
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.
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..."
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.
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.
> I can't help thinking its simultaneously ingenious and hilariously convoluted.
It's just ingenious, they're coding the order onto the customer's plate by partially setting it up. They're getting some of the work done, and they don't have to fumble with some separate source of truth.
Also there's nothing to transfer and lose, assuming you don't drop the plate, any built plate just continues until it's complete, no messy papers to move and try to keep associated with what plates. The waiter bringing the order to the table can QA it and pick the right plates.
Doesn't this encoding scheme seem extremely brittle to errors during operation?
Like for example, you put the jelly pack at 12 o'clock, and then if someone rotates the plate, now it's at 6 o'clock and you have the wrong meat for the order.
Or, someone simply bumps into the plate and the packet slides to the other side. Even if you bumped it and it did not slide, you could not verify that it did not slide.
My general take away here is that someone tried to invent a new language basically (pictographic). And english (pen/paper) was probably sufficient? Inventing new languages (and having everyone learn them) is extremely hard.
Edit: btw, I've eaten at waffle house several times, although it was 10+ years ago when I was regular. They did frequently get my order wrong by forgetting things. I don't think it was attributable to this encoding scheme (one time the waiter tried to memorize the whole order and simply failed)
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.
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.
Readit News
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.
I wonder if there's technology out there for cheap sugar testing sticks… huh, it looks like a company finally launched like that in 2021.
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https://youtu.be/bct8stbZafI?si=ru9hL8xH_a_75J5I
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.
1: https://ew.com/paul-giamatti-in-n-out-burger-awards-8426387
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.
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'.
What we consider "kebabs" are skewers with grilled meat and/or veggies on them. I'm guessing you mean döner kebab. We do have shawarma which is similar, but I've never seen somewhere that really nails the kind of döner kebab I had in Europe.
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.
Waffle House has no pretensions, they are unashamedly serving super simple food with zero attempt to be fancy. But they're pretty good at what they do choose to serve (or at least pretty consistent).
I love going there any time I'm in the South. I really wish we had them in the PNW. We're finally starting to get some In-n-Outs here, I'd be in heaven if we got Waffle House too. I can dream...
Waffle House is special.
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.
Columbus, Ohio and Atlanta, Georgia both have Waffle Houses. I don't think it's universally a rule that they stay out of cities.
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Also related, only very tangentially, but ever-interesting, FEMA's Waffle House Index (2016): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15105662
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.
It's just ingenious, they're coding the order onto the customer's plate by partially setting it up. They're getting some of the work done, and they don't have to fumble with some separate source of truth.
It's kind of genius.
Like for example, you put the jelly pack at 12 o'clock, and then if someone rotates the plate, now it's at 6 o'clock and you have the wrong meat for the order.
Or, someone simply bumps into the plate and the packet slides to the other side. Even if you bumped it and it did not slide, you could not verify that it did not slide.
My general take away here is that someone tried to invent a new language basically (pictographic). And english (pen/paper) was probably sufficient? Inventing new languages (and having everyone learn them) is extremely hard.
Edit: btw, I've eaten at waffle house several times, although it was 10+ years ago when I was regular. They did frequently get my order wrong by forgetting things. I don't think it was attributable to this encoding scheme (one time the waiter tried to memorize the whole order and simply failed)
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.