9 waffle creations that will blow your mind

We love them, you love them, Leslie Knope really, really loves them! We’re talking of course about waffles, that perfectly crunchy heaping of leavened dough pressed between plates to reveal an irresistible checkerboard pattern. If you have a carb phobia stop reading right now, because a visit to one of the following 9 waffle joints will literally send you into the most heavenly sugar coma.

Also: San Diego is now one of our favorite restaurant and food cities and here’s why

Flavour Spot | Flickr CC: lalawren

Flavour Spot: Portland, OR

Prepare to get down on your knees and bow to the creators behind this insanely delicious Portland food truck. The Dutch taco is basically a taco with a waffle shell—and yes they are as amazeballs tasting as they sound. Sweet treats like the s’mores waffle or the Fifth Avenue (Nutella and crunchy peanut butter) are every bit as delicious as they sound, but instead aim for a savory option like the black forest ham and tillamook medium cheddar dipped in maple syrup and prepare to be so happy you might die.

Waffles: Chicago, IL

There’s no mincing of words at this beloved waffle purveyor in Chicago‘s South Loop. Many of the sweet and savory creations here are over the top including the cheddar and short rib waffle or the waffle flight consisting of red velvet, chocolate and leige mini waffles topped with blackberry, strawberry, bananas and hazelnut chocolate, but it’s the wonut—a donut waffle hybrid that’s every bit as awesome as it sounds—that gets us every time.

Photo courtesy of the Driskill

1886 Cafe and Bakery: Austin, TX

Perhaps you’ve sauntered by Austin icon the Driskill Hotel and admired its legendary status as one of the oldest hotels in the state. Next time you’re there visit the 1886 Cafe and gobble up the only waffle (that we know of) shaped like the great state of Texas and topped with fresh pecans, sliced banana, powdered sugar, berries, blackberry jam and maple syrup. Yum-my!

Nana G’s Chicken and Waffles: Atlanta, GA

There was literally no way we were going to do a waffle roundup without including at least one chicken and waffles entry. Enter this cheap and cheerful Hotlanta food truck where 80-year-old recipes offer up southern comforts to the hungry masses. Check out the Papa G, a crunchy, crispy helping of fried chicken strips atop a smoked bacon-infused Belgian waffle, drizzled in maple syrup and dusted in powdered sugar. Talk about Georgia on our mind.

The Waffle: Los Angeles, CA

It takes guts to open a waffle-focused restaurant just several blocks away from the original Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘n Waffles (which you should also hit up), but the Waffle more than holds its own with an over-the-top lineup of luscious savory items like the smoked salmon waffle and sweet treats such as the tres leches waffle (yum!) and the strawberry cheesecake waffle. Only in Los Angeles would a menu this outrageous be tempered by a healthy, multi-grain option topped with low-fat vanilla yogurt and fresh fruit.

Waffle with chili topping | Flickr CC: Josiah Lau Photography

Wafels and Dinges: New York, NY

Consider our next vacation a trip to Wafel World, the Brooklyn factory where the creators behind NYC‘s compulsively addicted food truck showcase their Liège dough craftsmanship. Around town, however, it’s the Wafels and Dinges food trucks that are generating lines and addictive behavior including a mad clamoring for creating like a seasonal waffle topped with chili, sour cream and cilantro or an ice cream waffle served in a cone.

Waffle Champion: Oklahoma City, OK

The Sooner State exacts a little culinary revenge on its coastal rivals with this ultra-hip, assembly line style eatery where patrons choose their choice of classic or liege waffle and build a sandwich out of it such as the Cheeseburger Mac with Witchita Buffalo Co. grass-fed bison, American cheesy mac, green leaf lettuce and sassy sauce or the Migas featuring house chorizo, free range egg, cucumber relish, queso cojita and crispy tortilla strips. Oklahoma City, we’re speechless.

Fried Chicken -n- Waffle Monte Cristo | Photo courtesy of Straw

Straw: San Francisco, CA

Circus-themed San Francisco restaurant Straw encourages visitors to step right up and partake of its menu of reality-defying creations such as the donut burger or the rib sundae. We say go straight for the full heart attack and order the fried chicken and waffle Monte Cristo featuring crispy chicken, raspberry jam and layers of Swiss cheese sandwiched between a crispy waffle dusted with powdered sugar. Hell, yes!

Border Grill: Las Vegas, NV

Technically the Border Grill is a L.A. phenomenon, but only in Vegas would we allow ourselves to sin this mightily. Located in both Mandalay Bay (where tables overlook the Lazy River at Mandalay Beach) and and the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, the draw at this Mexican-American eatery is the insane, unlimited small plates brunch featuring out-of-this-world bites like churro tots, BBQ brisket sliders, oyster tacos and a killer serrano ham waffle withmanchego cheese, maple syrup and butter. Heaven!

Tagged: California, Las Vegas, Midwest, New York