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The Waffle House Index (en.wikipedia.org)
52 points by jlaurito 1375 days ago
4 comments

The Wikipedia article is wrong. I have a recording of Craig Fugate telling the Waffle House postulate in November 2009 during the inaugural Random Hacks of Kindness event at the Hacker Dojo in Mountain View, CA.

Edit to add link: https://flickr.com/photos/jeremyjohnstone/4110293316/in/albu...

Those Waffle House cooks have to be some of the most talented people in any kitchen in North America.

Sure the food is super simple to prepare, but the way they are able to handle the stress and rush should be studied so that we can learn to apply it to our own lives.

I love watching the servers call out orders while the cook never misses a beat and prepares everything without writing anything down or even looking at a ticket.

Waffle House employees in general are just made differently. The amount of crazies the front of the house workers have to deal with is insane. I used to live by a Waffle House and watching the variety of people enter that place was a show in itself.
Agreed. Law enforcement officers in our country could learn a great deal about conflict resolution by studying Waffle House employees.
This kind of assumes law enforcement is currently failing at something and they are not. The violence and terror they use to enforce order is a large part of their purpose, not an unfortunate failure.
You’re right. My mother, herself a career long LEO, taught me something very early on in life: violence is the ultimate authority in this world. I imagine she learned that from her job.
One of the most mind blowing things is how they have encoded the order into the orientation of condiments arranged around the plate.

A grape jelly at the top of the plate with two pickles next to that, and a mayo on the right actually means something.

I googled this and read an article, and still don't really believe it. wild
we stuffed 45 people in a waffle house and the 4 cooks on the graveyard shift served everyone within 30 minutes. waffle house employees are simply built different.

edit: proof https://twitter.com/thejakenixon/status/1546137641829257219?...

my dad made the very astute observation one bleary eyed morning that they've designed it so that the cooks can be illiterate
I experienced Snowmageddon Atlanta back in 2014. Drove home on roads that were literally frozen over with ice. Stopped at a Waffle House as it was the only place open. They were short staffed because employees couldn't drive in and had a limited menu. But they were open.
Something very comforting about Waffle House. Wish we had one in NYC.
I found that same level of comfort at a deli during the time I spent in NYC. I remodeled a brownstone in Murray Hill and I spent a little over one month there.

I ate at least two meals per day at Sarge’s Deli. I loved that place.

Occasionally I would venture out further for a nice dinner but more often than not, I would just go around the corner to Sarge’s.

I am fortunate enough to have a Waffle House ~1.5 miles from my house. Sometimes I’ll go there during the early mornings when I cannot sleep and I don’t want to disturb my wife and child.

The people there are far friendlier and “real” compared to most any other restaurant in my area.