By Michael Stoll

I live in Minnesota, a land of Culvers, Taco Johns, and  Famous Dave’s  BBQ. Like any other region of the country, the Midwest has its restaurant chains that are almost exclusive to the area.
But, I was raised in the Southeast, and coming to work with the Port Arthur News from mid to late October has given me an opportunity to once again eat at some of the chains that defined my formative years.
With that being said, I had to make sure I ate at that institute of southern epicurean delights, that hub of breakfast served fast and cheap: Waffle House.
Some of you may laugh at the idea, but Waffle House is for the blue collar and white collar people alike. Even Chef Anthony Bourdain, who has arguably the most sophisticated palate in the world and is not one for mincing words, was impressed by their pecan waffle the first time he tried Waffle House while filming an episode of “Parts Unknown” in South Carolina. If it’s good enough for Anthony Bourdain, a man feared and revered by chefs worldwide, then who am I, or for that matter anybody else, to argue?
Fortunately, there is a Waffle House across the street from my hotel, so I went in for lunch on Friday. I sat in one of the red chairs at the bar nook and perused the menu. Not that I really needed to; I was going to place my usual order for the first time in years: a waffle with a double order of hash browns, scattered, smothered, chunked and covered (for those unaware, that’s hash browns grilled with onions and ham and covered in cheese).
After placing my order, I began to think about the work I had been doing during my first week in Port Arthur. Every article I had written so far had been based around Tropical Storm Harvey, which is no surprise given that so many people are still recovering from the storm. That led to me thinking about the Waffle House Index.
The Waffle House Index is used by FEMA to determine the severity of a disaster. It’s an informal application at best, but it’s fairly simple. If Waffle House is open and serving a full menu, then the area is “green,” meaning they have not hit the most affected area. If Waffle House is open, but serving a limited menu, the area is “yellow,” meaning it’s not good, but it could be worse. If Waffle House is closed, then the area is “red,” and that is bad.
My order arrived and I took the first bite of Waffle House hash browns in years. It was exactly as I remembered, a flavorful mixture of soft and crunchy potato bits with just the right amount of grease to remind you that it isn’t healthy, but not enough to make you care. The waffle was also the same as I remembered, a no-frills simple meal with the right amount of delicious satisfaction.
But as I ate, I kept mulling over the Waffle House Index, so I started asking the employees about the night of the storm.
Some told me they were working that night, and they kept working until the water started to get into the building, forcing the 24/7 restaurant to shut down for the first time since it was remodeled over the summer.
Some employees who had not been at work at the time were trapped in their homes. Many of them lost everything. One employee showed me pictures on her phone of the water gradually rising outside of the building, of her vehicle swallowed up by water, and of her flooded house in Orange. She tried to hold back tears as she talked to me, saying that they try their best not to show their emotions at work for the customers.
But what impressed me the most about the staff, aside from the break neck speed at which they can make a hardy meal, was their willingness to work at other Waffle House locations despite their losses. One employee told me that she worked at a Beaumont location, while another worked in Orange. Others filled in where they could, and it was clear from the way they recounted the experience that there was a sense of pride in knowing that they were not just coming to work, but serving as a sign that things would be okay. It made perfect sense that the backs of their t-shirts read “#409Strong.”
This particular Port Arthur location was one of the last in the area to re-open, indicating that things were starting to return to normal.
I can honestly say that my perspective of Waffle House changed, and I applaud them for their resilience. Sure, it was a good sized, cheap tasty lunch, but it was more than that. It was comfort on a plate in a restaurant where you can take time to forget about the world when times are at their hardest and enjoy a hot meal. Sometimes, that may be the very thing to lift one’s spirits.
So, here’s to Waffle House, some good old scattered smothered comfort.

Michael Stoll Austin Daily Herald in Minnesota and he can be reached atmike.stoll@austindailyherald.com