If Anthony Bourdain would have visited me instead of Chef Sean Brock on his trip to Charleston, South Carolina, things would be totally different.
Before it was demolished to make room for more luxury condos, I would have taken him to eat fried chicken, candied yams and collard greens at Martha Lou’s. Then, caviar sammiches at Chubby Fish. The nightcap would be plowing through a suitcase of Pabst Blue Ribbon from the Harris Teeter on East Bay Street while Chef Nikko Cagalanan whips up a skillet of sisig pork, only because Bourdain himself exclaimed that sisig was “possibly the best thing to eat with a cold beer.”
We would have never, ever, under any circumstances ended up on Savannah Highway at Waffle House No. 411. Chef Sean Brock is a genius (the guy spun country ham into cotton candy) but he was being overly dramatic when he described Waffle House to Bourdain as a “magical, spiritual place.” The Waffle House is neither.
Waffle House might actually be the exact opposite of “magical” or “spiritual.” I’m not as dramatic as Brock, but I can’t dismiss or discount Waffle House’s impact on Southern American culture and folklore.
I’ve taken part in the drunken, rowdy, 2:45 in the morning shenanigans, foolishly thinking their All-Star Special would miraculously deflect an impending hangover. This is why I was concerned when I rode past the Waffle House on 23rd Street here in Chattanooga.
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The windows and doors were boarded like they were preparing for a Category 5 Hurricane. Luckily, somebody had the wherewithal to spray paint a message across the plywood letting customers know to patronize the location at 4903 Brainerd Road.
I immediately contacted the manager at that location, who said there is no date set for the reopening of the remodeled 23rd Street location, but that it will reopen.
Long story short, we can all rejoice. The Waffle House on 23rd will, indeed, rise like a phoenix from the ashes, and you will once again be able to enjoy your hashbrowns smothered, covered, chunked and diced.
Contact Andre James at ajames@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, “What to Eat Next,” at timesfreepress.com/eat.