Off the Waffle is Off the Hook

Just this weekend, Dan and I drove over to SE Portland to finally cash in my free waffle winnings at Off the Waffle.  Entering their social media contest each week for nearly 6 months, persistence paid off, as I won a $10 gift certificate, which was almost good for 2 servings of waffles.  Overall, the experience far from disappointed and we'll certainly be back soon - especially after our new miniature arrival makes her debut.

Atmosphere:
Located on SE Clinton Street - one of my favorite locales in Portland - Off the Waffle is hard to miss, especially since it's situated diagonally across from the quirky Clinton Street Theater. There's a few other good restaurants and coffee haunts in the area that bring in a young 30 and 40 something crowd, including lots of families.

The interior is vibrant and welcoming, made up of a nice open dining room which is somewhat modest in size.  I recommend dining here on a nice day when you can score a table outside on their sidewalk or take a waffle to go.  A few convenient dining room touches include little napkin and utensil cubbies on the edge of each table, which avoid you using excess paper goods, therefore decreasing waste.

Something else that I have to call out is the bathroom experience.  Yes, the bathroom is equipped with a fully rotating disco ball and music to boot, making your visit to the loo that much more festive and memorable.

Food:
We knew why we came, as we were both in the mood for savory waffles.  In addition to the delicious waffles we ordered inside, they happened to be giving out free samples of their OG waffles outside the restaurant as well so we grabbed those too.

The Self Fulfilling Prophesy - Both of us gravitated to this sweet and savory combination of Off the Waffle's classic Liege waffles coupled with a sunny side up egg, lean bacon and a dose of real maple syrup.  I wasn't sure if the waffle would be too sweet for this combo, but it worked perfectly, reminding me of some of my favorite desserts mixed in with smoky bacon.  The latter was just perfect and they didn't skimp on it at all, Dan and I both observed.  A runny delicious organic egg on top sealed the deal for us, giving this already hearty meal extra richness.  

Service and Cost:
I'm happy to say that everyone at Off the Waffle was nothing but friendly, accommodating, super casual and efficient.  Dan and I were astounded by how quickly we got our food after ordering, and despite this, we didn't feel the least bit obligated to rush out.  Overall, it was lovely experience that I'd like to repeat soon.

Costs are affordable, and even more so for us since we had that handy gift card.  An average waffle however will set you back between $5.25 - $9.

3 Sweet and Savory Mmmms

Off the Waffle - 2601 SE Clinton Street, Portland OR 97202
503.946.1608
offthewaffle.com

Fluffy Belgian Waffles Made 2 Ways

Making homemade brunch on Saturday mornings has quickly become one of my favorite things to do - as it breaks the weekly routine of simple, no frills cereal breakfasts.  Given that we have an awesome Belgian waffle maker gives me all the more motivation, as I decided to make sweet Belgian waffles two ways - one gluten free and the other regular, for us wheat lovers.

While I usually make these waffles on the savory side (see my previous preparations), these particular ones were going to be sweet and indulgent - topped with homemade apple compote that I made with leftover Rainier apples.  The method is quite simple and something I already used when I made these pancakes the other week, simply involving thinly sliced apples sprinkled with cinnamon and some brown sugar and then cooked on low for about 15 minutes.  I threw in some toasted pecans on top too, infusing a bit of texture into each bite.

Here's the simple recipe I used that comes from the Food Network website by way of Emeril Lagasse.  For the gluten free variety, I simply substituted the all purpose flour for Bob's Red Mill corn flour and it worked just fine.  Hope you enjoy it during the weekend - or anytime!

Starting off the New Year with Homemade Fried Chicken and Waffles

After an awesome New Year's eve celebration (with lots of tasty food might I add), Dan and I made plans to start the year off with even more deliciousness.  Planning to make homemade fried chicken and waffles, we prepped the ingredients a day ahead of time, brining the chicken to ensure great flavor.

The recipe for this dish came by way of a generous gift we received from our friend Matt in the form of an Ad Hoc Fried Chicken Kit. The kit includes 2 portions of chicken brine as well as packets of coating mix, which is enough to make two whole fried chickens.

A neat little trick I learned by making this was to buy a whole organic chicken and then get it butchered at your local supermarket.  Not only were the folks at our local Fred Meyer happy to help, it didn't cost anything extra and allowed us to buy a high quality organic bird.

Here's the Ad Hoc Fried Chicken recipe, courtesy of 7x7
For the waffles, feel free to use this trusty recipe, courtesy of Chow

My Chicken and Waffle Obsession Continues

I've been having a great time playing around with my new waffle maker, and love creating any opportunity for whipping it out.  Last night's dinner included another savory rendition with cheddar cheese waffles, grilled chicken sausage, an onion and zucchini "succotash" with a runny egg on top for good measure.

The dish came together as a loose improvisation of the waffle BLT dish I did a few weeks back.  The recipe for the waffles is identical actually, which I then topped with sauteed, chopped red onions, zucchini and a sweet Italian chicken sausage.  Careful not to overcook the egg on top, it stayed nice and runny and created a silky luxurious texture that made Dan and I swoon with excitement.

We had a few leftovers so we tried a sweet and savory combination by pouring some maple syrup on top of the waffle.  Mmmm...deeelish!

Waffle BLT Brunch - Touchdown!

Just because today was an official day of gluttony and excess, Dan and I decided to start early with a luxurious brunch.  Inviting my father-in-law David to join us, we put our new Belgian waffle maker to good use by experimenting with a savory waffle recipe, which ended up morphing into a fancy BLT sandwich.

From start to finish, this was a pretty quick and easy dish, but definitely something that requires good time management and pre-planning.  I'd advise you to prep all the ingredients for this open faced sandwich ahead of time, such as slicing the tomatoes, having the greens ready, and broiling the bacon.  The waffles can be done as a second to last step and the very last thing is the fried egg on top, which you can break oh so delicately right before eating and relishing in that silky, runny yolk.  Overall, this was a big hit in my household and something I'll definitely be repeating.  You can try it with other variations such as with prosciutto, chicken or maybe even some guacamole? The choice is yours!

Savory Cheddar Waffle BLT, courtesy of Chow