The Waffle Experience is a small eatery that is located at 4391 Gateway Park Blvd. Suite 650 Sacramento, Ca 95834. It is in a shopping center that is filled with many business buildings so it is easy to miss while driving by. The Waffle Experience follows the farm to fork concept and uses ingredients that are local and for the most part, mainly organic. Executive chef Michael Donoho and General Manager Jeffery Belaski met while in the Marine Corps in 1986. They then went their separate ways. Donoho went off to culinary school while Belaski went off to study business and finance. When the friends moved to Sacramento, they decided to open up The Waffle Experience.
The Waffle Experience is one of my favorite breakfast/lunch places to eat. Like I said before, don’t drive too fast or you will miss the place. It blends in with a whole bunch of grey surrounding business buildings. There is usually a wait time, and there is a waiting area outside in the front which consists of two benches. Depending on the season and weather, sometimes waiting on the benches can become hellish since there is no shade during the triple digit heat and nothing to shield you if it is sprinkling outside. Fortunately, you can leave your contact number with them and they will give you a ring once a table becomes available so you can chill in your car. The wait time usually isn’t too long so don’t give them your number and decide to go off to the gym or do some hardcore shopping. Trust me, the wait is worth it. The food is that good even if you hate waffles!
The Belgian waffles here are made of a yeast based dough with imported Belgian Pearl Sugar fresh on site. It is nothing like the waffles you have at IHOP or any of those chain breakfast places where you have to drizzle syrup and anything you can put on it to make it taste decent. The waffles here are more on the savory side versus sweet. There are two dishes involving waffles that incorporate some sweetness for those with a sweet tooth. One is the Two Liege ($6) which is the Belgian waffle with powder sugar dusted on top. The second one is called Smor’Tella ($9) which consists of caramelized bananas foster, Nutella, toasted marshmallow, graham cracker, cacao waffle, and warm Nutella rum syrup. I don’t have a sweet tooth so I have never actually ordered these two, but when they are brought out, they do look pretty damn tasty.
Inside the restaurant, there are some tables and some seating at the bar area. The place does serve alcohol, but the “bar” area that I am referring to is a food prep area. You see, the workers there are lined up behind the counter and working hard on putting together your dishes that you have just ordered. You can see the food being prepared in front of you as well as TVs located inside the restaurant. It is kind of cool to see how your food is being made.
The outside patio is nice when the weather is just right. There are patio umbrellas for shade and for those animal lovers who want to bring their dogs along, the restaurant is nice enough to provide some water in a bowl for the dog.
I’ve been to the Waffle Experience many times and I have to say that the staff is on point. The customer service is awesome and the staff is knowledgeable when it comes to what ingredients go into each dish and what to recommend for newbs. Jeffrey Belaski is a great manager and you can tell he loves what he does. He never fails to go around to each table and welcome new customers or welcome back returning customers. He is very animated, funny, outgoing, and friendly. He will ask how your day is going and if you are enjoying your dish. It’s very obvious that he appreciates his customers and wants them to have a great visit at his restaurant. He will even refill your water and get items for you even though he is not your waiter/waitress. That to me is a sign of a good manager. He assists his team in providing the best service to his customers.
As far as the food goes, the majority of the dishes on the menu involve at least a waffle hence the name of the place. There are a few items on the menu which do not involve a waffle, but as stated previously, even if you’re not a waffle fan, these are dishes you must try! They are yummy!
Once you enter the front door, there is a chalkboard wall to your left that will have all the specials for the day. Sometimes there are dishes listed on the board that are not on the regular menu.
Did I mention that the dishes have some cute names? Below is Praise The Lard. It consists of cider braised pork belly, farm fresh egg, burrata cheese, cilantro, lardon studded waffle, maple syrup, and on the vine tomatoes. I am not a fan of bacon or pork belly and even I thought this was pretty tasty!
All signature breakfast creations include a choice of fingerling potatoes, fruit cup, or daily salad. I personally don’t recommend the fingerling potatoes just because they look like soggy french fries in a small mason jar container. The fruit cup is actually fresh fruit cut up and placed in a small mason jar. It is mostly melons, some grapes & pineapple chunks. I’ve never actually picked the salad as a side so I have no idea if it is any good.
Pig Latin contains spicy carnitas, sauteed peppers, cabbage slaw with lime vinaigrette, pico de gallo, chipotle aioli, and a jalapeno waffle.
Pig Latin is not found on the regular menu. It is a special, but I am sure if you really really wanted to try it, you can ask them to make it.
We Found The Beef contains grass fed beef, applewood smoked bacon, sharp cheddar, arugula, tomato, shaved onion, roasted garlic aioli, and caramelized leek waffles.
The Farmer In The Dell consists of country fried steak, farm fresh egg, white cheddar cheese, kale, cracked pepper waffle, buttermilk gravy, and oven roasted tomatoes.
The Sacramento King has a house smoked salmon, hard-boiled egg, arugula, tomato, cucumber, shaved onion, caper cream, cheese, and a dill cracked pepper waffle.
Eggcellent is their version of a breakfast sandwich. It has applewood smoked bacon, farm fresh egg, Fontina cheese, arugula, basil, heirloom tomato, sun dried tomato aioli, and a fennel waffle.
The last one below if the C.O.D. which is a special and cannot be found on the regular menu. It was delicious even though I can remember much of what was in it. 🙂
As previously mentioned, the place does sell alcohol. Bloody Marys are $12 and Mimosas are $7. I don’t really drink due to me hating the bitter taste of alcohol, but the Bloody Marys are surprisingly delicious.
The Waffle Experience offers a different take on waffles, super friendly service, fresh ingredients, and decent prices. I have yet to taste a dish that I did not enjoy! Go check out this gem!
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