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betsuni

(29,242 posts)
Mon Apr 20, 2026, 02:38 AM Apr 20

Angelo Pellegrini's "The Unprejudiced Palate"; Anthony Bourdain at the Waffle House.

"I found, first of all, the meaning, the consumable, edible meaning, of a simple word, lost in the dictionary among thousands of others -- the meaning of the word abundance. I had known scarcity, had lived on intimate terms with its agonizing reality; and the discovery of its opposite, its annihilator, was an experience so maddening with joy, so awful and bewildering, that I am not yet recovered from the initial shock. ... When I arrived in America, I recalled and immediately understood a saying I had frequently heard in Italy. When one had met with a bit of good fortune, such as an unusual yield from the vine or perhaps a meager inheritance, his friends would say to him, Ha, you have found your America.

"I was not immediately impressed by the skyscrapers, the automobiles, and the roaring trains of the metropolitan centers along the eastern seaboard. ... What was immediately impressive were the food stalls; the huge displays of pastries and confections, the mountains of fish, flesh, and fowl; the crowded cafes, where the aristocrat -- or so he seemed -- sat beside the drayman in overalls, gulping coffee drawn from huge urns and soberly eating ham and eggs; eating such fare without any visible display of joy, as if in obedience to some distasteful duty -- as if it were yesterday's polenta! Ham and eggs! (Come to your senses, ye brave Americans, and spare your noble dish the corrupting catsup! Amend your constitution -- you did it once against misguided gourmets -- that you may enjoin forever such culinary adultery.) Ham and eggs with fried potatoes, stacks of buttered toast and coffee -- that was my first acquaintance with American food. It remains to this day my favorite dish.

"The sinful waste among the native population left me amazed and horrified. ... Old and young alike drew from their lunch buckets huge sandwiches of homemade bread filled with meats, jam, and precious butter. They took large bites from the center and threw irreverently upon the ground 'the fringe of crust.' The slabs of apple and raisin pie ... were seldom entirely eaten. Only a few ate the neatly folded flaky crust at the edge. In view of what I later heard women say about making piecrust, this fact convinced me that the ways of the American, as of the Almighty, are inscrutable."

"After a few bites of waffle, a burger, a hunk of generic T-bone, and some hash browns, one feels drawn right to the center of what makes our country great":

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Angelo Pellegrini's "The Unprejudiced Palate"; Anthony Bourdain at the Waffle House. (Original Post) betsuni Apr 20 OP
My mouth is watering. I'm New Jersey. No Waffle Houses near me! no_hypocrisy Apr 20 #1
We love the Awful Waffle. On our way home from our honeymoon 30+ years ago ms liberty Apr 20 #2
Find a local Diner justaprogressive Apr 20 #3
My favorite diner closed a few years ago. Aristus Apr 22 #8
sorry justaprogressive Apr 23 #9
Thank you. Aristus Apr 23 #10
ugh...waffle house. the only place that could screw up scrambled eggs. mwmisses4289 Apr 20 #4
I sure miss Bourdain n/t TexasBushwhacker Apr 21 #5
Only Bourdain could make a video, with Vivaldi, that matched the Breakfast is America Pellegrini quotes. betsuni Apr 21 #6
I think life on the road wore him out TexasBushwhacker Apr 22 #7
In one of his books I reread after he died, don't remember which now, saw with shock betsuni Apr 24 #11

ms liberty

(11,332 posts)
2. We love the Awful Waffle. On our way home from our honeymoon 30+ years ago
Mon Apr 20, 2026, 08:01 AM
Apr 20

We stopped at one in Chapel Hill. It was a Sunday, late morning, and they had a hostess seating people. The place was jam packed.
A Waffle House with a hostess. Never seen one anywhere else, not before, not since.

Aristus

(72,449 posts)
8. My favorite diner closed a few years ago.
Wed Apr 22, 2026, 04:28 PM
Apr 22

Best biscuits and gravy in the region. Warm, friendly, dependable service.

They closed it, demolished the building, and turn the lot into additional parking for the Puyallup Fairgrounds.

Such a loss to the community…

mwmisses4289

(4,601 posts)
4. ugh...waffle house. the only place that could screw up scrambled eggs.
Mon Apr 20, 2026, 11:11 AM
Apr 20

And everything else. ugh.

betsuni

(29,242 posts)
6. Only Bourdain could make a video, with Vivaldi, that matched the Breakfast is America Pellegrini quotes.
Tue Apr 21, 2026, 11:12 PM
Apr 21

TexasBushwhacker

(21,267 posts)
7. I think life on the road wore him out
Wed Apr 22, 2026, 03:34 PM
Apr 22

The more I think the loneliness of life on the road killed him. He was away from home traveling internationally, over 200 days a year. 2 failed marriages, away from friends and family, including his young daughter.

betsuni

(29,242 posts)
11. In one of his books I reread after he died, don't remember which now, saw with shock
Fri Apr 24, 2026, 03:12 AM
Apr 24

where he made a little joke about a hang-yourself-in-the-hotel-bathroom kind of day.

I saw his relationship with death like that of the Bob Fosse character in "All That Jazz": a beautiful distant woman he was always attracted to.

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