Pick savory or sweet…Wicked Waffle has both. But don’t ask for butter or syrup because you won’t get it. These amazing waffles are worth the visit.
When I was a kid, we went to downtown DC all the time. Every time friends or family visited from out of town, DC it was. I swear I went to the Air & Space Museum about 50 times by the time I was a teenager. But when you live in or near a tourist area, you rarely go. Who wants to deal with throngs of tourists? I can’t imagine working in downtown DC. Every day in the spring and summer you’re competing with thousands of visitors, many of whom have no idea where they’re going or what they’re doing.
I happened to be in Maryland in April, so Kara and her kids came for a visit. We went downtown and hit a few of the hot spots. I will never make that mistake again…every school group in the world was there, and it was absolutely brutal. Best birth control ever. Don’t get me wrong, the summer is still insanely crowded. But I’d rather deal with individual families than big school groups.
Kara came back by herself while I was in Maryland in July, and we did an adult tourist day. We hit all of the major tourist attractions, including Jefferson Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, the Capital, and the Supreme Court.
If you’ve never seen the Changing of the Guard at Arlington Cemetery, you need to go. It’s one of the most moving experiences I’ve ever seen. It’s a very elaborate, exacting ceremony that takes less than 5 minutes. In fall and winter, they change every hour on the hour; in spring and summer, the change is every 30 minutes. I was melting during the ceremony, so I can’t even imagine how hot they get in full dress.
Kara has fully embraced my food blog, and is always on the lookout for new places to try. She discovered Wicked Waffle on Facebook a couple months ago. I had never heard of it, but it got good reviews. One of the locations is Bethesda MD, and I learned it’s in the Montgomery Mall food court. Kara was skeptical, but then I sent her a picture of my amazing lobster roll from Lobster Me…from the same food court.
On the morning of our excursion, my mom dropped us off at Silver Spring metro station. The train (metro) is one of the best ways travel around DC/Maryland/Virginia. It’s clean, convenient, and super user friendly. The negative is the prices jump significantly during rush hour, and those hours are really long. But it still beats driving, fighting traffic, and trying to find a place to park. There are actually 3 metro stops within easy walking distance of Wicked Waffle.
Wicked Waffle is very small. There are no seats inside, but there are a few tables out front on the sidewalk.
The first thing that caught my eye was the dozens of bottles of Nutella
I absolutely love Nutella. But I don’t buy it, because I would eat a whole jar in one sitting. Well, not these jars because they are huge.
Wicked Waffle is open for breakfast and lunch, and the menu is much larger than I expected. The menu includes savory waffle sandwiches, sweet topped waffles, soups and sides. Wicked Waffle doesn’t offer butter or syrup, and they locally source most of their ingredients. They do, however, offer gluten free waffles that are made on a dedicated waffle iron!
I love that Wicked Waffle uses the waffle iron inserts for the coffee drainer
Since it was breakfast we both decided on sweet. Kara got the strawberry cheesecake, and I got the Nutella (of course)
Oh my. The waffles are incredibly light. I have no idea how they do that, but it was amazing. They are crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. You could easily eat double, and not even be full. The day before I was disappointed that there wasn’t enough Nutella on the pop tart from Iron Rooster. Wicked Waffle makes up for it and more. Never thought I would say this, but it was almost too much. Almost. I didn’t try Kara’s, but she raved about hers as well.
As we were ordering, I looked back out the window and saw that this place is right next door to The Bottom Line. We spent many nights there back in college and beyond. It’s one of my favorite bars downtown. I think the last time were there was for Kara’s bachelorette party. Basically a big deja vu. Wicked Waffle should seriously consider opening late night on weekends. They would kill it with the after-bar crowd.
Will I go back to Wicked Waffle? No question! I’d like to go for lunch and try one of the sandwiches. Or maybe back for a breakfast sandwich. Or both.
Karyl Henry
Monday 10th of August 2015
I could (and do) eat Nutella straight from the jar. So divine!!!
Ali Arnone
Monday 10th of August 2015
OMG I *love* Nutella (and waffles) so this place is like a dream come true - amazing!