Dish With Gish: Hot waffles pop up around the Kansas City area

On a recent Sunday morning, Sam Donnell stood in a sunny corner of Lawrence’s Decade coffee shop, ladling buttermilk batter into three piping-hot waffle irons.

When the waffles reached crisp, golden perfection, Donnell coaxed them onto a plate and added toppings that ranged from classic vanilla bean-flecked maple syrup to jasmine-infused whipped cream and caramelized carrot and coriander. By noon, the neighborhood coffee shop was at maximum capacity and Donnell was out of buttermilk batter.

Since Donnell opened the Waffle Iron in late January, the pop-up waffle shop has become a popular weekend destination for locals looking for a gourmet twist on the breakfast staple.

The Waffle Iron operates from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through April at Decade, 920 Delaware St. The customizable menu features three varieties of waffles (leavened, buttermilk and gluten-free) and a rotating list of toppings for $1 to $2.50.

Everything at the Waffle Iron is made from scratch — including the Nutella-like chocolate-hazelnut spread, — by Donnell, a former cook at Lawrence’s Global Cafe. Donnell says he started experimenting with waffle batter recipes while working on a farm in Hawaii.

A good waffle, Donnell says, is crisp on the outside — not crunchy — and light and fluffy on the inside. He achieves this by whipping egg whites before adding them to the batter. “The batter should be lumpy,” Donnell says, “and it should jiggle. It should be the most air-filled thing that could go in a bowl without floating away.”

The nutty taste and delicate lace-like outer texture of the Waffle Iron’s gluten-free waffles come from the almond and rice flour. They take a few minutes longer to cook, but the wait is worth it, especially when the waffles are drizzled with banana-clove cream ($9.50).

Waffle purists might prefer the buttermilk ($7) or leavened ($5.50) waffles, which get pillowy texture and bread-like flavor from yeast. Try them with brown sugar-bacon-maple butter ($1).

For a sweeter treat, try the waffle tiramisu ($4.50 per slice), a twist on the coffee-flavored Italian dessert that swaps waffles for ladyfingers. The recipe changes weekly; the version I tried featured waffles soaked with Decade’s cardamom-scented house chai tea and rum that Donnell infused with vanilla, ginger and orange. The waffles were layered with mascarpone custard and jasmine whipped cream and garnished with fresh mint and candied orange peel.

The Waffle Iron isn’t the only eatery that’s taking waffles beyond butter and syrup. Urban Table, 8232 Mission Road in Prairie Village, serves mini-waffles ($2.50 each) with your choice of three dipping sauces: raspberry caramel, vanilla-maple and bacon-praline.

Meanwhile, chicken and waffles, a soul food specialty, is becoming increasingly common on Kansas City menus. Beer Kitchen, 435 Westport Road, tops savory cheddar-chive waffles with cornflake-crusted, oven-baked chicken breasts. The $14 dish comes with maple-mustard marinade, chicken pan gravy and maple syrup on the side.

A simpler version of chicken and waffles is served at Slim Chickens, an Arkansas-based chain that recently expanded to the Kansas City area with a location at 4641 Cochise Drive in Independence. Slim Chickens’ $7.49 chicken and waffles starts with a golden waffle saturated with syrup and topped with three fried chicken tenders and a melting scoop of whipped butter. Savory, juicy chicken atop a sweet, sticky waffle makes for an irresistible combination.

Even IHOP is getting in on the hot waffle trend. The breakfast food chain recently rolled out Criss-Croissants — croissant dough cooked in a waffle iron and served with strawberry-rhubarb or blackberry lemonade-flavored topping.

The strawberry-rhubarb filling was pleasantly tart and the Criss-Croissant had a buttery flavor, but the texture fell flat. Croissants are light and flaky, but the Criss-Croissant was dense and flake-free.

Those who prefer cake-like waffles will soon be able to make them at home: Kansas City chef Shanita McAfee is working on a red velvet waffle mix that replicates the popular Red Velvet Waffle Evangeline that McAfee served at her restaurant, Magnolia’s Contemporary Southern Bistro. Magnolia’s is temporarily closed while McAfee looks for a new location. In the meantime, the chef is working on perfecting the mix and getting it into local stores.

This story was originally published March 10, 2015 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Dish With Gish: Hot waffles pop up around the Kansas City area."