What the heck is Scrapple anyway?

Most Saturday mornings I wake up late and hungry. Today, was no exception. I was craving waffles and even the frigid temperatures and icy sidewalks were not going to stop me from finding some breakfast.

DC residents, especially of the young professional variety, love brunch. Breakfast is elevated to a social happening every Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Though bottomless mimosas can make the occasional morning gathering gratifying, most weekends, I don't want to be forced to make reservations to be seated in an over-crowded, noisy restaurant, only to be rushed through my coffee and eggs (except most times I find myself scrambling to get out of the claustrophobia inducing crowds anyway).

Today's brunch experience is blogworthy because it was the exact opposite of the typical DC restaurant. Lincoln's Waffle Shop is located across the street from Ford's Theatre. Despite the fact that its location should make it a prime destination for famished tourists, my dining companion and I were seated as soon as we walked through the door (the weather might have been a contributing factor). The waitress greeted us as soon as we sat down at the communal counter. "Pass the ketchup, salt, pepper, etc... please" could be heard in our vicinity as we shared our condiments with out neighbors, who were both tourists and locals. The waitress handed us our menus and placed a cup of steaming coffee  in front of me within minutes. I felt as if I had been transported out of the nation's capital and into a nondescript roadside diner.

The communal seating areas at Lincoln's Waffle Shop.

The breakfast menu at Lincoln's Waffle Shop is pretty standard. My friend ordered a salmon cake that was served with a side of eggs, potatoes and toast. I ordered a waffle, of course, with a side of eggs and potatoes. Everything came out in under ten minutes.  The food was very ordinary and simple but sometimes that's exactly what I want. There were no frills, no fancy names requiring a dictionary, and absolutely zero pretensions. I know I will make my way back to Lincoln's Waffle Shop on another hungry weekend morning and I would recommend you do to! It feels like taking a roadtrip into the country without having to leave the city!

Our plates after we got done eating.

Unbeknownst to me, there exists a breakfast food called scrapple (at first I though it was a typo on the menu). According to a Wikipedia article headlined under the same name, scrapple is "a mush of pork scraps and trimmings combined with cornmeal and flour." I overlooked the unappetizing descriptions and decided to try it. What came out was a flattened, index card sized, brown square. It tasted faintly of sausage, but the texture made me wonder about all the scraps and trimmings the article referenced. After one bite I was done.

Now you know what scrapple is!