The traditional breakfast waffle has been transformed into a unique vessel for breakfast and nonbreakfast foods, and it’s wandering into the mouths of Lansing residents and beyond.
“Wandering Waffles came from the fact that I love breakfast,” owner Samantha Wilbur said. “My husband recently got out of the Marine Corps … so the time that we had together was Sunday morning, and we would make breakfast.”
Opened last March in the Lansing City Market, Wandering Waffles sells sweet and savory options such as a s’mores waffle, pizza waffle, burrito waffle and peanut butter and bacon waffle — better known as The Elvis.
Wilbur said there’s no limit to what can be done with waffles, and she set out to discover the tastiest options.
“I was the world’s pickiest eater, so I kind of went on this adventure in my life to try new foods constantly, where if there was a food that I looked at and said, ‘I really don’t want to eat that,’ I’m definitely going to eat it,” Wilbur said. “This helped me to be more daring with my food combinations at Wandering Waffles.
Although Wilbur takes pride in her unconventional menu at Wandering Waffles, she said most of the genius behind the menu came from her brother-in-law, who moved to Michigan to help her with the restaurant.
“One day he decided that he was bored and started coming up with amazing combinations because when my husband and I originally opened Wandering Waffles, it was completely custom,” Wilbur said.
While the food combinations might sound wild and bizarre, Wilbur said her restaurant is not just for the fearless and daring; it was created for those who want to experience food that is real and made from local ingredients.
“I see people have that pause, that ‘Oh my gosh, this isn’t filled with corn syrup and refined sugars and ingredients that came from 1,000 miles away,’” Wilbur said. “This tastes real, this tastes like something that your body needs and not just in terms of ‘Fill up my belly,’ but in terms of nutrient-rich fresh food,’” Wilbur said.
Lansing resident Laura Kennell said the flavorful, local and gluten-free ingredients at Wandering Waffles are the reason she enjoys the food.
“They offer a gluten-free waffle, which is awesome for me. … They also use all local ingredients,” Kennell said. “The waffles have a nice hint of sweetness, but it’s not too overpowering. I usually get the BLT waffle, and I love it because they include nice, thick, hearty pieces of bacon.”
Lansing resident Roger Weathers said the bacon at Wandering Waffles keeps him coming back.
“I usually get the bacon and egg waffle. The waffle has a distinct flavor; it’s well prepared, it’s tasty, but it’s not a heavy-laying item,” Weathers said. “The flavor is really good, and they have a good-quality bacon, which is important. I’m an old-school type of guy — I like my bacon.”
Since opening Wandering Waffles, Wilbur said her customers’ reaction to the food validates the decision she and husband made to start the business.
“The most common reaction that we get is silence,” Wilbur said. “I love that happy, totally content silent expression that people get when they take of bite of something that they’ve never had before that they’re really enjoying and they realize that it’s going to change the way that they look at food. It gives me an opportunity to really help people reform what eating quickly means and that having a portable under $10 lunch can be can be something wonderful and delicious.”
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