This Iconic Chain Is On Gail Simmons' Must-Visit List When In The South

In an exclusive Mashed interview with Gail Simmons of Top Chef, the Canadian native shared her nostalgic love for Montreal bagels. But that's not the only breakfast food she adores. It turns out the 49-year-old food writer and culinary expert is also a big fan of Waffle House.

"When I'm in the South, I have to hit a Waffle House. I love it!" Simmons told Allrecipes. She explains that she first dined while shooting 'Top Chef' in Charleston. Chef Sean Brock, a friend of Simmons, wanted to take her there once he found out she'd never been, and the chain made quite the first impression. "Since that first visit, we've driven to Charleston many times from New York and brought our kids to Waffle House," Simmons adds.

Even though she's willing to travel for it, Waffle House is more an occasional treat than an everyday thing. As far as foods Gail Simmons actually eats in a day, it's more like mashed avocado on sprouted grain toast, a hard-boiled egg, and lightly sweetened coffee with whole milk than an All-Star special. No matter what she eats, though, Simmons prioritizes breakfast. After routinely not eating breakfast before judging on "Top Chef," she learned she couldn't skip it. "By the time we sat down at the table, I was starving," she told Women's Health. "I'd eat way too fast and too much at first, then I was full, so I couldn't judge the rest fairly."

Gail Simmons' Canadian upbringing instilled in her a deep love of maple syrup. "The most nostalgic food of my childhood has to be maple syrup," Simmons said in a video for the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen. "I grew up in Ontario, but we would go to Quebec skiing, and we'd always go for spring break, which is perfect maple syrup tapping season."

So, it's no shock that she likes waffles, and Waffle House serves some of the tastiest (it even took the top spot in our ranking of popular chain breakfast restaurants). In Simmons' Allrecipes interview, it's implied that she tried "hash browns smothered and covered alongside buttery pecan waffles," but any dish could have converted her. Perhaps it was the fan-favorite chocolate chip waffle, infused with sweet cream and crowned with chocolate chips. In a Mashed survey of nearly 600 readers, more than a quarter of participants named it the best Waffle House breakfast item.

There are plenty of other options, though. If you're a newbie, here's what to order at Waffle House when you don't know what to get. The chain is famous for its loaded hash brown bowls, not to mention "hash browns scattered, smothered, and covered" with grilled onions and American cheese. For waffles, there's peanut butter, plain, chocolate chip, and Simmons' pecan number. Of course, the experience would be incomplete without eggs, biscuits, and bacon, too.