I went to waffle house a total of one time when I was a little kid and from then on thought it was the grandest, most delicious breakfast restaurant in the whole world. We were staying in a hotel and skipped over to the waffle house next door for breakfast before heading out. I loved waffles growing up and rarely got an opportunity to have them, and on that day I had a big adult-sized belgian waffle with whipped cream and syrup and a little bowl of strawberry filling type compote with whole strawberry halves on the side. It was heavenly. So in my head it was always this incredible small chain restaurant that I would feel intense happiness whenever I would see their signs.
It wasn't until almost 15 years later that I would learn what waffle houses really were.