No matter what type of late-night party you’re leaving in Atlanta, one thing is always on the table: Waffle House.
It has become more than a never-closed breakfast chain from Atlanta; it is a place where everyone inhales food in hopes of soaking up the night. In essence, Waffle House democratized debauchery.
And the Super Bowl brings one heck of a party to town, so that got us thinking. Then The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found itself on a red carpet full of celebrities Thursday night for the Super Bowl Music Fest headlined by Ludacris.
PHOTOS | Check out our gallery from the first night of the Super Bowl Music Fest
We made use of the opportunity to query some of the world’s largest stars by asking them each only one question: What’s your Waffle House order?
The hard-hitting journalism below is a sample of the answers some celebs gave.
Antonio Brown, wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers
“I don’t eat Waffle House. I gotta keep my abs tight.” (Shortly after, he displayed his abs to photographers.)
Big Tigger, V-103 host
“What time is it when I make this waffle order?”
The AJC: “Which time do you want it to be?”
Big Tigger: “At 3:30 in the morning, my Waffle House order is scrambled eggs, a side of sausage and some hash browns.”
“In afternoons, it might be a grilled chicken sandwich on Texas Toast.”
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Demetria McKinney, actor and singer who starred in "Tyler Perry's House of Payne"
“The chicken and eggs with grits. You gotta have grits. If you come to Atlanta and you don’t have them grits at the Waffle House you’ve Messed. Up. Start. Over. Chicken and eggs, they give you two or one chicken breast, you want to get the two because you’re going to want extras afterwards; hash browns, they’re OK, you can get them smothered or whatever but the grits is where it’s at. Whole wheat toast because you got to keep it cute. Did I answer your question?”
Desean Jackson, wide receiver with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
“A waffle, some grits, scrambled eggs and I ain’t messing with no pork, so that’s probably it.”
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Emmitt Smith, NFL Hall of Fame running back
“Probably scrambled eggs with cheese, hash brown with cheese, I take bacon and extra bacon, and a waffle and a glass of orange juice.”
Jamal Adams, safety with the New York Jets
“All-Star special. I had it last night. Scrambled eggs with cheese, well-done toast, and a well-done waffle. You can’t beat it.”
When asked if it had changed over the years: “Nah, it’s never gone change, always stays the same.”
Josh Norman, running back with the Washington Redskins
“Come on, man, it’s not even a question. (Inaudible Waffle House love.) That’s All-Star. I mean, any day, every day. That’s what it is. You got your grits, your eggs with cheese, you got your bacon – gotta be hard – and then you got your light waffle. But you got to make sure you say ‘light waffle’ or else they will burn it. And if they do, you gotta take it back and make sure they make it over again the way you want it, so, yeah, and with the orange juice.”
The AJC dug deep and inquired further on the advantages of a “light waffle.”
Norman: “The advantages? It’s light and it’s warm. It’s a lot better than the hard one, that’s for damn sure. You can’t cut through that, but the light one you can actually do something with.”
JuJu Smith-Schuster, wide receiver for the the Pittsburgh Steelers
“Bro, I have mixed feelings about Waffle House. I had it and it was kind of ‘ehhhh’ but then my friends were like ‘yo, we’re going to be trying Waffle House in a little bit’ so, I’ll let you know.”
Kyler Murray, quarterback of the University of Oklahoma Sooners and 2018 winner of the Heisman Trophy
“Chocolate chip waffle, keep it light, you know, don’t burn it. Four scrambled eggs with bacon.”
The AJC: “Bet.”
Kyler Murray: “And hot syrup.”
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Lil Baby, Atlanta rapper
“I get the patty melt, but I get the quartered on there with the patty melt, with pickles and jalapenos and onions.”
Lil Yachty, Atlanta rapper
“I get two orders of Texas Toast, and I don’t like it cut; I like it whole. I like butter on the toast, I like two orders of crispy bacon and grape jelly.
The AJC, delivering you facts via real journalism: “Why do you like it whole as opposed to cut?”
Lil Yachty: “Because I like to make it a sandwich, and you can’t have a sandwich if it’s cut … I actually go there a lot, so, yeah.”
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Ludacris, Atlanta rap legend
“Right now, man, probably a patty melt with cheese. Hash browns scattered, smothered covered. All that good stuff.”
Marcus Jordan, former basketball player at the University of Central Florida
“Wow, OK. I get a waffle, obviously. I’m pretty sure they got the hash browns … the hash browns with hot sauce on them, salt and pepper. That’s my go-to, that’s all I need.”
The AJC: “Now has dad (basketball legend Michael Jordan) ever been to Waffle House before?”
Marcus Jordan: “I’ve never asked him. I’m assuming no. But I hope he has. If he hasn’t, I’m going to take him to his first one. That’s for sure.”
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Marlo Hampton, cast member in "Real Housewives of Atlanta"
“A waffle, two fried hard and bacon extra crispy.”
Melvin Gordon, running back with the Los Angeles Chargers
“I don’t know the name of it, but when I usually go in there I get a burger, steakburger or whatever that joint is.”
Merle Dandridge, actor on television and theater
“Breakfast, I got to stick to bacon and eggs.”
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Metro Boomin, Atlanta producer of several rap megahits
“I (expletive) with questions like that. Real (expletive). OK. It depends on how I’m feeling, if I’m not feeling in a waffle mood, I’ll get two sausage biscuits, some hash browns, sometimes some eggs … most of the times, that’s what I usually get on the late night, like in the studio or something, that’s what I go with.”
Migos, Gwinnett County's most famous rappers
Offset: "Ima go this way. Ima go Texas Melt with the baked chicken with the bacon on top. HOOO!"
Quavo: "I'm going All-Star meal, ya dig what I'm saying? Scrambled eggs hard with cheese, no run, ya dig? White toast, grape jelly, crispy bacon, sometimes sausage, ya know what I'm saying?
Takeoff: "About two, three waffle, man, ya know what I'm saying? And bacon, sausage ... "
Quavo chimes in: “With the pork chop”
Takeoff: “Yeah, with the pork chop, ya know what I mean? And a Texas cheese steak, ya gotta dig it.”
Omari Hardwick, Savannah native who plays "Ghost" on the Starz show "Power"
“Two waffles, grits, I don’t usually do hash browns, two eggs fried over hard, sometimes raisin toast.”
The AJC: “OK, but what would Ghost order?”
Omari Hardwick: “Coffee. Yeah, Ghost just lives on coffee. Tommy is the eater. Tommy’s always eating. Ghost just drinks coffee. I don’t even know how many meals Ghost has had in six seasons. I don’t really know if he’s eaten a full meal, even when they sit down and eat with the kids I don’t know. He’s a coffee cat.”
The AJC: “And just black coffee?”
Omari Hardwick: “Battery, baby. He’s one juggernaut of a human being, isn’t he? A quiet assassin.”
Phillip Lindsay, running back with the Denver Broncos
“I like to get the sandwich with … sausage, bacon, with the eggs … and I usually get some syrup and put it on with it.”
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Terrence J, host BET's late "106 & Park," and Angela Yee, host of "The Breakfast Club"
Terrence J: “The All-Star special, but I don’t get it with meat anymore, so it’s the waffle, hash browns, cheese on the hash browns, maybe throw a little onions on them joints, eggs scrambled with cheese.”
Angela Yee: “I’m not going to lie. I’m not a Waffle House expert because I’m from New York and we don’t have Waffle Houses in New York.”
Terrence: “I gave you 30 things you could have stole from my order.”
Angela Yee: “I’m sorry, and, honestly, when I go and get breakfast this is what I normally get: oatmeal, that’s it.”
Terrence: “That’s it?!”
Angela: “Because eggs make me gassy.”
Travis Kelce, tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs
“OoOoOoOoOo patty melt with the hash browns.”
The AJC asked him if he had an order before 2 Chainz rapped that on “Big Amount” with Drake.
Travis Kelce: “I mean, just a waffle, man, give me the waffle. The only time I had been to Waffle House before that was at like 4 a.m. after a drunken night ... Don’t tell nobody I get drunk, though.”
If you see any of these folks deviate from their Waffle House order over Super Bowl weekend, please contact The AJC.
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