17200 Ventura Blvd # 109
CA 91316-4040
(818) 789-5937
"It's always wonderful here... it's like family."
-- Lorie Kuzberg, Customer.
Downstairs in the Encino Town Mall, MORE THAN WAFFLES is the epitome of country kitsch, styled with simple wood tables, flowery wallpaper, baskets of plastic flowers hanging from the ceiling, chotchkes everywhere and screen prints of yet more kitschy country locales somewhere out there in the world.
If you think this place is just about waffles and sweets and chotchkes, you have another thing coming. Ika, the very attractive and svelte owner, exudes excitement for everything about her hands-on eatery. She freely admits to waking up in the middle of the night with ideas for new recipes for healthy choices, as well as extravagant waffles creations.
For example, the Mediterranean potatoes which includes home fries, served with spinach, basil, mushrooms, mozzarella, feta and garlic ($8.25) combines Ika's Israeli-Mediterranean background to culminate in a fabulous and healthy taste sensation. Do you have wheat allergies? Try the gluten free breakfast: scrambled eggs, feta, fresh spinach, garlic, olive oil, served with fresh fruit and pasta ($10.95).
But it's not just about healthy fare. WAFFLES AND MORE has much, much more indeed. Don’t tell our gym trainers, but Scott’s favorite was the pumpkin pecan pancakes, perfected by the right amount of fluff along with the perfect amount of sweet. Does your mouth not water just thinking about it? For $9.45, this includes three fabulous cakes (the short stack of two is $8.45) and a fruit cup, as well as delicious homemade plum jam (Ika makes it herself, of course). Add real maple syrup (a reasonable $2.75 additional cost, considering the expense of maple syrup at the store), and it's a little bit of heaven.
Of course, there are waffles – over 20 versions of them, in fact -- unless you count the specials of the day, and then there's even more. It's hard to pick a favorite, but we loved the hot apple waffles dripping with whipped cream and cinnamon (only 140 calories without all of the schmaltz added to it). If the Pancakes were a little bit of heaven, this was a big slice of heaven at $8.95.
Almost everything here is made from scratch, even their delicious daily soups as well as their 17 omelettes and 11 different crepes.
"If it makes you hungry, come!"
-- Ika, More Than Waffles
Encino Mall? Waffles? This is not what I expect from the Dining Duo! What's next? The Taco Bell in El Segundo? Get back to what you do best, Duo: living - and eating -- the lush life.