Several times each year I travel on business or with my family and stay at a particular hotel chain that owns numerous properties with several price points. I like to stay in the smaller hotels that cater to business people and families that need a more home-like atmosphere, including a kitchen.

Most of these types of hotels offer complimentary breakfast each morning. The highlight of my breakfast is making my own waffle. At home, we make waffles about as often as the World Cup comes around, but when I travel, I will have one every morning I am at the hotel. There is something fun about pouring batter into that commercial waffle-making contraption, giving it a flip and waiting 2-3 minutes (although it seems like 15) for the warm crunchy goodness that awaits you.

Besides rating hotels on things like cleanliness, staff friendliness, etc. I would like to see hotels rated based on waffles*.

• Do they have more than 1 waffle maker?
• Do they offer more than 1 flavor or variety?
• What about the accoutrements like syrup, butter, fruit and whipped cream, the essentials that are critical to fully enjoying a waffle?

*Note to hotels: please notify me in advance of my trip if the waffle maker is not working (which caused a near riot in a hotel in Phoenix last April) so I can change my reservation.

After enjoying my hotel waffle this morning, I decided to look up the nutritional information for several waffle mixes. While not the best choice for a healthy breakfast, some recipes are better than others as some are high in saturated fat and cholesterol, presumably from the eggs and milk, and sometimes buttermilk, that are used in the preparation. At least I opted for the sugar-free syrup and butter substitute.

While many waffle mixes are mostly processed wheat flour, you can find healthier versions including whole grain and wheat-free on websites like mrbreakfast.com.

I even went so far as to find out if I could purchase a commercial-grade waffle maker, but realized it would take up too much counter space and that the novelty might quickly wear off. But I did find some good reviews on counter-friendly models at consumersearch.com.

As Donkey from the original Shrek said, “We can stay up late, swapping manly stories, and in the morning, I’m making waffles!”