6 Essential Waffle House Kitchen Terms

Although Waffle House is a 24-hour diner, their staff don’t use the usual diner jargon when placing orders with the kitchen. Instead, the chain follows its own system called the “Pull-Drop-Mark” system to handle orders across its 2,100-plus locations in 25 states.

According to Pat Warner, Waffle House's former director of public relations and external affairs, “The Pull-Drop-Mark system is what our associates use to make sure our customers get their meals quickly. It involves the call-in where the server submits the order using this system. Since opening in 1955, we've been using a call-in method for our team. It's evolved as the menu grew, but today's version still traces its roots back to the original restaurant.”

Check out these tasty terms you might hear during your next Waffle House experience.

1. The Mark

At every Waffle House location, you’ll find a small red tile surrounded by gray ones near the open kitchen and grill. This spot is called “The Mark,” where each server or sales associate stands while placing an order for the grill operator. Only those standing at The Mark are allowed to call in orders, ensuring that one order is placed at a time.

Since its founding nearly 65 years ago, Waffle House has used the call-in system to streamline orders. This method is the fastest way to fulfill orders and meet the company's eight-minute-or-less service goal.

2. Pull

The term “Pull” refers to the selection of meats that the grill operator should take from the refrigerator, such as bacon, sausage, chicken, or sirloin. These meats are pulled first because they require the longest cooking time. After calling out “Pull,” the server specifies the quantity based on the standard portion for each dish.

For instance, if a server requests “Pull one bacon,” that means three slices of bacon, the standard serving size. If the customer wants six slices, the associate would say “Pull two bacon.”

3. Drop

The term “Drop” refers to any hash browns included with an order. For example, a server might say “Drop four,” indicating that the kitchen should place four hash brown orders on the grill. After calling out the quantity, the server may specify the style, either “scattered” or “in a ring.”

If a customer requests their hash browns to be “scattered,” it means they want them broken up and spread out while cooking. On the other hand, if they prefer them cooked together and compact, the server would call for them to be “in a ring.” If no style is specified, the default is always “scattered.” So if a sales associate says, “Drop four, three in a ring,” it means four hash browns, one scattered, and three in a ring.

4. The Plate

When placing an order for hash browns, the server must provide at least two key pieces of information: “The Drop” and “The Plate.” The “Drop” refers to how many hash browns to cook, while “The Plate” refers to the specific order that will receive those hash browns.

For instance, if a customer orders two scrambled eggs with hash browns, the server would say, “Mark order scrambled plate.” If the customer prefers grits instead, the call-in would simply be, “Mark order scrambled.” All breakfast orders automatically include grits, so there’s no need to mention them. If a customer doesn’t want either grits or hash browns, the server would call in, “Mark order scrambled, hold the grits.” (But why would they want to skip both?)

“It’s two different labels for the hash browns,” Warner explains. “The ‘Pull’ tells the cook (or as we call them, the grill operator) how many hash browns to place on the grill to start cooking. The ‘Plate’ refers to any order that includes hash browns. For example, if you order a quarter-pound cheeseburger with hash browns, that’s a ‘quarter cheese plate,’ meaning the hash browns go on the same plate as the cheeseburger.”

5. Deluxe

At Waffle House, burger orders are called “quarter” because they contain a quarter pound of beef (four ounces). If the customer adds lettuce, tomato, and onions to their burger, the order is referred to as “Deluxe.” For example, if a server says “quarter cheese deluxe,” it means the customer has ordered a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and onions.

6. All The Way

Though Waffle House opened its doors in 1955, it wasn’t until the early 1980s that the franchise began offering toppings for their famous hash browns. The idea started when restaurant owners noticed grill operators adding extras like gravy and jalapeños to the hash browns they made for their own families. Before long, customers were asking for the same toppings, prompting Waffle House to officially add a variety of toppings to the menu in 1984.

True to its style, Waffle House added a unique twist to the toppings and the call-in lingo for servers and grill operators. Customers can order their hash browns scattered and smothered (with sautéed onions), covered (with melted cheese), chunked (with grilled hickory smoked ham), diced (with grilled tomatoes), peppered (with spicy jalapeño peppers), capped (with grilled button mushrooms), topped (with Bert’s Chili), or country (with sausage gravy). If you're feeling really hungry—or brave—you can go “all the way,” which means you'll get all eight toppings served on scattered hash browns.

This story was originally published in 2019; it has been updated for 2021.