For Bacon Just Like Waffle House, Buy This Common Brand

I'm from the Midwest, which means every time I go on vacation and happen to be around a Waffle House, you know I'm stopping in. I know it's just a diner chain that serves breakfast staples like eggs, endlessly customizable hashbrowns, and, of course, waffles (along with some lunch and dinner items); but there's something so delightful about the place, despite its wild reputation for being an arena where people frequently get into fights.

There aren't a lot of ways for me to replicate the Waffle House experience back in Chicago, but there is one thing I can do, which is cook the same brand of diner bacon that the chain uses for its breakfast platters. Waffle House sources its bacon from Smithfield, whose products are all produced in the United States. Smithfield is the largest pork product provider in the country, which means you can get its bacon in grocery stores seemingly anywhere. Thankfully, I don't have to worry about getting into a fistfight in my own kitchen, but at least I can simulate a Waffle House meal with this one basic staple.

Large corporations come with plenty of downsides, however, and Smithfield has had some controversies in its past. The company has been known for its unethical treatment of pigs. At one point it was discovered that its St. James, Minnesota production facility may have also violated child labor laws. The company denied knowing about this and ended up paying the state of Minnesota $2 million without having to admit any wrongdoing.

Smithfield also has a reputation for generating large amounts of pollution because raising any livestock causes literal tons of waste which needs to be managed responsibly. Capitalism and massive companies have their downsides, but when it comes to a chain restaurant having to source ingredients in mass quantities, you know places like Waffle House will inevitably have to get its breakfast pork products through the largest producer in the country. Frankly, I don't think you're really thinking about sourcing when you go to Waffle House anyway; it's just a convenient place to get simple food at any time of day. At least now you know the bacon comes from a supplier you've certainly eaten from at one point in your life.