Things are getting Waffullicious at IHOP

This week I reached out for a Bac 'n' Cheddar Waffle at America's No. 1 flapjack flipper, IHOP, with 1,632 breakfast barns stretched coast to coast, plus Alaska and Hawaii … oh, and D.C.

Sure, the "P" in IHOP stands for "pancakes," but waffles, the unsung hero of the breakfast buffet, were on the menu when the first IHOP opened in 1958 in Toluca Lake, Calif. They sold like … hot cakes. Waffles have been a steady presence ever since.

Toluca Lake, hey, that's where Bob Hope lived. And Ronald and Nancy Reagan had their wedding reception.

Here's the Bac 'n' Cheddar Waffle breakdown: an iconic IHOP Belgian waffle with hickory-smoked bacon crumbles and Cheddar cheese goop baked inside, then topped with more bacon. Butter and syrup to taste. Serves one.

Total calories: 820. Fat grams: 48. Sodium: 1,640 mg. Carbs: 62 g. Dietary fiber: 3 g. Protein: 3 g. Manufacturer's suggested retail price: $6.99.

You can upgrade to an Ultimate Bacon 'n' Cheddar Breakfast, which tacks on two eggs any style, breakfast meat and hash browns. That will cost you $9.99 and a total of 1,350 calories and 98 fat grams.

The Bac 'n' Cheddar Waffle has two of nature's three most potent flavor boosters: butter and bacon make anything better. The only missing powerhouse ingredient is cinnamon - right, "Seinfeld" fans? And a shaker of ground cinnamon sugar is only a pretty please away at IHOP.

Waffles, bacon, cheese and butter … this is almost cheating. No wonder Pizza Hut is obsessed with hiding bacon and cheese in its crust. It's like finding buried treasure. And you don't have to take your gold and silver doubloons to a TV pawn shop where the Old Man nickels and dimes you. Less Old Man, more Chumlee, got it, A&E?

The Bac 'n' Cheddar Waffle is part of IHOP's unleashing of Waffullicious Waffles - new twists on the traditional classic.

Hey, the way Scrabble is letting new words that aren't really words into the game, you may be on the receiving end of 24 points for "waffullicious."

The other waffle in the first wave of Waffullicious Waffles - there will be more - is Blueberry Cheesecake, with plump berries and chunks of real cheesecake inside the waffle. Pour a little blueberry compote on top and you're blurring the line between breakfast, dessert and the dentist. Plus, you'll have nice blue teeth unless you sneak a quick brushing in the IHOP restroom.

I do that. I know, it looks nerdy. So stop looking.

When people ask me to rank my fast-food favorites, I have to explain, "I give points to places that make their food better than I can make it at home."

Obviously, you can make a better burger in your backyard than McDonald's serves. You can make a better roast beef sandwich than Arby's delivers. You can make better tacos than Taco Bell.

But you can't make a better waffle than IHOP. They have professional grade, cast-iron waffle makers. They have an array of syrups. They have huge ice cream scoops for their room-temp butter. They can make several waffles at the same time, so the first one doesn't get cold waiting for the second one to cook.

Most important, the HOP has the time and talent to think up Bac 'n' Cheddar Waffles.