The Waffle is The Brite Spot, with booze

Exhibit A: The tastiest thing I ate at The Waffle last night. Fried chicken, sawmill gravy, collards and a cornmeal-jalapeno waffle.

There's been a lot of Waffle controversy, for reasons I don't really understand. Some say it's the Gavin Polone problem (the investor's management-production company is Pariah); there could be a Scooter Kanfer-Cartmill backlash because her talents have teased LA for so long.

I can't subscribe to either theory because they're both silly. So here's my issue, such as it is: The Waffle is a diner with an identity crisis. Upstairs is a sleek little bar, one that serves (too-sweet, but nicely zingy) maple-ginger martinis:

Downstairs is a restaurant that looks like the very essence of Diner-ness.

 

In between are a lot of waffles (of course). Some are topped with lemon curd and blueberries; some are studded with bacon. They're good, if on the small side. (Two four-inch-square waffles are $7.) There's vegan chili (good) and vegan Reubens (fine but dull). You can get a shot of liquor in your chocolate shake. And there's a small wine list, but it turns out that wine feels like a weird thing to drink when you're in a restaurant that carries the scent of... well, diner.

For all the love that Kanfer-Cartmill wants to lavish on meat-free eating (Polone's a vegetarian), I'd like the Waffle to give M Cafe a run for its money. For all of the partners' creativity and passion, I'd like to dodge deja vu. (That may be the inevitable result of confronting another mac and cheese. The Waffle's is good, as you might expect with Hook's cheddar, Gruyere and Fontina, but everyone needs to give it a rest.) But all of that may be too much to ask from a fully liquor-licensed restaurant that's open 22 hours a day.

The menu reminds me a lot of Echo Park's 24-hour pre-/post-hangover hangout, the Brite Spot. And I like the Brite Spot well enough, but I'd like the Waffle more if that wasn't the ready comparison.

The Waffle, 6255 Sunset Blvd. (323) 465-6901. Open Sunday – Thursday 6:30 a.m. – 2:30 a.m.; Friday and Saturday 6:30 a.m. – 4:30 a.m.