By Tyler Allen EBS Managing Editor
BIG SKY – If you search the hashtag #bubblewaffle on Instagram you’ll find more than 80,000 posts, and #eggwaffle will return nearly another 40,000 photos and videos.
The origins of the bubble waffle are difficult to track down, but the airy egg and flour pastry was likely invented in Hong Kong, before sweeping parts of East Asia and eventually migrating to metropolitan areas of the U.S. and beyond.
But now you don’t have to leave Big Sky to find this exotic treat, since the coffee shop in Big Sky Resort’s Mountain Mall added Mogul Waffle to its food menu during the second week of January. With both sweet and savory batter, and myriad topping options available, it’s an appealing calorie load for resort visitors looking for something different to fuel their day on the hill.
Instead of a classic waffle iron that leaves hollow squares in the batter of the breakfast staple, a bubble waffle iron creates round, steam-filled pockets. The waffle is then folded into a cone that can hold any number of toppings.
“It’s like an inverted waffle, but instead of depressions it has bubbles,” said Tom Nolan, Big Sky Resort’s director of food and beverage. “We’re very excited to have it. It’s fun, it’s new and it’s different.”
Customers can build their own creations with toppings like Nutella hazelnut cocoa spread, peanut butter, fresh whipped cream, yogurt and warm apples. Or they can choose from specialty waffle combos like the Daffy—with marshmallow, milk chocolate sauce, graham cracker crumbles and powdered sugar—or the King of the Hill, which comes filled with peanut butter, banana and crispy bacon.
According to Nolan, resort management wanted a waffle stand to diversify the food options offered at the ski area, and Executive Chef Wilson Wieggel found the bubble waffle craze in his research. The savory batter is made from a seven-grain, Montana-made batter with added quinoa and chia, Nolan said.
The coffee shop also has a new look showcasing the Mogul Waffle branding, which was designed by the Outlaw Partners, publisher of EBS.
The waffles take approximately three minutes to cook, making them a grab-and-go alternative to the breakfast sandwich withering under a heat lamp on your way to first chair.
“[They] offer a quick, delicious to-go option to fuel skiers and riders who want to get quickly out on the slopes,” said Big Sky Resort Public Relations Manager Chelsi Moy.
Mogul Waffles are served from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, in the Mountain Mall coffee shop across from the Hungry Moose Market and Deli.
