Waffles Cafe is to breakfast what Willy Wonka was to candy

How many ways can you use a waffle? At Waffles Cafe, the humble breakfast cousin of the pancake transcends just the morning meal, serving as a pizza crust and bread for a sandwich.

But let’s start with the reason most people probably visit Waffles Cafe: breakfast. If you’re going the traditional route, you can create your own waffle by first selecting a batter (original, oat, organic flax, chocolate, pumpkin or gluten-free) and whether you want a single or double order. Next, add sweet toppings, which are 75 cents each — coconut, peanut butter, chocolate sauce and Nutella, to name a few — as well as fruit toppings ($1.50 each).

There are also three house special waffles to choose from: Banana Split ($7.69), Short Cake Split ($8.45) and The Sweet P ($7.95), which is what I had: a pumpkin waffle topped with apple pie filling, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, caramel and cinnamon. It was sweet indeed, but not overpoweringly so: the pumpkin flavor was subtle and worked well with the apple. If you’re more of a savory breakfast person, you will want to save this one for dessert.

On the savory side, Waffles Cafe has waffle sandwiches, including a breakfast sandwich with ham, bacon, egg, shredded cheese and house sauce served between waffles. Breakfast sides are $2 each and feature hash browns, turkey link sausage, pork sausage, bacon, eggs your way and wheat toast — although why you would bother with bread when you can have a waffle is beyond me.

The beverage menu features juice, coffee, hot tea, boba tea, shakes and smoothies (you can request to have boba added). I had a honeydew smoothie with boba. The man who brought it to me had me sample it to make sure the sweetness was to my liking, and it was light, melony and fresh-tasting. Other smoothie flavors include lychee, peach, kiwi, mango, watermelon and avocado.

The atmosphere here is straight-up family joint — on the Sunday morning I visited, it was packed with parents and kids. Service is casual: You order at the counter, pay and your order is brought to you on extra-sturdy paper plates with plastic cutlery. Full disclosure: I visited only the Centennial Hills location (there’s also one in Aliante across the street from Nature Discovery Park), which had plenty of seating but was a little steamy on the day I visited because it seemed the air conditioning was not working. An oscillating fan provided a bit of relief, but several customers remarked on the humidity upon entering.

Menu prices average around $10, and smoothies are $3.99 for a medium and $4.99 for a large.

Waffles Cafe is open daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.