I ordered the same meal from Waffle House and IHOP, and the winner had tasty food for a cheaper price

I liked being able to see the inside of Waffle House through its floor-to-ceiling windows. The restaurant was full with only a few seats left.

I noticed that a fun mix of classic rock and top hits were playing, including the new Jonas Brothers song, "Waffle House."

Waffle House's All-Star Special offers all of my favorite breakfast foods — eggs cooked to order, toast, grits or hash browns, your choice of meat, and a waffle.

I ordered scrambled eggs, cinnamon-swirl toast, hash browns, bacon, and a plain waffle, which cost me $14.50 including tax.

I also ordered a cup of plain coffee for $3.

My meal came out fast and pipping hot, so I could tell it wasn't sitting around for long. The portions were so large that it was served on three separate plates.

The coffee was good but strong, so I mixed in cream and sugar to make it more to my liking.

I usually prefer big pockets in my waffles that I can fill with lots of butter and syrup, but the one from Waffle House had much smaller squares.

The waffle was dense when I cut into it, but after a bite, I was surprised by how tasty it was.

Fortunately, Waffle House provides shareable bottles of syrup. I don't prefer syrup on my waffles, so I liked that I could leave it off to the side. There was also individually wrapped butter, which I appreciated because I tend to use a lot of it.

My plate came with a large portion of scrambled eggs, which were seasoned well and not runny at all.

Although the waffle is supposed to be the star at Waffle House, the cinnamon-swirl toast was definitely the highlight of my meal.

The toast came pre-buttered and with a packet of apple butter, which was a nice pop of flavor.

I received three long pieces of crispy bacon that were cooked very well.

Although the bacon strips tasted really salty, they balanced out the sweetness of the cinnamon-swirl toast.

I opted for plain hash browns in my combo because potatoes are my favorite breakfast side.

I thought the hash browns – cooked to a perfect golden brown — needed more seasoning, but since the bacon was so salty, I decided to just eat the two in alternating bites.

Overall, I enjoyed my breakfast at Waffle House, and the large portions were equitable to the price I paid.

In the future, I'd add toppings like chocolate chips or pecans to the waffle or onions and jalapeños to my hash browns for more flavor.

The outside of IHOP wasn't anything special — it looked like a standard chain restaurant. The inside seemed to have a low-energy environment when I visited, which I wasn't a fan of.

There wasn't any music playing and it was pretty quiet, though I was still optimistic about the food.

I ordered the Belgian Waffle Combo, which included two eggs cooked to your preference, two pieces of bacon or sausage, and a waffle. I added a side of hash browns but skipped the toast since the restaurant didn't offer a cinnamon flavor.

The meal cost me $15.50 including tax.

I also paid $4 for a plain coffee. In my opinion, it wasn't great and it seemed to taste burnt. Even cream and sugar didn't make me like it much. After a few sips, I asked the waiter for a glass of water instead.

I was pleasantly surprised by Waffle House's waffle, so I was excited to try one at IHOP, even though the chain is most famous for its pancakes. Waffles seemed similar enough.

This Belgian waffle was too big for the plate it was served on, which also included the eggs and bacon. It had large pockets to soak up the syrup and came with pre-dolloped butter.

After spreading the butter, I took a big bite only to find that my waffle had a somewhat grainy consistency. I didn't love it.

On the plate, my scrambled eggs looked nice and fluffy.

I didn't really care for the flavor of the eggs and they kind of reminded me of the precooked ones you might get on a breakfast sandwich at a drive-through.

The best part about bacon is its crispy texture, but at IHOP I was given two pieces of bacon that I wish had been cooked longer. The pieces I was given were small and mostly hidden by the other sides.

The bacon had a nice smoky taste without being too salty, but the portion size left me disappointed.

I thought that the hash browns from IHOP were a bit bland. Parts of the side dish were well-cooked and soft with a crispy edge, but other areas didn't seem to be cooked evenly.

I definitely preferred Waffle House's hash browns, which seemed to have their crispiness evenly distributed.

For me, Waffle House was the winner because of its overall presentation and the quality of its food.

I thought Waffle House had the better waffle, eggs, hash browns, and bacon. The meal definitely lived up to its All-Star name.

I was also surprised the same meal at IHOP cost me $4 more than Waffle House despite having smaller portions.