My brother-in-law swears by his #8 Griswold Waffle Iron. He uses a recipe from the American Woman's cookbook circa 1942, p. 133 which is pretty straight forward.

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsps. baking powder
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. shortening (he uses Crisco), melted

Mix the flour, salt and baking powder together. Add the milk gradually, then the eggs, beaten lightly. Finally add the melted shortening. Make sure both sides of the waffle iron are hot and that it is well greased. After baking each waffle, let the iron heat a minute, before putting in batter for the next.

Jim gave me a link to ebay for purchasing a Griswold but I haven't done so yet. The iron is placed on a gas burner and can achieve great heat. Jim claims that this heat level is what produces the crisp waffles we seek. I believe he is right.

Almost all the waffles I make or order disappoint me. I expect them to be uniformly golden brown, as crisp as an ice cream cone on the outside and tender and flavorful on the inside. In restaurants, they are frequently brown enough but thin and never quite crisp. My own are often mottled in color, limp and doughy inside.

The ideal waffle should taste like pancake but have a slightly buttery flavor with perhaps just a touch of vanilla aroma. The crust should shatter lightly under the fork. Atop such a heavenly creation, one should not pour maple syrup which will instantly ruin the texture. Instead, if syrup is necessary, each crisp forkful should be dipped quickly just before placing it in the mouth. Or preferably another topping should be chosen such as a compote -apricot, strawberry or raspberry which will perch on the top, adding wonderful complimentary flavor, but no damage to the texture. Fresh sliced strawberries, just slightly sweetened would also be delightful. The worst insult one can cause to a light, crisp waffle is application of the dreaded "strawberry topping" ala IHOP, that gooey pile of mushy red corn syrup, cloyingly sweet and sickeningly sticky. And then, quelle horreur, in many restaurants this abomination is topped with a pile of pseudo whipped cream. It's ugly, excessive in calories and sweetness and tastes terrible.

I will not waffle on this position.