Elite Event: Little Gem Waffles

Waffle and Nutella… Never go wrong with these two. I’m glad that it’s really close to where I live. actually on my way back home from school. But not something you eat everyday if you wanna keep fit ;)

TL;DR: Perfect kick off to the new year! Delicious 8 course of feast of waffles, everything from sweet to savory.
Rolled up on this delightful little establishment hidden on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley on a Monday evening. We were greeted by the owners almost immediately, who shared with us their journey to opening their own business. Was pleasantly surprised to find they had done their due diligence in Belgium in learning the delicious arts of waffle.
We were offered a bevy of drinks, and almost immediately began digging into the amazing offerings they had available. We began our feast with their classic model, just straight waffle with a light dusting of confectioners sugar. While we would be offered a number of additional tastings, even this most base of models was absolutely delightful. Light and fluffy, with just the right bit of crunch and sweetness to it. There was almost a carmelization of sugar on the outside which really was just sumptuous.
We were lead through their whole menu; given waffles with a variety of toppings: nuttela, strawberry jam w/​creamcheese sauce, cinnamon/​sugar, chocolate, and even a few with savory toppings. The collection was rounded out by one topped with bacon, and another topped with garlic/​cheese. Each was art unto itself.
To tempt our tastebuds further, they even offered samples of a variety of ice cream served in the shop. I tried the carmel toffee crunch, which didn’t quite have the flavor I was expecting, but still delicious none the less.
Stephanie was a delight as usual, and kept the party moving along nicely. I really enjoyed speaking with the owners, and overall am looking forward to many more events like this for the year!

Nothing like a cute and fun YEE to start the 2016 Elite Year! Congrats to everyone who got their 2016 badges! The owners of this cute place gave us a warm welcome and some background of how they fell in love with the belgium waffle from Japan and tried to recreate the recipe. I have never had a belgium waffle before so I was super excited!
Not knowing what I’m getting myself into, I took my first bite of my ever first belgium waffle. It was sooo good! The outer crust was crunchy while the inner dough was still soft, fluffy, and gooey. BTW they claim their secret ingredient is Belgium Peal Sugar! All of us had a 7 course of waffle, with 5 sweet and 2 savory options. My favorite sweet flavor has to be the Crème de Gem and my favorite savory flavor is no other than maple BACON. You can’t really go wrong with adding bacon to everything am I righttt? The saltiness from the bacon contrasts so well with the sweet waffle nomm it was amazing.
Cheers to another YEE celebration! All the people I met there were awesome and everybody was on the waffle high train yeah?! Yeah! I will be back. I really like how they are just the right size for a good and filling snack!

Little Gem is a new Belgian Waffle shop in Berkeley next to Moe’s Bookstore on Telegraph ave. Stephanie and Sierra organized another great YEE, and we all had a blast munching on waffles and snappig pics. This Mom and Pop shop offers very tasty waffles that include yeast as opposed to the usual batter waffle we are used to in most restaurants. The owners explained to us that they tried this style of waffle while traveling in Japan, and decided to learn how to make an authentic Belgian waffle. They traveled to Belgium and spent time learning how to make a proper yeast based waffle.
This restaurant has been a year and a half in the making, and all the hard work is showing. They offer 6 sweet waffle options and two savory ones for those people that don’t have a sweet tooth. We sampled them all, and my favorite is the «Sweet Gem» waffle that has a homemade cream cheese based whip cream and strawberry marmalade. The owners are so nice and open to suggestions to keep improving.
If youre near Cal campus, check them out to get that sweet tooth fix!

I died and went to sugar overload heaven.
The owners were really friendly and seemed genuinely enthusiastic about their product, and I can see why.
Probably the best Belgian waffles I’ve ever had. Crispy on the outside, yet soft on the inside, while perfectly warm. My favorites by far were the Speculoos, Churroffle, and Crème de Gem with strawberry marmalade. Bacon was a pleasant surprise also! Each sample was a full ¼th of a waffle, so we were STUFFED by the end.
There was free flowing pink moscato, and red wine to go with our samples. Free booze to go with food is always a plus in my book! For the non-​alcoholic drink, homemade mojitea was served. The mojitea was a little sweet for my taste (even more so because it was with sweet waffles), but the flavors were nice and I can see it being great if the sugar level was toned down a little.
Sadly I didn’t get a chance to try all of their ice cream flavors, but I will in the future.
S/​O to Steph for planning this event, helping to serve all the waffles, and just being so funny and charismatic!

The short: nice waffle tasting of all of Little Gem’s Waffles
At first, I wasn’t sure we could all fit inside this little spot. Then, as Steph encouraged us to mix and mingle, it was the right amount of space. Nobody was too far away across the room and there’s very little room to be a wallflower. I met some really awesome people and everybody is such a joy to be around!
The owners’ stories were very touching and very inspiring that they traveled all over and learned from established dessert places and their peers. Props to them for opening up a cute little place on Telegraph!
I really enjoyed their Mojitea. It was a refreshing change of taste from the waffles. And my, there were so many waffles! By the end, I was so full of waffles that I had to really squeeze the last ones in. After awhile, the waffles started tasting the same to me, at least until the savory bacon and garlic cheese came up. My favorite was the speculoos.
As an improvement for future tastings, I think the waffles could be pre-​prepped so they didn’t all come out towards the end. I know that Steph and the owners worked real hard to push them out all within an hour :)
As my first Elite event of the year and my first for the East Bay community, I enjoyed this one and am looking forward to more events this year!

Is there such thing as being waffle’d out? NEVER. At least, that’s what I thought before attending this waffle-​full party!
First, Steph is a multi-​faceted and talented lady. Hello! New server in the house serving up Mojiteas and tasty bite-​sized waffles! As always, an amazing hostess.
As for the waffles, they leave you wanting more, in a very bad way if you’re on that new-​year-​new-​you grind. #dietstartstomorrow
Each waffle has this lightly sweet layer, which they call little gems. Then they’re topped with sweet or savory toppings with a side of ice cream. It was hard to pick a favorite, but my top 3 were: Speculoos, TCHO chocolate, and Churroffle.
Oh, and for funzies, they had a photo competition that I happen to win. I take my photo challenges very seriously so this place hasn’t seen the last of me!

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a lover of all things sweet, and waffles are no exception! Chicken and waffles, waffle ice cream cones, breakfast waffles… I’ll take them ALL! That being said, Little Gem Waffles has been floating around on my radar for a bit, but before I got the chance to check them out for myself, the lovely Yo’ Steph and Sierra threw together this waffle partaayyyy for a few lucky Elites!!! So glad I got the invite to attend this shindig so HUGE shoutout to you two as well as the wonderful couple behind LGW for hosting this YEE! =]
Due to a small ubering snafu, I arrive a little late, but the first of the waffles (the original!) were just making their way through the crowd. Without any other toppings to distract from the true beauty of these Belgian waffles, the perfect caramelized crunch on these morsels really shone through. That’s the magic of the pearl sugar at work! I love that a cute little jar of these babies were on display with a little notecard explaining their starring role in making LGW waffles exceptional! One by one, all the different flavors of waffles were paraded out on trays by the ever so sweet Lady of the Shop, Janelle, while the fiancé was hard at work in the back preparing all the tasty goodness to send our way. Thank goodness each of the waffles were cut up into quarters otherwise I might not have been able to sample everything lol (and that would be a pure TRAGEDY).
All in all we got to try…
1. The original, Little Gem Signature: The amazing base upon which all the following waffles had toppings added to… chewy in the middle but solid and firm in bite… the slight crunch of sugar on the top… mhhmmm mhhmm MMHHHMMM~!
2. Churroffles: Extra cinnamon and sugar? Hell YEAYUHH! Total shoo-​in for me. =]
3. Spectacular Speculoos: There’s something about Biscoff cookie butter that screams decadance to me… the melty butteryness of the spread with the crunchy bits here ‘n there really complimented the waffle’s crunch for me… this was my winner of the night!
4. Crème de Gem + French Style Marmalade: Probably the most impressive because of the HOUSE MADE cream cheese. if you’re not looking for it, you might almost miss the slight tart of the cheese… otherwise the cream is so light, it’s almost whipped! Very, very delicious. Paired with the berry jam? Outta this world!
5. TCHO Organic milk chocolate: Classic!
6. Nutella: Dude. You can never go wrong with Nutella… esp if you throw in a whole hazelnut in there too for good measure lol
7. Bacon with organic maple glaze: Easing away from the pure sweets with a salty sweet combo… I definitely couldn’t get enough of the bacon!
8. Garlic cheese: Strong on the garlic, but not in the too-​spicy-​it-​hurts kinda way. Cheese softens the blow and it’s a perfect way to counter all the sugary waffles we had previously!
Between sampling these we got to sip on mojiteas and a variety of wines… What a night! Thanks again to everyone who helped put this event together and It was awesome to meet some new friends! ^_​_​^

Another fabulous Unilocal Elite Event made possible by an awesome business doing Belgian waffles more than mere justice. I would ask somebody to cue Mary J. Blige’s «Sweet Thing», but Little Gem had us covered on all bases, sweet AND savory! From my sweet-​themed fave Crème de Gem (don’t act like you don’t remember that strawberry marmalade and homemade cream cheese concoction) to my new go-​to savory Garlic Cheese treat, we were spoiled by the whole shebang. When Janelle and her fiancé Chow weren’t whippin’ and dippin’ hot and fresh waffles out for us, they were peddling delicious Mojiteas or graciously giving us the rundown on their Belgian waffle history.
Did I mention the champz? And I’m not talking Mayweather. The Gemstone (we’re on a nickname basis now, right?) was kind enough to provide wine and champagne in addition to their signature bevvie of choice (the Mojitea!) Not that we needed any sauce to get lost in, as the toppings on these sumptuous, surefire hits ranged from Biscoff (Belgium’s speculoos, apparently) to garlic and cheese to nutella to strawberry marmalade to organic milk chocolate to… You get the picture. As if all of this generosity weren’t enough, after having opened their doors and hearts to us, they also opened their ice cream case. Six flavors for you to choose from, if you so desired, to let get all melt-​tastic like an achy break-​y heart atop your yummy waffle. Speaking of melting and breaking hearts, right when I was sure Janelle and Chow couldn’t steal my heart any further, I’m pretty sure Mama Bear popped out from behind the scenes and her perfect presence just melted me entirely. So there. Nothing like supporting a true mom and pop joint!
The flavors we got to test drive were:
1) LG Signature
2) Churroffles
3) Crème de Gem + Strawberry Marmalade
4) Speculoos
5) TCHO milk chocolate
6) Nutella
7) Bacon
8) Garlic Cheese
My favorites were the LG Signature, the Crème de Gem + Strawberry Marmalade and the Garlic Cheese, without a doubt.
Janelle and Chow, thank you so much for your hospitality and sweetness (and I don’t just mean the waffles!) I’ll definitely be back soon.
Steph Y. Baby, thanks for organizing this sweet success and for all you do as our community roll dawg! Takin’ you up on that drink offer soon dollface

This was a really nice way to start off the New Year… by breaking my resolution! Just kidding. Actually glad that each tasting was a sample (¼ of a waffle) because after about 3 samples I was starting to get full! The owners were cranking out the delicious gems with consistant perfection. Drinks offered offset the sweetness so flavors stayed true and tastebuds didn’t go into overload. Greeted by the famous Miss. Sierra as she arrived. Seems we both went shopping at Moe’s before hand. Stephanie Y our CM started things off with her signature energetic welcome greeting and then the party took flight! We started and finished on time. So very happy to have been chosen for this fun event and made new friends while there!
I saw some reviews a week before and had already decided that I wanted to give them a try, one day. I don’t like Telegraph in that area. It’s smells. It’s dirty and parking is a (insert your favorite nasty word here). But when Unilocal offered the experience up, I had to jump!
As mentioned before by others, Little Gems is run by a really sweet, cute couple, who have a lot invested in their business. They have formal training and education. Some of it in Europe. Some of which was in Belgium to perfect the art. They picked up practical experience working other places and now they’ve compiled all that into their own masterpiece that is sure to be a recipe for success.
We were offered a generous tasting of each waffle that Little Gems has on their menu. My most favorite was… the Cheese and Garlic! Anyone who knows me would say «Whaaaa?!» because SWEET is my thing. But this was sweet, yet slightly savory and oh my sooo good! My mouth was in awe. Now I want Jalapeño’s on my Cheese and Garlic waffle. And Chipotle’! Call it the Ode to the SouthWest.
Another very close runner up was the homemade cream cheese and strawberry. And I really like the plain with powdered sugar. Very simple and very good.
I also tried the Mojitea. I tasted lemon, lime and the mint very clearly. A perfect pairing with the sweet (and savory) tasty treats and nicely refreshing.
It was fun to watch the process of the waffle making. The dough is probably made in bulk in the back of the shop. We didn’t get to see that. What I did see was little balls of precisely measured dough being brought out of a container and worked, back and forth from one had to the other to make a more perfect ball. Four dough balls are placed on the waffle maker at a time. After so many minutes, the waffle is removed with two sticks and the topping fun begins.
You can order ahead. Order 4 and get 10% off.
Seating is limited.
We made a mess of the shop, but it was clean when we got there. Sorry Little Gems! But we love you and will be back to get even fatter!

Props to Stephanie and her team for a job well done on this event! They went through two batches of East Bay Unilocal Elite Members in a span of 2 hours! Great Job, way to keep it fresh and diverse! This was my first Elite Event as an East Bay Unilocal Elite Member and I was looking forward to experiencing it and meeting people.
I was a little late to the event, you know. parking in Berkeley! Ha Ha! But immediately upon entry into Little Gem, there was a fun vibe, sounds of laughter and chatter, and the smells, yummy! You could tell the waffles were going to be delicious! Good Energy!
There were 8 waffles served, here was the lineup:
LG Signature, Churroffles, Crème de Gem + Strawberry Marmalade, Speculoos, TCHO Organic milk chocolate, Nutella, Bacon and Garlic Cheese. Each sampler was served up warm, soft and deliciously sweet and tasty. Both the sweet waffles and the savory ones were good. IMHO!
There were also beverages available, I was given the mojitea to try, it was a really good flavor mix of tart, sweet and mint!
Little Gem, is just that, a little gem! It’s a small mom and pop shop, steps away from Peet’s Coffee on the corner of Dwight and Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley. It also neighbors Pieology Pizzeria. It’s a different and great little dessert place, their prices are really reasonably priced, if you are looking for a new type of dessert or dessert place to try, I would definitely recommend this place!

I was really excited for this event because I have such a huge sweet tooth! I am so glad I was able to try out all eight sweet and savory waffles!
The owners were such great hosts and did their best in serving us with tea, mojitea, and waffles! It’s a small shop but they accommodated everyone to the best of their abilities. The atmosphere here is great, especially when you smell all the delicious waffles being made right before your eyes. We got to choose our favorites and one will be will named the elite’s choice! I’m really excited to see which one was picked.
The waffles here are fantastic! They were all so fluffy, so delicious! My top three definitely had to be the churroffle, the TCHO, and the strawberry marmalade! It was really hard to choose my favorites because I love them all! I was so full just by sampling a piece of each flavor.
It was a great event to start 2016! It was nice seeing old Unilocalers and meeting new faces. Thanks Stephanie and Little Gem for a delicious event!

Little Gem waffles is a hidden gem! Even it’s far from where I live, I drove and have to make sure I will get a bite of this interesting and sounds very delicious waffles and event. Unilocal made it happened, thanks to awesome Stephanie Yo! for this delicious event, the energy of Ms. Sierra and of course the sweet and lovely owner, and their mom behind the scene!
My first and love bite and a favorite was the signature Belgian waffle. Oh my, I felt the butterfly in my tummy when I had it. Second to that is the cookie butter and Tcho. Coffee was good too, perfect for every waffle bite that has been served.
I really had a great time with this event. Watching the owners how they worked together, prepared the waffles, and to make sure that Elite Unilocalers were happy was very comforting. Way to go Little Gem!

Coffee and sugar, I don’t think I will be going to bed any time soon. This definitely has been the closest I have tasted to a fresh Belgium waffle outside out of Belgium (see happy waffle profile pic). The Little Gem original waffle is completely delicious on its own but the additional toppings take the waffle to a whole other level.
Bacon! Adding bacon to anything is going to make it bacon (you know what I mean) bacon. Garlic and cheese was a perfect pairing with the bacon waffle. I was more in to the unexpected savory side of the waffles, but my favorite sweet waffle was the original and the crème and strawberries.
The owners are too cute, super nice, friendly and welcoming. Definitely a mom and pop joint, with the owner’s mom working in the back!
It was great having an elite only event and meeting some new faces. Thanks Steph for introducing me to a new sweet treat on telegraph.

Hooray for Unilocal events! Had a fun time at this event tasting delicious Belgian waffles and meeting some fellow Unilocal Elites.
This «little gem» of a waffle shop is as mom and pop as it gets. The owners were sweet and their waffles are even sweeter. Well… most of them. We got to try 8 different varieties of their waffles that included two savory ones too! They also had ice cream to go along with the waffles and we got to try some mojitea. It was a bit gingery and a bit citrusy and really refreshing. By the end, I was all waffle’d out. But it was totally worth it because the waffles were SOOO good. They’ve got that fresh crisp on the outside but are somehow magically fluffy on the inside. My favorite one was the Crème de Gem with the strawberry marmalade. It was amazing and I would absolutely come back to get it again.
Shouts out to Stephanie for hosting a great event to start off the new year! :]

Many thanks to Little Gem Waffles and Stephanie for rolling out a great first YEE of 2016. I am fortunate to be able to join in on the sugary fun! As we waited for our waffles, we chatted and discussed all things pertaining to food and vacation, haha. The duo in charge kept us happy with hot tea, wine, pink moscato, and a tasty mojitea (my personal fave drink of the night!) It only took about ten minutes for the sultry scent of steaming hot waffles to fill the shop.
Little Gem is a pint-​sized palace of petite waffle treats served with various sweet and savory toppings. We got to try eight different waffles: LG signature (simple + sweet), churroffles (think churro waffle), Crème de Gem and Strawberry Marmalade (personal fave), Speculoos (Belgian cookie spread — this one tasted different than the Trader Joe’s kind I’m accustomed to, but still amazing!), TCHO milk chocolate (So decadent. So good.), Nutella and walnut (Mmm, love the added walnut on top), maple bacon (Reminded me of those PDX donuts), and garlic cheese (Surprisingly tasty)!
At the conclusion of our fanciful feast, we rated our top three waffles. The top waffle among all the Unilocal Elite votes will be displayed as the « Unilocal Elite Favorite» from here on out at Little Gem. =D We’re making history here, guys.
Glad to have met you all! See you at the next YEE!

What a fantastic, generous, and social Unilocal event! Such a wonderful group of Unilocalers! So intimate and delicious — my favorite word pairing in life. I’m totally taking a date here for more intimate and delicious times in the future.
Everything was delish but the savories were a standout and the Crème de Gem was amazing!!! I could order anything here and have a blast eating.
I’m so full! I had two or three pieces of everything and all those calories were worth it.
The hosts were so welcoming and kind. I loved their story. What a fantastic place!
Thanks Stephanie Y for organizing this. It went so smoothly. Wine, ice cream, waffles — you know Unilocalers so well.

We vote for the top 3 of the 8 waffle samples we’re served!
1) LG Signature
2) Churroffles
3) Crème de Gem + Strawberry Marmalade
4) Speculoos
5) TCHO milk chocolate
6) Nutella
7) Bacon
8) Garlic Cheese
In addition, there are 6 types of ice cream. As for drinks, there are homemade mojitea, wine, champagne, Numi tea, and coffee.
This is a tiny mom and pop shop. The two chefs, Janelle and Chow (hope I spelled their names right!) studied baking in Belgium and also studied from the famous Taiwanese bakery 85C.
The waffles are so fresh and smell AMAZING. Both savory and sweet, and like breakfast heaven! What a great Unilocal event to start 2016!

Can I just say that this has been the best elite event I’ve ever been to? Even though this was my 2^nd one: P …
Good vibes all around, everyone was talking and nomming on some delicious waffles ! Thank you to Little Gem for generously having us and for being such a sweet couple and loved seeing mama back there helping out ! I wish you much success and a bright future!
The waffles were mind blowing, i wasn’t sure how the savories were going to work for me but they were actually tasty and I loved the garlic and cheese. Bacon one definitely needed something, some maple drizzle up in there ?? I think hell yea ! I hope everyone tried the cookie butter one, my fave !
Thank you Stephanie for hosting this and being super awesome as always, hope to see you nom on these waffles after your paleo diet. Good luck love !
It was amazing meeting everyone, 8 o’clock rotation threw it down ! ;D

Thanks to Stephanie and Sierra of Unilocal and the staff here for hosting a très delish 8 course waffle tasting. My favorites included the garlic cheese (quite meal-​worthy as an entire waffle), the Nutella with actual hazelnuts added in, and the TCHO chocolate — so authentic, you can taste the TCHO flavor right away.
Lots of folks mentioned wanting to see a chicken-​and-​waffles dish. In fact, why not go a step further and offer all sorts of proteiny toppings, like teriyaki chicken or Korean-​style BBQ, all in waffle sandwiches, no less?
The owners were sweet and so accommodating, and it’s worth noting that the concept was inspired by the Manneken waffle shop in Tokyo, which I’ve bookmarked here on Unilocal.
With respect to the lone one-​star review here, MAX K. IS A HATER!!! ‘NUFF SAID.
Also, nothing beats Korbel and chardonnay in paper cups. Livin’ the high life as a Unilocal Elite! #winning