Waffle House is an interstate fast food legend; the familiar yellow sign and coffee shop-like interior have attracted millions of hungry travelers since 1955.

But one of the mysteries of the food universe, at least to New Jerseyans on National Waffle Day (and, really, every day) is: Why are there no Waffle House locations in the Garden State?

"The reason is simple,'' says Waffle House spokesman Pat Warner, who definitely didn't waffle in an interview Thursday with NJ.com. "We haven't gotten there yet. There's no strategy for not going to New Jersey. We're in 25 states and we're slowly growing. We're slowly moving out our footprint.''

Yet there are 11 in Pennsylvania and three in Delaware -- what makes them so special and worthy of Waffle Houses before us?

"That's the tail end of Waffle House Nation,'' Warner says of Pennsylvania and Delaware locations. "If you go south of there you'll find many more.''

Indeed, the chain's footprint is solidly planted down South. Of the 1870 Waffle House locations in 25 states, 381 are in Georgia (300 in the metropolitan Atlanta region alone!). Another 716 are in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and Louisiana. All Waffle House locations are open 24/7 every day of the year.

We're left to drown our sorrows in syrup, but at least New Jersey is not alone in being excluded from Waffle House Nation. There are no locations in New York, New England or California, either.

Yet hope is not all lost. While there are no current plans to expand to New Jersey, Warner didn't rule it out.

"It would be a great fit; we have great fans up there,'' he said. "Waffle House would do very well up there."

Like a true Southerner, he added, "We'll get there when we get there.''

Peter Genovese may be reached at pgenovese@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PeteGenovese or via The Munchmobile @NJ_Munchmobile. Find the Munchmobile on Facebook and Instagram.