I wanted to post a reply to the "How do you make an omelet" thread but
could not figure out how to do it. The best omelets I've ever
personally seen made were at a chain of restaurants called Waffle
House. They're common in the South, but moving into the north as
well. (I suspect that their omelet expertise originally came from New
Orleans.) I was just overjoyed to find two in Ohio where I can stop
in while on vacation. I hadn't been in one in years.

Anyway, a chef there explained his technique to me. They use a bare
aluminum omelet pan, no non-stick coating. Each morning they season
the pan by polishing it with steel wool and then heating shortning in
it very hot, and letting it cool. I'm told this achieves a better
non-stick surface than teflon, and it lasts all day.

Being in a hurry, they don't thin their eggs with water, but they do
whip a lot of air into them with a blender. They cook in vegetable
shortning, essentially a commercial version of Crisco. They use quite
a bit of it, and a very hot flame. When the eggs go in, they puff up.
Because the pan is so non-stick, the chef can shake the pan a little
and the cooked portion will float up on top of the uncooked egg, which
runs underneath and cooks in turn. Add any toppings such as bacon or
ham, give it one flip, throw on the cheese and fold it over. It takes
an incredibly short period of time, and is untouched by human hands or
spatulas. It's an incredibly fluffy omelet.

I tried some while I was on vacation because I had access to a
thirty-year-old aluminum omelet pan, and they came out almost as good
as the ones at Waffle House. (I didn't have access to a gas burner,
alas.)

The problem is now that I'm at home, I'm having trouble finding a bare
aluminum omelet pan. Mine are non-stick, and they're not non-stick
enough. I know that from experience. I can get bare stainless steel,
but I'm not sure that it will season the way alumninum does. (Anyone
know one way or the other?) The absolute best omelet pans are copper,
but they cost an arm and a leg. Anyone know where I can get a bare
aluminum omelet pan?