IHOP, 2020 & 2021

This year, 2020, my birthday pancakes were a very, very different experience.  Summer of 2020, the year of COVID.  Dining in and feasting on pancakes was not in order, and IHOP relaxed the conditions of their coupons to allow for takeout, something I've long wished for.  Thus, my first IHOP takeout review.

But as you know, IHOP is home of what were once (can still have potential to be) my favorite pancakes.  If you'd like to catch up on past reviews, see 2012 and 2013 where I got combos with Harvest Grain N' Nut or Whole Wheat Pancakes, more Harvest Grain N' Nut pancakes in 2014, Raspberry White Chocolate Chip and Chocolate Chip in 2015, Red Velvet and Double Blueberry in 2016, Cinn-a-Stack and more Double Blueberry in 2017, Mexican Tres Leches and MORE double blueberry in 2018, and Italian Cannoli in 2019.

August 2020

Takeout was not the only difference this time around.  I also was in ... New Hampshire.  Not San Francisco.  I haven't visited an IHOP not in San Francisco since I was in grad school, in Virginia, where I originally learned about IHOP.  I was amazed they even had a few in New Hampshire, although none were remotely near where I grew up and where my parents live.

The summer of COVID I went to stay with my parents for a few weeks, er, months, to get away from the full lockdown of San Francisco, take advantage of the unique opportunity to be able to work remotely, and enjoy some real summer, some fresh air, and, you know, to see my family.

When my free birthday pancakes coupon cake, I assumed I would miss out, but then mom and I planned a trip to Southern NH, about 1.5 hours away, to visit Trader Joes (and a few other errands, like, you know, mandatory ice cream at King Kone, and IHOP was literally 1 mile from Trader Joe's, on the same road, on the way to/from the highway.  I had no choice but to stop and pick up some pancakes right?  Sure, it was late afternoon, we had a full lunch and had literally just come from ice cream, but I went to get my free pancakes, bring them home, and freeze them, as I know they freeze beautifully, and I'd really appreciate having IHOP goodness on hand.

The experience was generally a delight.  I called in my order when we were checking out of Trader Joe's, and was quoted 10-15 mins, perfect to allow us to actually finish checking out, load up our multiple grocery carts full of bounty (!!), and get to IHOP.  It was ready when I arrived, the staff were *insanely* friendly, wishing me happy birthday, etc.  Oh, and they let me order a split stack, rather than full stack of all the same kind, when I wanted to "take a risk" and try the new limited special (Crème Brûlée) but also wanted my classic favorites (Double Blueberry).  SF locations used to allow this, but stopped long again.

Only flaw is that I asked for toppings all on the side, intending to freeze them, and one stack came slathered in topping, kinda ruining that plan.  And neither stack came with the whipped cream it should.  But, overall, a very, very successful trip, and I was thrilled that I had decided to stop.

Limited Edition FRENCH CRÈME BRÛLÉE PANCAKES 1/2 Stack. $5.99.

"Two buttermilk pancakes layered with vanilla Crème Brûlée custard cream, caramelized sugar crystals & crowned with whipped topping."

Crème Brûlée.  Oh yes.  One of my favorite things, hence the label on my blog dedicated to it.  How would that translate into pancakes?  Well, I was skeptical, particularly as the only reviews I could find were about how awful it was, but hey, I did a split stack, I could take the risk.

I opened my box and ... was quite annoyed.  I asked for the toppings on the side, very intentionally, so that I could just freeze the buttermilk pancakes, and because I was about to drive 1.5 hours, and wanted to put the custard into my cooler.  The top had the visible custard you can see here, but also, between the pancakes, was tons of custard.  Doh.

The caramelized sugar crystals *were* on the side, and the whipped topping?  Missing.  Sigh.  

Anyway.  I had no choice but to eat them, right then, even though I had literally just come from getting a massive ice cream cone at King Kone (the BEST soft serve ... ever!).

Did these really remind me of crème brûlée?  Um, no.  Did the custard remotely resemble crème brûlée?  Uh, not really.  It was thick, gloopy, very fake, very heavy, custard, rather indistinguishable from a high fat store bought pudding.  I like pudding though, so not a bad thing entirely.  The consistency was absolutely not like that of a real crème brûlée.  It had no particular flavor, but was not too sweet at least (but definitely sweet).  No vanilla or depth to it, but not bad.  And it obviously had no crisp top, although I believe that is what the caramelized sugar crystals were supposed to represent (which were just rock solid in my container, not sure what happened there, but they were a solid lump mass, not individual crystals).  

Pudding on top of pancakes was just a bit ... odd.  I can't say this dish was successful as a pancake concept, but I did kinda like the topping as just pudding in a strange way, and ended up scraping it all off, and using it with fruit and whipped cream at home for a pudding cup.

The pancakes were fine, regular IHOP buttermilk pancakes, seemed better at this location than in San Francisco actually, although were a bit soggy from being in the takeout container.  And I really wanted some syrup with them (which, IHOP provided of course).

So overall, I was still glad I tried this variety, I got some basic pancakes and a pudding to use for a dessert out of it.  I wouldn't get again, can't endorse as anything really like crème brûlée, and wouldn't call high quality in any way.

The full stack comes with 4, is 940 calories, 42 g of fat, and 55g sugar!!! Even the 1/2 stack clocks in 500 calories, less than half of which is the pancakes themselves.  Those toppings add up!

Double Blueberry Pancakes. Half-Stack. $5.99.

"Double the blueberries, double the taste! Two fluffy buttermilk pancakes filled with blueberries & topped with blueberry compote."

For these, the blueberry compote did come on the side, so, one point for that.  As always, I loved it ... as sweet blueberry goo to use on ice cream later.  And like the other stack, the whipped cream was missing (it usually is included, even though not listed in the description.

But the pancakes were still a delight, loaded with blueberries, well dispersed.  

Very classic IHOP for me, my regular favorites, and I will keep getting them over and over.  Definite success.

Syrups!

When I asked if my order included syrups, they let me know that regular syrup was already in the bag (along with cutlery), but asked if I'd like any others, and rattled off the lineup (which I'm quite familiar with).  I said "yes!" and they laughed and said "all of them?" And I said "yup!  If that is ok?" And they laughed again and said of course it was, returning with another small bag, which contained 6 containers.  None were labelled, so, I had to kinda guess which was which.  The classic syrup I was originally provided came in sealed packages with a label, and my bag had 4 of those.

So here we had Strawberry, Blueberry, Butter Pecan, 2 each, none of the Old Fashioned that is normally on the tables (presumably that is the same as the packaged one).

The syrups always somewhat delight me, and somewhat repulse me, and this was no different.  They all have their place in life, at certain times, and I'm happy to have them in my fridge now to drizzle on things.

May 2021

For National Pancake Day in 2021, IHOP got creative, rather than one day only, dine-in only, as in the past, they offered all rewards members a stack sometime in the month of April, and both dine-in and takeout were options (or delivery, although delivery fees applied).  The free stack was limited to just the original buttermilk pancakes, short stack only, unlike other promos where you can apply the value of said short stack to another product, and just pay the difference.  

I obviously adore IHOP pancakes, given my copious previous reviews, even the plain buttermilk ones, so I was excited to get my freebies.  I ordered my pancakes in advance, at the end of April to catch the freebie, for the first weekend in May.

IHOP Original Buttermilk Pancakes - (Short Stack). $10.59.

"A true breakfast classic that started it all. Get three of our fluffy, world-famous buttermilk pancakes topped with whipped real butter."

The short stack at IHOP is 3 pancakes (combos meals come with 2, full stack is 5).  The pancakes are quite large, easily 2x the size of the kind of pancakes most people make at home.

Unlike my usual orders of extravagantly topped/filled pancakes, these ones came quite simply: just, well, a stack of pancakes.  And since I ordered takeout, they came with generic packets of butter and IHOP branded syrup.  Very different from the dine-in experience with fluffy whipped copious amounts of butter, and the signature syrup caddy filled with flavored syrups (I wonder if they still have that during COVID times?).

Plain as they were, my pancakes were everything I wanted them to be.  Fluffy.  Perfectly cooked, moist inside, not burnt, not over nor under done.  Just, well, perfect, classic IHOP execution.  I loved the slight buttermilk tang.

Basic pancakes, yes, but so nicely done.  Sorry folks, I know they are a big chain restaurant, but I really truly like these pancakes.

****, and I'll continue to get these (although I do prefer the blueberry ones, and do enjoy trying their ridiculous toppings).

A short stack is a bit pricey at $10.59 normally, but only because it seems like a "mini" meal ... when in reality, it is plenty of pancake.  Regular buttermilk pancakes are also available as a full stack, 5 pancakes, for only $1.20 more, or as part of a combo, as most IHOP meals are, with hash browns, eggs, etc, etc.