This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

How Syrups Stack Up at IHOP

Contributor Harmon Leon tries to see if he can eat IHOP pancakes drenched in all their syrups.

How can you not love ?

It's the almighty International House of Pancakes. (That means they serve a wide variety of pancakes and not that their buildings are constructed out of flapjacks.)

Hating IHOP is like hating America. Or hating freedom. Or hating puppies and rainbows (or something like that).

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

That why I decided to make a lunch stop to IHOP on El Camino Real—for the love of pancakes.

My challenge for the day: Go to IHOP and see if I could finish an entire stack of  pancakes drenched in all their legendary syrups—blueberry, old fashioned, strawberry and boysenberry—and see if I could avoid going into a sugar coma.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

I'm seated at a large booth by the window. Next to the wall are the four colored syrup dispensers. The lunch hour IHOP crowd is very popular with old people—old people who like pancakes.

"I'll have a short-stack!" I say to the waitress, who tried to push the new waffle-and-chicken combo.

"Do you want two or four pancakes?" she asks, regarding my short-stack request of chocolate chip pancakes.

"Can I get three pancakes?" I question, trying to buck the system.

An uncomfortable silence occurs. Then, she says, "I'll check with my manager."

Request vetoed. I am only allowed an even number of pancakes.

Once the chocolate chip pancakes arrive, it's on with the syrup. I coat my pancakes with large portions of each colored syrup, favoring heavily on the blueberry. (I read somewhere that IHOP is phasing out their boysenberry syrup.)

I'm in luck. Boysenberry is still in the syrup station. Bless you boysenberry, bless you.

My pancakes now look like a Jackson Pollack painting.

The best way to eat pancakes with four different types of syrup is to finish it very  quickly—don't dwell on the task at hand. Each fork full is sweeter than the last.

Upon finishing, I feel like a 7-year-old kid on a sugar high. I just want to run around the restaurant until this feeling goes away. Regardless, IHOP pancakes never disappoint.

Thanks, IHOP. And remember: We love boysenberry. Don't phase it out!

Download the movie

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?