the consensus was iHop for breakfast today (translation: double gym session). i didn't give a damn because all i wanted was delicious pancakes in my tum tum, whether we cooked them or bought em. usually when we end up in iHop we're hungover and it's "so bright in here, ugh". today i was on the up and up... turns out it's ACTUALLY just that bright in there. duly noted.
i ordered the pumpkin pancakes. odd choice, since i don't like pumpkin and all. but i've done blueberry/apple so much lately figure why not live a little, it is the iHo of pancakes.
now, the first thing i notice when i'm served that these cakes must have been poured from a guy standing on a 12-ft ladder. LOOK at those splatter marks. these are pankcakes in motion - they have a story to tell, and i only wish they could talk. they can't tho. so i eat them (after schmearing the whipped cream off... i just don't do pancakes + whipped cream, period). i have to wiggle my fork a little extra when cutting through them... uh-oh... somebunny has gotten the bottom of a pile of pre-cooked cakes in waiting. nbd, i've been in this situation before. i shrug it off and focus my attention to the sweet pumpkin cinnamon party flavors before me. cinnamon is delicious as per usual. pumpkin flavor is very mild. since i don't like pumpkin, i'm relieved, but at the same time a little disappointed as i was kinda curious. it did definitely make them more moist (i hate that word but can't think of another), and all in all, they would be on the up and up if i was eating a fresh stack of them.
my cakes came with bacon & eggs, and hashbrowns which were a surprise addition. bacon was delicious as per usual. eggs... well i don't think they were eggs at all. definite egg substitute, kinda scared of how many ingredients were involved, and can't figure out what's in them that's giving them an almost slimy finish (way too many jokes that can be made here haha). i only eat half, knowing these are probably more bad than good. next up hash browns. i'm usually a cube-hashbrown lover, but these little shredded effers had a sneak attack of onion that was just delicious. almost had a tangy hint of sour cream, but it was no where in sight. what was in sight was a massive pool of butter which was a bit unnecessary. i had to call it quits mid-serving (it was big enough for 2 anyway) as i just can't justify the calories. if i was able to ring out the butter, they'd probably go from good to great.
all in all 4 stars **** (note: this is rated on a sit down/chain QSR scale, not a standard restaurant scale). it's down & dirty breakfast food, and this one was cooked from a ladder - it doesn't get more authentic than that.
we used boxed pancake mix (it's rare we're that motivated to cook-cook on a weekend morning - i'm not gonna lie, i'm hungover a lot)... the recipe is following those box instructions, dropping in about a 1/4 cup of pumpkin filling (assuming you're cooking for 3-4 servings), a half a chopped granny smith apple, and about 2 tsp of cinnamon. we've been cooking them in butter lately... it doesn't help the calorie count, but once you get that buttery crispy crust on them you can't go back.
