Taking A Walk

by Dwayne Phillips

I love to eat at unique, small-town restaurants. I have written of some those in this series of blog posts. After those, I ate at national fast food chains. McDonald’s, the most prevalent of all fast foot chains, was the the least frequented. I liked Hardee’s best because we don’t have Hardee’s where I live in Northern Virginia. After these two types of restaurants come the national chains: Outback Steakhouse, Chili’s, Panera’s, and so on.

Given this hierarchy of food, I hate to admit that one of the best meals I ate was at a national restaurant chain – The International House of Pancakes.

I was in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and it was raining when I awoke. Sigh; it was going to be a slow morning. The rain had quit by 7 AM, but the roads were too wet for my liking, actually too wet for my biking as the tires throw road water all over me. I needed to kill an hour until 8 AM or so.

There it was – the IHOP. I go to an IHOP about two times a year. There is one thing on the menu that I order

chocolate chip pancakes

At IHOP, they don’t just put chocolate chips in the pancake batter. They put chocolate in the pancake batter as well. I think they pour chocolate syrup into the batter, but people who know something about cooking claim that such a batter would burn and not cook. I don’t know how they do it, but the chocolate chip pancakes taste like they are half chocolate syrup.

Then there is the whipped cream. The waitresses at IHOP always ask if I want the whipped cream on top of the pancakes. Are they kidding? Why do they ask this? Of course I want the whipped cream. What good are chocolate chips and chocolate syrup in pancakes without whipped cream on top – a lot of whipped cream piled high.

Then there are the flavored syrups. Ah yes, the IHOP flavors of syrup on the table. I cannot remember what they flavors are; I think strawberry is one of them. I don’t think the taste of the syrups match the label on the dispenser. That doesn’t matter – I like the taste.

Eating Procedure:

1. Put a little of the first flavor syrup on the edge of the pancakes,
2. eat that,
3. put a little of the next flavor syrup on the edge of the pancakes,
4. eat that,
5. repeat steps 3. and 4. until you have tasted all the flavors on the table,
6. go back to step 1.

This is a great way to kill an hour before walking 18 miles and then riding a bike 18 miles in the Alabama heat and humidity. A great meal to start a great day.