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Back in the mid-to-late 1970s, my first real job was that of busboy and dishwasher at the former West Hartford, Connecticut, International House of Pancakes (IHOP) restaurant.
For several decades, a traditional, Swiss-chalet-style IHOP was situated at the corner of New Britain Avenue and South Main Street in West Hartford.
Getting hired at that IHOP was almost a rite of passage for many West Hartford teenagers and young adults, especially residents of the Elmwood section of town. Working there was actually a lot of fun, and I went back to work there again, after completing a chef-apprentice program.
Earlier this year, when I read that IHOP was opening a new restaurant in West Hartford in 2022, I was thrilled. Countless times, I had wondered if the chain would reopen in West Hartford, and I looked forward to ordering chocolate chip pancakes, French toast, blueberry pancakes and boysenberry syrup.
Not Your 1970's and 1980's IHOP
Located on Kane Street in West Hartford, Connecticut, the new IHOP is housed in the former home of the Gold Roc Diner. The exterior has a modern look, and the interior is bright and fairly large.
When I visited, the new restaurant had only been open for a couple of weeks, so it hadn't really formed a personal atmosphere yet. There were lots of uniformed employees running around, and the manager was clearly overseeing the operation, from the cash register area.
This definitely wasn't the old West Hartford IHOP, where I had my 1968 Triumph 650 chopper motorcycle parked in the back room, next to the ice machine. At the old restaurant, plenty of partying was going on, and some of the waitresses and cooks were romantically involved with each other.
Most of the time, I worked on the night shift at the old West Hartford IHOP. At night, the assistant managers were usually in charge, and the atmosphere was more relaxed than during the daytime.
On the night shift, at least one of the cooks would make a regular run to the package store across the street. The cooks and dishwashers would give their beer order and money to the designated runner. After he returned with the alcohol, most of us kitchen workers would then put some of our beers inside of the restaurant's ice machine. It was very common for us kitchen workers to be partying throughout our entire work shifts.
When I visited the new West Hartford IHOP, my intention was to try several different dishes. It was my hope that everything was going to be great, and I'd be able write a very positive review.
2x2x2=A Disappointing Breakfast
When I looked for breakfast-combination plates that contained pancakes, eggs, choice of protein and potatoes, I decided on the "2x2x2" plate
The two scrambled eggs were decent enough, but the bacon was a definite let-down. Even though I specifically asked for well-done slices, what I received were two slices of limp, under-cooked bacon.
As a former restaurant cook, I can't help but wonder why more restaurants don't bake their bacon instead of frying it. When you bake bacon in a conventional oven, the meat cooks evenly every time.
When it comes to rating the flavor of different brands of bacon, I generally compare them to the flavor and texture of Oscar Mayer bacon. The flavor of the bacon slices I received yesterday was nowhere near as good as the pleasant, reliable flavor of Oscar Mayer.
The two buttermilk pancakes that were served with the 2x2x2 plate were the best part of the meal. The IHOP flapjacks were good-sized, and were cooked to a deep, golden color.
While the IHOP menu does offer a choice of regular or crispy hash browns, I decided to go with the regular variety. The basic flavor of the potatoes was okay, but they were very loose, and decidely not crispy.
A strange, Twilight Zone-thing happened after I began eating the pancakes. After I had eaten three or four bites out of each pancake, they suddenly separated, from top to bottom.
With decades of experience eating and cooking pancakes, I'd never seen the entire top half of one separate from the bottom before. As for the boysenberry syrup, it appears that it's no longer on the menu at the pancake house.
The Classic Burger
When I worked at the old West Hartford IHOP many years ago, their burgers were actually very good, and I enjoyed cooking them as much as I liked eating them.
The Classic Burger that I ordered at the new West Hartford, CT, IHOP looked great in its plastic to-go container. The good-sized burger was served on a Brioche roll, with fresh lettuce, tomato and red onion slices and a pickle slice adorning the top.
After taking one bite of the Classic Burger, however, I was unhappy with the flavor. For months, I'd been looking forward to eating a burger and fries from IHOP, and I was pretty disappointed.
The French fries served with the burger were okay, but I ate less than half of the Classic Burger. My favorite parts of the meal were the Brioche roll and the pickle slice. Ha.
Chocolate Chip Pancakes Save the Day (Almost)
Being the International House of Pancakes, it's only fitting that the best of the three meals was a pancake dish. If you're a fan of chocolate, IHOP's Chocolate Chip pancakes are a truly decadent breakfast treat. If you're familiar with them, then you already know just how good these flapjacks are.
Sweet, but not too sweet, IHOP's chocolate chip pancakes have been a popular menu item there for decades. The flapjacks are served with a small ramekin of a very tasty chocolate syrup, as well as another small container of extra chocolate chips.
When I saw the menu price of $11.49 for four chocolate chip pancakes, I was quite surprised. That works-out to roughly $2.87 per pancake. Since I was already getting two pancakes with the 2x2x2 breakfast, I asked the manager if I could order a half-portion. Fortunately, the manager said it was no problem.
IHOP's chocolate chip pancakes are not only delicious, but they're also pretty large. Large enough to eat one at a time, and still be mostly satisfied. On a flavor and texture scale of one through ten, I'd definitely assign these treats a solid rating of 9.5.
Checking my receipt, I notice that the charge for the chocolate chip pancakes was only $3.19. Not sure why the price is so low, but I'm not complaining.
There was supposed to be a points program bar code on the bottom of the receipt that could be used for validating free, future food orders. For some reason, no bar code was on my receipt. When I called the restaurant to see if I could still receive the free pancakes without the bar code, I was told there was nothing the restaurant could do.
Somewhat of a Letdown
After waiting years for IHOP to return to West Hartford, I'm pretty disappointed with the food and overall service provided by their new restaurant there. Having previously worked at IHOP, I think the overall dining experience at the new eatery could certainly be improved.
The prices are high, the portions are so-so, and, unfortunately, the flavors of the different foods are not as good as they used to be. If the restaurant's management at least honored the advertised points program, that could somewhat offset the negative aspects of the situation.
It was also surprising to see that the various to-go dishes in my order were packaged in very large, difficult-to-open, platic containers. From environmental and cost perspectives, the packaging seemed excessive.
To be fair, the new
West Hartford, Connecticut IHOP had opened for business shortly before I visited. It takes time to get new businesses in-shape. If the menu items were tastier and less-expensive, I'd give this new spot a higher rating. For now, however, I have to give this restaurant a rating of 7 out of 10.
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