We went together on Saturday, March 5th, to our local IHOP in the town over. It was packed, but that's really no surprise. As we have plenty of Waffle Houses here, we have only one IHOP in our metropolitan area. Amy put our party name in and we waited rather briefly. We got to see a woman bitch about how it was too hot and humid in the restaurant, while Amy and I thought it was rather cold after sitting awhile at our table.
We both put in our order for Chicken and Waffles with water to drink. Needless to say, because of the busy atmosphere, it took a while for our food to appear. We sat, talked, and sipped our waters. Our waitress was rather nice. Finally, we received our bounty.
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That is what our bounty looked like. 4 triangles of buttermilk waffle on one side, 4 crispy chicken tenders on the other side of the plate with rounds of honey mustard and butter in the middle of the plate. We were both hungry, so we dived in.
Amy found her waffles to be cold, not something you exactly want your waffles to be. My waffles seemed to be warm enough, or I didn't notice since I was so hungry. The waffles were, however, lightly and fluffly in easy to handle triangles. I found the chicken tenders to be heavily battered with too much batter and too little chicken (often a problem with fried foods in this region of the country). The tender batter also held too much spice, providing too much of a kick when combined with the honey mustard. Amy and I both agree, though, that the chicken actually present inside the tenders carried a good flavor.
I felt that the honey mustard was good, but carried too much heat. I prefer my honey mustard to be a tad bit sweeter and tangy, but Amy felt the honey mustard was good enough for her. I felt the heat of the tenders went much better with the sweetness of the syrup that I used for the waffles. In the end, the meal did serve as good brunch for both of us.
Would we recommend it?
While the food served us well in filling our stomachs, we didn't forget that it was food from a chain restaurant with an unfortunate calorie amount. If you are getting this expecting the REAL Chicken and Waffles, don't. You will be disappointed. Go to Gladys Knight and Ron Winan's Chicken and Waffles in Atlanta, GA if you want the real thing. This is a chain's representation. It's about as good as the cook that day makes it, e.g. no hand-battered/fried chicken here.
The calorie count is also a bit appalling. If you are trying not gain weight, do not eat these. 1010 calories is what is stated, but I am guessing that's if you drown everything in butter and honey mustard. While I didn't slather any butter on, I did use quite of syrup and honey mustard. I didn't much else that day, for fear of gaining dreaded pounds. If you do it eat it, try to make it your main meal for the day.
Overall, it was a good brunch. It fills you up and keeps you that way for a while without giving you the food baby feeling. The flavors were not horrible and I found the waffles to be pretty good with the warm syrup. Final thoughts? It's probably best for a Traveler's Brunch or an early lunch, but don't go in expecting fireworks. As with any food, to get the best you have to pay more, travel a little out of the way, or go to places outside your comfort zone.
Would we get this again?
Probably not. I recommend sticking with the simple shortstack with choice of toppings and sides for a good item from this place, but it didn't hurt to try it. We definitely had better, but we've also had much worse.
Final Rating:
Feasting Raptors gives IHOP's Chicken and Waffles 2 Raptor Claws Out of Five.
"The Raptors killed and ate their prey, but left the half-buried remains for other scavengers to enjoy."
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