Breakfast Report: New IHOP at 1604 and Culebra...

My wife has been anxiously awaiting the opening of the International House of Pancakes (IHOP) at the 1604 and Culebra location, and when it opened last week, she was ready to go. But of course, I preferred to wait until the weekend so we could hit it for breakfast as opposed to something like early evening BLT's.So this morning, with little or no fanfare, we made our way in to no lines, no wait for a table, just in the door and ready for coffee. Since I don't do Denny's, my only good comparison is with the new Jim's that is located just up the road on the other side of 1604 in Alamo Ranch. We have been to that Jim's several times and have had to wait up to thirty minutes for a table, so honestly, walking right in to IHOP was totally unexpected.Something I wish Jim's would adopt is this idea of putting a carafe of coffee at your table. IHOP seems to recognize that when they serve coffee in a 6 ounce cup, you'll be wanting a refill, and you won't want to be looking around for some waitress when you could just as easily pour it yourself. Kudos.Speaking of waitresses, there was an army of waitstaff on duty. I kid you not, it was as if it was some sort of ride-along program for waiters. My wife noted at one table, they had two waitresses handing a customer a single plate of food and a third waitress delivering a straw for a cup of OJ. Thanks, but I hope y'all don't mind splitting the tip.

We both ordered up the Sampler platter. Not because we were so enormously hungry, but because when inspecting the menu, it was obvious that for the same price (I think it was a steep $7.99) you got about twice the meat product as if you just ordered pancakes, eggs and bacon.With the Sampler package, they bring you some hash browns, eggs, bacon, sausage, ham or Canadian bacon - I'm not sure what it was, some sort of green leafy thing, and two fluffy pancakes.It is a lot of food to eat, but call me a complainer when I tell you that the pancakes should be bigger. They were very light and fluffy - I may have mentioned that already - and they were good but in my mind I was comparing them to what you get in the same size order at Jim's.

The rest of it was all good and our service was certainly fine. We also got about four or five people handing us our food when it was served, so we know they cared.At the end of the day though, I have to tell you that given a choice, I'd prefer Jim's. My wife is more the fan of IHOP. I was just glad it opened so it could relieve some of the pressure off Jim's, easing the wait time for a table. But as we drove by, we noticed that in fact, Jim's was still packed. I guess not everyone fell for my little ploy.

Have you tried the new IHOP? Are you and Jim's person over IHOP or do you still put up with Denny's? Tell me about it, or leave a comment here. Need more pictures? See the Flickr Page.

Breakfast Report: Jim's at 1604 and Culebra...

After what seemed to be years, I mean, really, years from the time they purchased the land at the now booming intersection of 1604 and FM 471 or Culebra Road if you prefer, the Jim's restaurant finally opened this week and this morning, my wife and I got some!If you live anywhere within the vicinity of the greater Alamo Ranch area, you are no doubt giddy with excitement over all the new stores and restaurants we have. But the wider selection did not stop the crowds eager for a breakfast fix, and we waded through soccer teams, churchgoers and people with hangovers to get what is really the equivalent of Denny's but with much better service. (Of course, I don't do Denny's anymore, so how could I know?).While we waited, in the spacious and comfortable holding pen, many people chatted with fellow patrons regarding all the new stores and restaurants; those already open like Olive Garden, Mama Margie's and of course the Starbucks, and those planned, such as Red Robin, Chick-a-lay (as we call it) and of course the new IHOP under construction. I suspect that once the initial thrill of having a Jim's (and eventually an IHOP) close by where people don't have to make the torturous trip up the bottleneck at Braun and 1604 to get to another suitable place to eat, the crowds will die down, but for now it was jam-packed and they kept the wait very reasonable.After the promised 15 minute wait, we were seated and commenced to look at the menu for something suitable to eat. Although it was already close to noon, we had nothing but breakfast on our minds. Our waitress was lickity split with the menus and off to grab waters and coffee. Considering that there was never a single table, booth or bar stool open for longer than it took to clean off dirty plates and seat the next hungry crowd, I'd say the staff (probably many of them new to the Jim's system) were firing on all cylinders. My wife did a quick count of just the visible staff and she saw 25 folks. That means many more in the kitchen pumping out eggs, bacon and pancakes and lots of folks to serve them up to eager aspiring triple-bypass cases.My wife ordered the Southern Pecan Pancakes, eggs (over easy) and bacon. She also got a side of hash browns which we shared. Oh, who am I kidding, I ate her eggs as well as mine because the pecan pancakes overwhelmed her.She started on the pancakes and simply could not stop eating them to even try the bacon, eggs or hash browns. She didn't eat a third of the cakes before commencing the Happy Dance and declaring them superior to Magnolia Pancake Haus (I know, those are strong words.)
I had the Texas Two-Step Breakfast which is buttermilk cakes with eggs over-easy, bacon, and juice. I'll put Jim's buttermilk pancakes up against any one's. My eggs were a little harder than "over easy" and the bacon seemed a little jacked-up in my mind, but that didn't stop me from dipping it in egg yolk and tossing it down my gullet a piece at a time. I have to be honest; if we had been at home, I would have picked up the plate and licked it, but that sort of thing really pisses off my wife.

I can't describe the issue with the bacon. It looked great, tasted fairly normal and my wife had no complaints with hers. Maybe it was all the syrup and orange juice that caused some sort of taste bud situation. Who knows?At the end of the day, let's not lose perspective here; it was breakfast at a diner. Reasonable price, great service especially given the crowd, and outstanding pancakes. The new Jim's in Alamo Ranch gets the Tasty Treat in their first week, and you can't beat that.

We'll keep an eye on them to see if they go all Denny's on us. Tell me how your visit to Jim's went.

Lunch Report: Village Inn...

My wife and I got a wonderful invite to go see a real-live BBQ cook-off up near Bandera yesterday, from a reader named Rick who lives in Timberwilde, just down the street from us. I was hoping that this morning, I might be posting some pictures of some award winning, lip smacking chicken, ribs, and brisket, but our schedule took a wild turn and we missed it. Next time, for sure!

But we still had to eat, and on our way to another errand, we stopped at the Village Inn over off of Loop 410 and 151. I should tell you in advance that my wife has been wanting to try this place since it opened. Growing up, we had a Village Inn in my home town in Florida, so I think of it as just another version of Denny's or Jim's or something like that, so it wasn't a big priority on my list of places to eat. But, since we were there, and we have already established that I do not like the Buffalo Wild Wings or the TGI Friday's in the same shopping center, it was into the Village Inn.

Maybe we hit it at an awkward time, but the place was fairly empty (which I like). We were immediately seated and our waiter came right away to take our drink order and give us menus. Important note: I always take my iced tea unsweetened. My wife likes hers regular. If you don't write this information down when you take our drink order, you still have a 50-50 chance that you'll get it right when you set the glasses down. Hopefully our waiter didn't waste any money on Lotto tickets this weekend.

I have to admit, I was surprised at the selection on the menu. I mean, lots of burgers, sandwiches, dinner plates, and of course, breakfast. Something that tells me that a restaurant means business in the breakfast department is the selection of sweeteners. Regular sugar is a given. Next up, most places have some Sweet-n-low (pink stuff) as the only substitute. I myself am particular to Equal (blue stuff). The Village Inn went all out and provided, sugar, pink, blue and yellow! (Splenda). Oh, and Smucker's jam on the table! Not bad indeed. Perhaps we'll try this place for breakfast sometime.

On to the vittles. I ordered up a Buffalo Chicken Melt. Instead of fries, I opted for the house salad. Not bad at all. It was fresh, came with a basket full of assorted crackers, had the right amount of croûtons and the ranch dressing might be a house recipe. And it was the perfect size.

I think you should have a good idea of what you want to eat when you go into a place with such a huge menu selection. I'm a firm believer in fewer options at restaurants. For example, if you want Chinese, you go to a Chinese restaurant. Don't give me the option for enchilada's in Verde sauce once I get there. Likewise, burgers should not be on the menu at a pizza place. This wide variety makes the ordering process entirely too difficult.

So, as we scanned the menu for something to eat, I looked first at the Reuben sandwich, but thought to myself that I had just had one somewhere else recently. Then, I saw a double cheeseburger that looked good, and again, I thought, what the hell, this is the Village Inn, not Whataburger. So finally, when the moment of truth came and the waiter was standing there, uh, waiting, my wife was still scanning the menu and I blurted out, "Buffalo Chicken Melt, no fries, salad; ranch". And a bead of sweat dripped down onto the table below. And when I got it, I thought, man, I wish I had ordered the Reuben.

But, let me tell you. This is not a bad sandwich. And the buffalo sauce had quite the kick to it. I actually took the ranch dressing and slathered it upon the sourdough bun for added flavor. If you like hot wings but don't want to get your fingers all saucy, this is a good option. Thankfully, the napkins were able to sop up the red mess all over my face when I finished.

My wife opted for the Chicken Ranch sandwich which comes complete with strips of bacon. She let me have a little taste of it and I have to tell you, it was light and fluffy - not too hard like some chicken patties I have had in the past.

We did have a minor service issue. Aside from the tea incident, my wife ordered up some honey-mustard to dip her fries in. Our waiter cheerfully left and never returned. Well, he did return when I flagged him down and gave him the international sign for honey-mustard. I must tell you, when we got the honey-mustard, we were very pleased with it. Great taste, and again, it may be a house recipe like the ranch. Or perhaps, they just buy good quality products.

We are not ones for dessert unless it is one of those deals where somebody is celebrating a birthday and they bring you out this huge piece of cake with ice cream on top and enough spoons for everyone at the table to swap germs, so when the waiter comes and asks us if we are ready for dessert, we usually just say, "Give me the damn bill and make it quick, Bub". Not really. But it is nice to be asked.

The Village Inn apparently wants to give Marie Calandars a run for her money in the pie department. They have a huge display case of incredible looking pies of all flavors and texture, and they are having some sort of pie sale going on. Just a note - the good looking pies you see here are not the ones on sale for $5.95.

Anyway, during the course of eating our sandwiches, we looked at the little pie menu about 14 times and finally decided that my wife wanted to try a sliver of some sort of cheese cake topped with lemon. The only problem was, since the waiter had already dropped off our bill with the food, he wasn't coming back. Thankfully, my wife was able to capture the attention of another waitperson who politely yelled for Caesar to get back out to our table. And, he was apologetic enough that he only charged us for a half-slice, but gave us each our piece.

Good stuff!

So, here is the final deal. I think this place is worth checking out for breakfast, for sure. I think the afternoon dinner could be a good option over Luby's or some place like that. The price was not over the top but you can certainly eat cheaper. I am very happy with the quality of the vittles, though I'd have to try something else in order to be sure.

I guess that isn't much help at all, is it? How bout this? If you've tried Village Inn, tell me about it. Leave a comment here using the little comment button below.

Breakfast Report: IHOP on Father's Day

My wife and I wanted to get a reasonable start back to San Antonio on Sunday morning, but with it being Father's Day, we decided to at least stay long enough for breakfast with my daughter. We got to meet one of her friends who is also attending school at Sheppard, so we invited her to join us.

No sense in spoiling the good report from Denny's, we opted to check out an IHOP just off 281. As you might imagine, there was a line starting to form, what with people all wanting to get their feed on either before or after church, or just as a special treat for the Dads of WF. After a brief wait however, we were seated and our waitress, Miss Sunshine came to take our order.

I've never been a waitress (or a waiter for that matter), but I can only imagine it must suck. You have to deal with crabby people in a hurry, people who want way more service then they really need, and above all, you are on your feet the whole time. I get it and there is a special place in my wallet for wait staff who can get through all that and still put on a smile and at least attempt to be interested in their customers. Our waitress (as I said, Miss Sunshine) was a fairly attractive skinny blonde girl who must have been thinking about how she had been abused as a child or had just lost a favorite pet. She was not happy and there was no amount of being a polite customer that was going to help change her demeanor.
Please don't misunderstand; I am not, nor have I ever been one of those people who want to engage in idle banter with the waitress or be that creepy older fat guy who wants to flirt with the younger, prettier people around him. So this wasn't an issue of me being snubbed. My daughter's friend it turns out, comes from a family that owns a restaurant and she noted right away what a sourpuss this gal was. But, I won;t let a bad personality ruin my day, especially if the rest of the service is good. And, thankfully it was.

One entertaining thing while we waited for our breakfast was a very hungry fellow who was quite engaged in his job; eating! I know it's easy to poke fun at fat people and I only do it knowing that if you ever sat next to me in a restaurant, you might just snicker yourself, but this wasn't a case of a tubby guy wanting to lick his plate clean, this guy was all sorts of hungry. Case in point: who orders dessert after breakfast? Especially after eating a Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity? Essentially, breakfast at IHOP is dessert.

So anyway, Miss Sunshine brought us our meals and we were all pretty happy with what we got. I'm pretty standard with pnacakes & eggs, but the girls all ordered fruity waffles and such. We were pretty pleased and a session of picture taking ensued.

When everything was said and done, we got the bill and my daughter, bless her little heart, snatched the bill and paid. And I let her! I'm a good dad. Good & cheap!

I did however decide to leave the tip for Miss Sunshine and when my daughter's friend saw that I was not going to let our waitresses' sour disposition take away from her tip, she commented that I was a "very generous man". I then told her that our waitress was just upset because her pimp called and she had to get back to the corner at the end of her shift. Yes, generous indeed.

Bottom line: Thumbs up for the WF IHOP.


Friend Ouimet and daughter Roxanne -->

Breakfast Report: Denny's

Years ago, I had a series of service related situations at three different Denny’s locations in San Antonio. I’m never a big complainer about service but I do tend to vote with my wallet and as a result, as much as I love the Grand Slam, I haven’t been to Denny’s in at least 3 to 4 years.

So, Saturday morning we took our daughter out for breakfast and as much as I hated to do it, the first available option was a Denny’s right near the base. Directly across the street was a place called Waffle Time, and you know what they say, Any Time is Waffle Time, (okay, well, that is what my daughter said), but sadly, it was closed and Denny’s was the choice for the morning.

I immediately thought of Waffle House, a chain primarily located in the southern US. In Florida, it was certainly a fixture along I-75, I-4 and I-10 in the Florida Panhandle. It would have been nice to eat there, but as you can see, Waffle Time is nothing more than a place for people to discard old couches, apparently.

Something we noticed everywhere we went in Wichita Falls was how people seemed genuinely helpful and friendly. Denny’s was no exception. We were seated immediately, had prompt service – never an empty coffee cup which is big on my list of needs – and we never had to wait for our waitress. One gentleman, not our waiter but, possibly a roaming manager of some sort was Johnny on the spot with refills and such, almost to a point of harassment, but this is good considering the reason I hadn’t been to San Antonio Denny’s in years.

There was no question that I would be ordering the Grand Slam, and though the cakes were not as fluffy as I recalled, they were still good; my eggs were over-easy as required, and the meat selections, both bacon and sausage, were tasty. This good food and outstanding service does not let the San Antonio based Denny’s off the hook, but if you are in Wichita Falls, I give you the thumps up to stop in.

Enjoy your breakfast and please don't forget the waitstaff.