I Received the Identical Breakfast at Denny’s and IHOP to Discover the Higher Worth

It seems that, in relation to breakfast, not all chains are created equally, particularly for those who’re an early riser.

Seeking one of the best worth and style, I not too long ago ordered the identical inexpensive combo (two sausages, two pancakes, two eggs) at breakfast chains IHOP and Denny’s.

They’ve all the time appeared fairly just like me, however I discovered myself shocked once I paid dramatically totally different costs in every place for near-identical meals.

I additionally discovered a irritating lesson about timing — it actually is every part.

I began at Denny’s, the place the pancakes have been large and the sausage hyperlinks tiny

I arrived at a Denny’s in Queens, New York, at 7 a.m. on a weekday. I used to be the one buyer except for a small household.

My order was the most cost effective meal on the Denny’s menu, which proved to be the On a regular basis Worth Slam.

It consists of two eggs cooked nonetheless you want, bacon or sausage, and a selection of two pancakes, two slices of French toast, or a biscuit and gravy. I selected pancakes, eggs over medium, and sausage.

When my meals arrived, I used to be instantly struck by two issues: The pancakes have been enormous, and the sausages weren’t.

Topped with whipped, ethereal butter, the pancakes have been so massive that they even had their very own plate. They have been fluffy and barely spongy with extra of a nice bready taste than the sweetness I anticipated. I want they’d include a bit extra butter, although.

The sausages have been fairly small — I may simply have eaten each of them in a single beneficiant chunk. They have been tasty, with a great savory profile, albeit a bit too salty for me.

As for the eggs, they have been cooked completely, with a little bit of browning on the whites however with the unbroken yolks nonetheless partially runny.

I paid beneath $10 for my meal at Denny’s — and that is with a 22% tip

The On a regular basis Worth Slam meal at Denny’s was priced at $6.99. The tax was $0.62, and I tapped for a 22% tip for a complete value of $9.28.

I doubt I may’ve sourced the elements to make the breakfast at residence for lower than that. The satisfying meal felt so well-priced that I knew I might return to Denny’s even when IHOP blew me away.

The meals at IHOP felt utterly on par with Denny’s, although the pancakes have been smaller

The day after I ate on the Denny’s in Queens, I went to an IHOP in Lengthy Island on a weekday morning.

I obtained there at about 6:20 a.m. and was seated alongside 4 or 5 different tables of friends.

As soon as once more, I needed the most cost effective meal, the identical one I might had at Denny’s: two pancakes, two eggs cooked over medium, and two sausages.

As soon as served, I used to be stunned to search out all of my meals nestled onto one plate. At Denny’s, the pancakes have been giant sufficient to benefit their very own.

I used to be stunned that the pancakes on the Worldwide Home of Pancakes have been markedly smaller than the pair I might been served the morning earlier than.

The excellent news was that the sausage hyperlinks gave the impression to be no less than 40% bigger than these I might obtained at Denny’s.

IHOP’s pancakes have been sweeter than these from Denny’s and have been served with twice as a lot fluffy butter.

I appreciated the beneficiant portion of butter, although I barely most popular the style of Denny’s pancakes since I am not a lot of a fan of candy breakfast meals. That is a completely subjective factor — many individuals would absolutely maintain the alternative opinion.

The eggs at IHOP have been additionally cooked completely over medium. The lengthy, slender sausage hyperlinks did not style almost as salty as those at Denny’s.

I used to be charged $15.20 for my IHOP breakfast — earlier than tip

Approaching the heels of my Denny’s eating expertise, I used to be genuinely shocked to be handed a $15 examine masking two eggs, two pancakes, and two sausage hyperlinks.

I added $3 for a 20% tip, so the whole affair value me $18.20.

This implies my meal at IHOP was nearly twice as costly because the breakfast from Denny’s, regardless of the 2 being nearly equivalent.

By way of worth, Denny’s was my clear winner — however my IHOP meal may’ve been half the worth if I might dined later

By way of meals, the meals at IHOP and Denny’s have been very comparable and nearly an ideal match. Value-wise? Not a lot.

The breakfast from Denny’s was so low-cost it nearly felt like I used to be getting away with one thing — whereas the identical meal at IHOP was so costly (comparatively talking) that I nearly felt like I used to be being swindled.

My emotions have been additional difficult once I realized this meal is a part of IHOP’s Home Faves deal, which runs on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. With it, in style combos on the chain value simply $6 or $7.

In reality, I ordered a meal nearly equivalent to this one for $7 when reviewing the offers at this very location a number of months in the past.

So, had I arrived 40 minutes later, I might’ve paid half the worth for my IHOP breakfast.

At sure instances, I anticipate to pay a premium for meals — the room-service cheeseburger at a five-star lodge, beer at a baseball recreation, and even popcorn at Disney World.

In these cases with restricted selections or added comfort, elevated prices really feel acceptable to me. Nonetheless, it is irritating to understand how a lot much less the chain may’ve charged me if I might eaten throughout what I might argue are extra in style eating hours.

By way of simply style and high quality, I am unable to say I favor one chain over the opposite. Denny’s had smaller sausages however greater pancakes. My eggs at each chains have been cooked completely, and I loved all that I ate.

Nonetheless, if I am planning to get a primary breakfast earlier than 7 a.m., my cash will go a lot additional at Denny’s.