This morning Wilbert and I had breakfast at IHOP (International House of Pancakes). It was still fairly early, so we didn’t have a crowded restaurant to contend with. The food was good but not outstanding (I had pigs-in-a-blanket with a side of hash browns), yet I found the prices to be outrageous. Wilbert ordered eggs and pancakes, and we got a side of ham for Foofer (the size of which would not have covered a slice of bread). The total bill came to $24, not including tip. I have to admit the service was quick (although the food was still a bit on the tepid side by the time it arrived at our table). Foofer’s piece of ham cost $2.49 by itself – I could have purchased a package of ham lunch meat for the price, and he probably would have liked it better. As it was, the IHOP ham was tough and dry.

 

I’m not usually a big breakfast-eater (in fact, I rarely eat until the noon hour), but to pay for a little of this and that and have the bill come to the cost of a steak dinner is hard for me to swallow. Perhaps these are the going prices – if so, more people should complain. A few years ago I used to frequent a small diner in Idaho that served large portions of wonderful and piping hot food for half the price of restaurants around them. I don’t know how they managed it, but the diner did a brisk business and had been doing so for more than fifty years before I came along. It’s too bad there aren’t more establishments like the little Idaho diner; where the food is tasty and affordable, always with enough leftover to take home for another meal.