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Jul 29, 2023

IHOP New, Disapointing Biscuit Menu: Review

IHOP introduced a biscuit menu nationwide on Monday featuring sweet and savory options available all day. It is part of a yearslong strategy to evolve the chain's core menu. Remember 2018 when the

IHOP introduced a biscuit menu nationwide on Monday featuring sweet and savory options available all day.

It is part of a yearslong strategy to evolve the chain's core menu. Remember 2018 when the chain playfully changed its name to IHOb to promote its new line of Ultimate Steakburgers? The buzzworthy campaign quadrupled its burger sales.

Well, this time around, it's not changing its name. But it is going out on a limb with biscuits, entering a food category with some fierce competitors, such as Chick-fil-A, Cracker Barrel, and Hardee's.

"Biscuits are not just a beloved item for breakfast but also for lunch or dinner," the company told Insider. "Biscuits meet guests' cravings, any time of day, and they bridge the gap between dayparts."

The chain, owned by Dine Brands, the parent company of Applebee's, could use the traffic bump.

It has struggled with comparable store sales, a key financial metric, and has underperformed compared with competitors including Denny's and Cracker Barrel.

The chain's new biscuit lineup includes a breakfast biscuit sandwich, a chicken biscuit sandwich, a strawberries-and cream biscuit, and biscuits and gravy. The biscuits are sold as combo plates or a la carte.

Kieran Donahue, the chain's chief marketing officer, said in a statement that adding biscuits was part of the chain's goal to offer diners "craveable and flavorful" items any time of day.

So I set out to see whether they were craveable during a Monday visit, the first day of the national launch. I'm a bit of a biscuit snob, having tried some of the best biscuits in the US, including the biscuits at Loveless Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee, and the tiny biscuits at Callie's Hot Little Biscuit in Charleston, South Carolina. I even went behind the scenes at Carl's Jr. years ago to learn how it made its scratch biscuits.

So I think I can spot a good biscuit.

Here's what I discovered.

All the IHOPs in my town have shut down. The closest restaurant to my home was 2 miles away, in Santa Ana, California. It was next to a McDonald's.

The restaurant was empty at 5 p.m. I was seated by a friendly server who handed me a standard menu, as well as a laminated menu promoting the new biscuit lineup. She was very helpful and answered all of my questions.

I was stunned by the $15.50 price tag of the chicken biscuit sandwich.

I thought maybe it came with two side dishes, but it comes with a choice of only one of the following: hash browns, french fries, two buttermilk pancakes, or fresh fruit.

The hefty breakfast sandwich is stuffed with two fried eggs, a slice of American cheese, two strips of hickory-smoked bacon, and cheese sauce. It's served with a choice of two buttermilk pancakes, hash browns, or seasonal fresh fruit.

I got the hash browns.

The biscuit had a dark-brown top and was shaped like a disc. The fluffy center was missing. If you're a cheese fan, you're going to like this meal, as the cheese sauce gave the sandwich an extra-savory kick.

Through September 26, IHOP is offering the breakfast biscuit sandwich with a side for $7. At that price, it's a steal of a deal for a full-service-dining breakfast meal. Having tried a few breakfast meals at McDonald's recently, I would recommend this meal deal for takeout.

It's far superior to the McDonald's offerings and cheaper. McDonald's charges $8.60 for a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit meal that includes a hash brown and a beverage, according to the McDonald's app. (The search was in Orange, California, so pricing may vary elsewhere.)

When I ordered the breakfast sandwich, the server asked me how I would like my eggs cooked.

I asked for fried eggs cooked over medium for a slightly runny egg.

The egg was cooked perfectly, and I enjoyed having a choice of egg preparation — a perk not offered at fast-food restaurants.

This innovative savory biscuit sandwich comes layered with a buttermilk fried chicken breast, hash browns, pickle chips, and country gravy. It comes with a choice of french fries, onion rings, fresh fruit, two buttermilk pancakes, or side salad.

I got the fries.

At $15.50, this meal comes with high expectations, and it failed miserably.

The sandwich is served with a steak knife, and after taking my first bite, I could see why. The hash browns and country gravy fused, making for a savory paste that caused the sandwich to fall apart after one bite.

I needed several napkins to wipe my fingers and mouth.

I forked and knifed it the rest of the way. I love pickles, but I couldn't taste them. The tiny chips were smashed inside the biscuit under a gooey mixture of gravy and hash browns. The fried chicken was greasy and thin on meat.

Overall, it was a tasty concoction. I give the culinary team at IHOP kudos for mixing gravy with hash browns. But despite being quite tasty, it was a messy, overpriced sandwich.

The biscuits-and-gravy dish is advertised on the menu as a $13.50 combo meal that comes with two eggs, two pork-sausage links, two hickory-smoked bacon strips, and hash browns.

I didn't want that much food, so I asked whether I could order the item a la carte. I was able to get one biscuit with gravy for $5. The biscuit was able to shine a bit more on this dish because it wasn't saturated with thick gravy. In fact, I wouldn't call this gravy. It was more like a tangy, country-style white sauce. It definitely seemed a bit "watered" down, which would probably offend aficionados of Southern gravy. But I liked it.

I ordered the biscuit a la carte so I could get a better taste of the biscuit without any other ingredients. I ordered it with a side of butter, which was completely unnecessary because the biscuit was already saturated with it. It was very greasy. They must be toasting it on a flattop grill.

The biscuit is flaky, but it didn't look like a biscuit. It looks like an English muffin and even had the nooks and crannies of one.

This was the most beautiful presentation of all the dishes. It came close to looking like the picture on the menu, except it could have used a lot more strawberries. I ordered the a la carte buttermilk biscuit, which is split and filled with cheesecake mousse, sliced strawberries, a drizzle of syrup, a sugary whipped topping, and powdered sugar.

In Canada, they use biscuits instead of sponge cakes to make strawberry shortcakes. I learned this from my many trips to Prince Edward Island, the location of my husband's family home. This dish reminded me of the many biscuit shortcakes I'd eaten while visiting.

The cheesecake mouse and syrup elevated the dish. I would recommend ordering this as a dessert for lunch or dinner. But it could also work as a sweet breakfast meal.

The only trouble I had with the dish was that I didn't know how to tackle it. I tried to cut it in half, but it fell apart, as the biscuit was very thick and doughy. Finally, I just used the side of my fork to cut my way into each piece, like I was eating a piece of cake or pie.

This dish cost $7.50 a la carte. As a combo dish served with two eggs, two strips of bacon or sausage links, and hash browns, it costs $12.

IHOP has made efforts over the past several years to boost sales and lure new customers by introducing new foods to the menu.

The most famous marketing campaign came in 2018, when the chain said it would change its name to "IHOb" to showcase its new lineup of steak burgers. IHOP has been introducing menu items ever since, including burritos and bowls in 2021 and sweet-and-savory crepes in March.

Also in March, the chain refreshed its eggs-Benedict dishes by adding a high-quality hollandaise sauce. It also put two new items on its Ultimate Steakburgers menu.

With this menu, the culinary team at IHOP has done a fine job introducing some solid biscuit creations. They are sure to excite existing customers. But I don't think this lineup is good enough to sway new people to give IHOP a chance.

My visit was proof of that.

I left with a bit of heartburn and a bit of heartache for the brand.

I was at IHOP for more than an hour at dinnertime, and not a single other patron came in for dinner. The restaurant was sadly empty when I entered and after I left.

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