IHOP: International House of… Purple?

If you have been to IHOP, there seems to be a colorful hue taking over the plates. Is it now the International House of… Purple?

Last week was a long one, between work and school our family was looking to get out of the house and unwind on a Friday night. We headed to family favorite IHOP. My kids love it and I love it for my “loading up on protein” pre-race ritual. (I had an impromptu half marathon the next morning that my buddy signed me up for but that’s an entirely different story). Added bonus, from 4-10 PM, now through November 3, kids eat free with the purchase of one adult entrée.

Little did I know that dollops of purple frosting would soon captivate (or perhaps haunt?) my entire weekend.

If you’ve ever enjoyed IHOP, you know they love to keep things fresh. A rotating menu offers seasonal pancake ingenuities. Previously, the Grinch has worked his way into some tasty treats. Now, a new famous family is influencing the menu.

To celebrate and promote the new film “Meet the Addams,” (Opening October 11, 2019), the International House of Pancakes as a colorful flare. Inspired by the movie, the rotating menu offers:

"Wednesday’s Web-Cakes: Fluffy, signature Buttermilk pancakes topped with cupcake icing, webbed with HERSHEY’S Chocolate Syrup and topped with violet whipped topping.Gomez’ Green Chili Omelette: Marinated pulled pork, Jack & cheddar cheeses, fire-roasted peppers and onions, and green chile verde sauce topped with sour cream.Uncle Fester’s Chocolate Ice Scream Shake: A haunted house-made HERSHEY’S chocolate ice cream shake with violet whipped topping.Morticia’s Haunted Hot Chocolate: Toasted marshmallow hot chocolate topped with violet whipped topping and a drizzle of HERSHEY’S Chocolate Syrup.Kooky Kids Combo: A Wednesday’s Web-Cakes served with one scrambled egg, one bacon strip and one pork sausage link."

Through their YouTube obsession, my kids are already well versed in the new Addams Family movie and excited to see it, so ordering off the menu was an absolute must.

We were absolutely amazed at the result. The violet is INTENSE. In an age of “instagramable” food trends, you can’t help but have fun with the vibrant purple. The thick, icing-like purple topping is an indulgent sweet treat that will turn your mouths purple and make your kids squeal with delight.

As for taste, the icing definitely captures the essence of Halloween candies like candy corn or mellowcreme pumpkin candies. The thick cream works best with the hot chocolate where it melts into a purple concoction you definitely might find somewhere in the Addams mansion.

And then I posted those vibrant dishes that my kids adored to Twitter.

My post showing the intense violet absolutely EXPLODED. IHOP is definitely doing something right, when you can capture the collective zeitgeist of Twitter for a weekend.

While some found the intense purple creepy and kooky, others delighted that it was mysterious and spooky. Users evoked comparisons of the intense violet topping to Marvel supervillain Thanos, an obscure Power Rangers villain, Ivan Ooze, and the oft memed Kupcake-inator from the Mike Myers’ film “Cat in the Hat” (2003).

Others desperately wanted this to be a take on the Filipino sweet yam treat, ube.  (I can’t tell you how excited I am to try ube now after reading all of those comments, thanks Twitter!)

Through the post, I learned a lot about IHOP from various employees, how these campaigns are implemented and how prep work is done. Many IHOP employees posted their creations and showed lots of pride in absolutely pure instagramable beauty.

As for us? We had no complaints about the food and our service was spectacular. My daughter and I had so much fun, I took her back on Sunday night for Uncle Fester’s Chocolate Ice Scream Shake to conclude the weekend. We had the same server who was just as delightful. If only he knew what absolute joy he brought to our weekend.

This new IHOP colorful food made for a memorable weekend for me and my family. Isn’t  the whole point behind all these menus to enjoy a meal with you family?

Keep up the fun, IHOP. We can’t wait to see what you cook up next.