Breakfast Of Champions
You would think I was crazy or had a death wish by the decision I made this morning. I questioned my sanity myself when Baby Duck asked for breakfast and I told her to get her coat on. That's right: I actually decided to brave the chaos of the post-Super Bowl Free Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny's. My nearest Denny's is located in close proximity to both an IHOP and a McDonald's, so I had a backup plan for eating in a reasonable amount of time if there was a line out the door.
We arrived to a pretty full parking lot, but no one was standing outside. I decided to find a spot and check out the situation inside. We were surprised by the handful of people in the lobby. The only wait we experienced was the length of time it took for the three or four parties in front of us to get seated. Apparently 8:55 is the breakfast lull. I was a bit confused when we got seated without menus because I expected to need to order from the children's menu for my girls. How surprised I was when the waitress came by to get our drink order and let me know that they had a Junior Grand Slam available for the kids! Triple bonus! I was only expecting my own breakfast to be free.
A brief rabbit trail: Ladybug is a well-known picky eater. I thought we were in for it when I offered her bacon (which she has recently taken a liking to) and she refused it. She also did not want her pancake at first. I figured both of them just looked to different from what she was used to and she wouldn't be eating, so I prepared to have to eat like I was in the military before she got bored and wanted to leave. You could have knocked me over with a feather when she picked up her sausage link and started to munch! All in all she ate 3 sausage links and 2 child-sized pancakes! A banner day!
Back to Denny's itself: the waitress was nice. The food came out fast even though the restaurant was full (and had a wait in the lobby just moments after I was seated). The food was also hot and fresh-- with no obvious signs of everything being pre-cooked like I expected. The bacon was nothing like I make at home, but that was just a product-quality issue. It had nothing to do with a lack of effort on the part of the kitchen staff. My daughters ate like machines and were thrilled, which means I was thrilled. The restaurant was well organized and well prepared for the level of business they were doing. I had pretty low expectations when I walked in-- I mean, Denny's has always been kind of hit-or-miss on a regular business day. It's not a place I frequent. I think I've only been there twice in my life in the daylight. I always considered it a place to go when you're hungry at 11:30 at night. With the bar set so low in my head, they really knocked my socks off today. I just might go back another day when the food isn't free-- which means the company has accomplished what it set out to do with this marketing scheme. Now that's what I call a 'Grand Slam'.
CL
We arrived to a pretty full parking lot, but no one was standing outside. I decided to find a spot and check out the situation inside. We were surprised by the handful of people in the lobby. The only wait we experienced was the length of time it took for the three or four parties in front of us to get seated. Apparently 8:55 is the breakfast lull. I was a bit confused when we got seated without menus because I expected to need to order from the children's menu for my girls. How surprised I was when the waitress came by to get our drink order and let me know that they had a Junior Grand Slam available for the kids! Triple bonus! I was only expecting my own breakfast to be free.
A brief rabbit trail: Ladybug is a well-known picky eater. I thought we were in for it when I offered her bacon (which she has recently taken a liking to) and she refused it. She also did not want her pancake at first. I figured both of them just looked to different from what she was used to and she wouldn't be eating, so I prepared to have to eat like I was in the military before she got bored and wanted to leave. You could have knocked me over with a feather when she picked up her sausage link and started to munch! All in all she ate 3 sausage links and 2 child-sized pancakes! A banner day!
Back to Denny's itself: the waitress was nice. The food came out fast even though the restaurant was full (and had a wait in the lobby just moments after I was seated). The food was also hot and fresh-- with no obvious signs of everything being pre-cooked like I expected. The bacon was nothing like I make at home, but that was just a product-quality issue. It had nothing to do with a lack of effort on the part of the kitchen staff. My daughters ate like machines and were thrilled, which means I was thrilled. The restaurant was well organized and well prepared for the level of business they were doing. I had pretty low expectations when I walked in-- I mean, Denny's has always been kind of hit-or-miss on a regular business day. It's not a place I frequent. I think I've only been there twice in my life in the daylight. I always considered it a place to go when you're hungry at 11:30 at night. With the bar set so low in my head, they really knocked my socks off today. I just might go back another day when the food isn't free-- which means the company has accomplished what it set out to do with this marketing scheme. Now that's what I call a 'Grand Slam'.
CL
Comments