National Pancake Day - March 3, 2026

(from the It's Nice To Have Something For Free In This Country At The Moment, Isn't It* department)

In these trying times, it's nice to have something you can count on.  Like the yearly National Pancake Day at IHOP.

This year, Rose and I braved the crowds and headed down to our local IHOP just before 5:00 PM.  Although there were many people in the lobby - they seated us immediately.

We got a two person booth in the furthest corner of the restaurant.  Rose commented that she hadn't been back in this booth since she was six!  

The waitress brought us pancakes and water right after we sat down.  Rose was ready!!

I got ready to dig into my stack!  They were delicious!

Once again - we managed to successfully celebrate National Pancake Day.  A splendid time was had by all!

For more information - check out the IHOP website here: National Pancake Day 2026

Cheers,

Paul

*For you Beatle fans, that's a quote from the movie Let It Be.  From a man on the street during the rooftop concert. 

National Pancake Day - March 4, 2025

(from the Has It Really Been Five Years? department)

Hey - long time no pancake.  How've you been?  I think it's time for a stack of pancakes!

This time - we learned from the past.  Dana, Rose & I headed down to our local IHOP at about 5:00 PM.  We were able to be seated immediately.  After looking at the menu, we ordered our free pancakes, and I got a burger - with hash browns:

Burger - Not Pancake

Pancake - Not Burger

Rose ordered a strawberry crepe with her pancakes.  Dana asked if she could add blueberries to her free stack:

Ready To Dig In!!

A Thumbs - And A Butter Knife - Up!

We really enjoyed our meal.  Good thing we went early too. When we left at 6:00 PM - the line for pancakes was out the door:

Patiently Waiting For Pancakes

For more information - check out IHOP's website here:  National Pancake Day 2025 - Enjoy Free Pancakes at IHOP®

Cheers,
Paul

National Pancake Day - February 25th, 2020

(from the Everything is better with Pancakes department)

Well - it's been a while since we went to IHOP's National Pancake Day celebration and got a stack of free pancakes.

And - unfortunately - it's going to be a while longer.  We got there after 7:00 PM, so no free platter of golden discs for us.

Still - Rose and I decided to go for it!  We placed our orders and started thinking about pancakes...

Are you taking photos Dad?

Mmmm - pancakes...

Rose makes a good point!

Rose ordered French Toast -

with Strawberries and Bananas

I ordered a Burger and Fries -

and a stack of Pancakes for the table!

We ate our meals first - then went for some Pancakes!!

We had a terrific meal - and even donated a little bit to their charity - Children's Miracle Network - as well!

You can read more about it here: IHOP National Pancake Day

Cheers,
Paul

National Pancake Day - March 7, 2017

(from the What - you don't have your pancakes yet? department)

Hi everyone,

We went to IHOP tonight to celebrate National Pancake Day. We've been doing this off and on since Rose was 2 years old - now she's 9! You can see some of the previous visits here: National Pancake Day

We went to the Seattle Capitol Hill IHOP around 5:30 PM.  There were a lot of folks milling about outside, but the crowd inside wasn't too bad.  It's a popular event - especially among students - but the line moved quickly, and we were seated fairly promptly.

Dana and Rose began looking over the menu:

While they were discussing, our complimentary short pancake stack arrived:

I was excited - even though my selfie doesn't really show it!:

So was Rose:

Once again we had a great time!  We even donated a little bit to their charity - Children's Miracle Network - as well!

You can read all about it here: IHOP National Pancake Day - March 7, 2017

Cheers,
Paul

National Pancake Day - March 8, 2016

(from the You Can Never Get Enough Butter® department)

Hi everyone,

Today was IHOP National Pancake Day!  As is our tradition, Rose and I went to get our pancake on!

Since the event ended at 7:00 PM, we tried to arrive early.  We jumped on a couple of buses, and arrived at the Seattle Capitol Hill IHOP at about 5:30 PM.  The place was already packed, but we put our names on the list, and got in about 25 minutes later - plenty of time for pancakes!

We'll let the pictures tell the Story Of The Pancake:

No pancakes yet

When will pancakes get here?

Almost time!

Um - this is not pancakes...

PANCAKES!!

Let me tell you how I really feel about pancakes!

Before

After!

All in all - we had a great time.  We also made a small donation to the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals as a thank you for the free pancakes.

Cheers,
Paul

National Pancake Day - February 5, 2013

(from the It's always better with Butter® department)

Hi everyone,

Last night was National Pancake Day.  Starting when she was 2, Rose & I have been attending these at our local IHOP each year.  You can see some of our previous visits here: National Pancake Day.

This year, we managed to talk Mommy into coming with us.  It helped that we went a little earlier than usual - so the crowds weren't too bad.  The place was packed as we left though.  Here's some photos:

(Note:  A couple of these were from the front camera of my phone, so they'll be low-res-ish.  That's not your browser freaking out.)

As I've mentioned before, each year on National Pancake Day, IHOP gives away free pancakes.  They also ask that you consider donating to the Children's Miracle Network - which we were happy to do.

You can read more about it here:  IHOP National Pancake Day - February 5, 2013

They don't mention it on their website anymore, but historically, they've held it on Shrove Tuesday.

Known also as Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras, National Pancake Day dates back several centuries to when the English prepped for fasting during Lent. Strict rules prohibited the eating of all dairy products during Lent, so pancakes were made to use up the supply of eggs, milk, butter and other dairy products...hence the name Pancake Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday

This year, they held it a week early.   Time had an interesting article explaining the timing:  Why National Pancake Day and International Pancake Day a Week Apart

Frankly, as long as I get free pancakes, I don't care what day it's held. (^_-)

Cheers,
Paul

Rose enjoys a pancake!

(from the It's best with chocolate chips department)

Hi everyone,

Nothing major in this blog post - just me and Rose having breakfast at IHOP.

First, the before pictures:

Rose isn't smiling because...

She's already been eating chocolate chips!

 

Now the after pictures:

 

Rose practices her paprazzi moves

 

Yes, Daddy - I've eaten half a gigantic choco-pancake!

Why do you look so worried?

And finally - from my phone's front cam:

We love pancakes! 

 

I got to try the Red Velvet pancake - it was really good.  I did find out something interesting - the waiter said that the IHOP special menus are no longer placed on the table by default.  This means that when you see the ads for the limited-time pancakes on TV, you have to ask your server for the special menu to order them.

 

Cheers,

Paul



National Pancake Day - February 28th, 2012

(from the It's better with Blueberry Syrup department)

Hi everyone,

Last night, Rose and I went to IHOP's National Pancake Day celebration. They hold it every year on Shrove Tuesday to rasie money for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

We went to the IHOP on Madison in Seattle. We got there about 7:30 PM or so, and although the place was insanely crowded, we were seated in a very reasonable amount of time.

Of course, Rose's Happy Pancake Dance may have helped too.

We sat down at the table, and each of us got a stack of three pancakes. Rose immediately attacked her... glob of butter in the center of the pancake. In time lapse photos, here's Rose eating her butter - I mean - pancake:



















We had a great time, and hopefully, IHOP raised a lot of money for their charity.

Cheers,
Paul

P.S. The subtitle of this post comes from Rose's syrup preference. Normally, she's all about the strawberries - but when I asked her if she wanted strawberry syrup, she said "No - I want blueberry!"