IHOP — Restaurant in Arlington

Ah, IHOP—a modest establishment on the pale blue dot, where humanity gathers in pursuit of sustenance and syrup.

Upon entering, one is enveloped by the warm, familiar aroma of pancakes—simple discs of flour and memory, cooked on a griddle not unlike those used in diners across the cosmos. These pancakes, though unremarkable in composition, are extraordinary in their ability to unite us—young and old, weary traveler and early riser, all drawn together by the gravity of comfort food.

The menu is a curious artifact: laminated, colorful, teeming with choices, yet fundamentally anchored in the human need for warmth and familiarity. Eggs—protein-rich capsules born of evolutionary wonder—served scrambled, over-easy, or poached into perfection. Bacon: thin strips of once-living matter, now crisped into savory delight. And syrup—ah, syrup! A viscous, saccharine liquid harvested from trees, like some alchemical potion designed solely to bring joy.

There is a certain beauty in this ritual, this breakfast communion repeated in countless locations across the surface of our fragile world. In a universe governed by entropy, where stars are born and die in fire, it is no small thing to find comfort in a booth with worn cushions and lukewarm coffee.

In the grand scheme of things, IHOP is but a speck—yet it reminds us that even amid cosmic vastness, a good meal with good company can make us feel at home in...

I recently visited this IHOP, a 24-hour establishment, and had an incredibly disappointing experience. From the moment we sat down, our server, Kevin, greeted us with an unprofessional “I can’t take y’all’s order until 15 minutes pass,” without so much as a “hello.” Throughout the interaction, he was rude, rushed us, and lacked every basic element of customer service. Kevin made it clear he wanted us to order and pay before 4 PM because he was “ready to go home,” which is completely unacceptable for a restaurant that’s supposed to be open around the clock.

To make matters worse, he and other staff were using constant profanity throughout the meal. I ordered a sweet tea that never arrived, and my friend asked for an extra hash brown, which also didn’t come out. When we raised the issue after we finished eating, Kevin rudely responded, “Why would you want a refund when I can just bring it now?” His excuse was that he was too busy cleaning up. When I asked to speak to a manager, Kevin continued to badger me instead of getting help.

Finally, the “person in charge,” Jacie, came out with an annoyed look on her face, as if we were inconveniencing her. She refused to offer a refund for the missing hash browns and didn’t seem to care about our complaints.

The constant profanity and overall lack of professionalism made the entire experience feel hostile. I wouldn’t recommend this...

We sat without being greeted for about 10 minutes. We almost left (looking back, we definitely should have). Corisha came over, took our drink orders (2 of us, 1 water no ice, coffee and a chocolate milk). She comes back in like 5 minutes with no coffee, 1 water with ice and a chocolate milk that was so thick and so dark with the chocolate. My sister tried to drink it but asked for water instead. She took our order, brought out the coffee which tasted burnt, I didn't even have a full cup. Pancakes were good, but the sausage was still cold, it wasn't on the griddle even 3 minutes I'd bet. We sat and waited for the check for over 10 minutes after we were finished eating. When I walked over I asked for the check and she started printing it out. I went back to the booth and we sat and waited while the check was in her hand. She stood and bitched to her coworkers about having to work holidays like Christmas for another 5 minutes. Sitting at the booth we could hear her (and the restaurant was full, I'm sure they could overhear as well). I asked her to take off the chocolate milk and coffee bc we didn't hardly drink either. She took off the coffee but not the chocolate milk because my sister drank about 1/4 of it before asking for water. I was a server for 2 years so I get missing a thing or two but man. Sorry, we...