IHOP — Restaurant in Laredo

Today, I decided to have dinner here and perused the menu online to prepare for the visit. I arrived and requested Coke for my drink. They don't carry that, so the waitress suggested lemonade. This is where everything went downhill. The drink tasted like a mix of something fizzy, like Sprite and watered down lemonade. During my online search, I found 3 options which appealed to me: Spicy Shredded Beef Burrito & Bowl - I was told that they couldn't do the bowl or the burrito, but they could make 2 tacos with the beef. I then asked for the Cheesy Chicken Bacon Ranch - they didn't have that either. Lastly, I requested the BBQ Mac Melt.. Nope, that too was unavailable. By that time, I had taken 2 sips of the "lemonade." I told the waitress that I couldn't find anything else that interested me, so It'll just be the lemonade. She had the audacity to charge me $4.62 for a drink that i took 2 sips of. She never offered to put it in a to-go cup and never apologized for the unavailable items. She simply collected her $4.62 and walked away. I then walked across the street to Denny's, where I received exceptional service, and every item I asked about on the menu...

Good food, unprofessional service

Food was well prepared and tasted good. But the service was a mess. In a nearly empty dining room, my server prioritized a long personal chat with a tall blond colleague (possibly the manager) while holding my empty glass instead of pouring the orange juice I’d already ordered. She said out loud “everyone leaves me alone,” then carried on another floor conversation about how boring Laredo is and how she wants to move back to Minnesota. My meal arrived incomplete and was only corrected after I pointed it out. Guests were clearly not the priority.

If she’d rather be in Minnesota and can’t put guests first, let her go to Minnesota and give bad service there. This dining room doesn’t need it.

Management needs to tighten hiring, training, and floor supervision...

It's ihop so what else can I say. I ordered the sirloin steak tips and eggs. The steak tips were cooked medium rare as requested. However, the color of the steak tips suggested that it was cooked on a grill not hot enough. The steak tips were grayish this is caused from not searing on high enough heat. That is disappointing as the sear is to lock in more of the flavor and increase flavor by carmelizing the marinade. The onions were a bit undercooked and little to no caramelization again caused by a grill or pan not being hot enough to color the food properly. I will include an image The waitress is quick but a bit nonchalant. Quiet and reserved so over all a good waitress she could be a bit more lively.

It's okay for a quick bite to eat and better than other options in...