Why are pancake house pancakes so tough and rubbery these days? And why does everything seem undercooked?

Question

Have the pancake houses (Denny's & IHOP) started using frozen pancakes? At McDonald's they at least let you see them put the frozen pancakes in the industrial microwave oven. Those are the most rubbery pancakes, equal to the ones you get from the frozen food case at the grocery store. Even the cheapest powdered pancake mix yields better results when cooked at home, than most restaurant pancakes nowadays. (Even the 'Just Add Water' ones are better.)
Another way to get tough, rubbery pancakes is to overwork the batter and smash all the bubbles out of it, or leave the batter hanging around in the fridge for a couple of days. I mean, pancakes are dead simple: what has gone wrong?
Another related question is; Why are french fries always starchy and undercooked? Do enough people actually like them that way, or is a matter of time constraint? Surely the fast food corporations wouldn't be skimping on energy this way, would they?

Answer 1

They cut back on the ingredients to save money. I have never gotten bad pancakes at IHOP or even Blueberry Hill, but I would rather make my own, this way I know exactly what is going in my pancakes. And Denny's, well, lets just say, their food tastes like it was leftover from hospital patient food, and some of us know how bad hospital food is.

Answer 2

I do not eat pancakes in restaurants. I only eat homemade pancakes....and I don't mean out of a box.

Answer 3

I don't eat at either place...

I make my own and I use buttermilk. I dont use a mix , I make mine from scratch. The same with waffles.



When I do travel for work , I have noticed that. I usually avoid it now and hit the fruit bar.

Answer 4

:(