IHOP has got two new ghost kitchens, TenderFix by Noah Schnapp and Pardon My Cheesesteak. Neither offered anything out of the ordinary that would entice me to order from them again.
And yes, it’s that Noah Schnapp from Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” who announced in March that he was partnering with local IHOPs to create a chicken-based restaurant. Oddly, none of the packaging had any kind of branding to indicate that Schnapp was behind the concept.
My first impression was how skimpy the entrees were. The chicken tenders were tiny, and they were accompanied by hardly any waffle fries. Also, I ordered both the regular chicken and the MorningStar Farms Plant-Based Chik’n, but I only received the MorningStar version.
Those tenders ($9.29 for two, $12.59 for four) also have very little breading and have a slight pepper taste. They were supported/saved by the signature sauce ($0.50), a tasty mix of tangy ketchup and mayo with a bit of heat.
The sandwich version ($12.79) was okay. There was so little honey glaze that you had to really try to discern it. I also felt like the bun-to-chicken ratio was too high (if you recall, I said the tenders were tiny). I did like the crunchy pickles on top, but that was about it.
Pardon My Cheesesteak, meanwhile, has a similarly short menu, with five variations of the cheesesteak sandwich, all at $10.49 each. Similar to my experience with TinderFix, I had issues with my order.
I ordered the Classic, which was loaded with a delicious combo of thinly sliced steak (also available with chicken) with melted provolone, cheddar cheese sauce and sliced onions. However, mine had chipotle sauce added to it. While the sauce was good, its appearance annoyed me.
That’s because I also ordered the Chipotle Chicken Cheesesteak (also available with steak), but it was missing the chipotle sauce. I think that sauce would have helped the fairly plain (but tender) diced chicken.
The fifth sandwich is the Buffalo Chicken Cheeseteak, which I didn’t try, and I’m sure it, too, would have been screwed up.
You can order TenderFix on Uber Eats and DoorDash and Pardon My Cheesesteak on Grubhub, Uber Eats and DoorDash.
