Delivery Pancakes or Not

My jaw just about dropped when I read "IHOP Now Delivers Pancakes to Your Front Door"

And to kick off the service, the company’s waving [sic] the delivery fee on orders over $10 (through July 22).

IHOP's "Menu + Order" states, "Get $5 off your first online order over $25. Use coupon code IHOPNGO at checkout when you register for the first time or using your existing account." (Contact your nearest IHOP for delivery details.)

I suppose people are taking up IHOP's pancake delivery offering, and might continue after the waive incentive. I am bewildered to think that pancakes delivery has a market. Some considerations WRT to pancakes, whether delivered or not.

1. No pancake tastes fresher than any made within the consumer's reach. The time between thoughts of "I want pancakes" to "I'm eating pancakes" might be an additional hour for delivery time.
2. Pancakes that eateries make and charge you for are always more pricey than ones you make yourself. Even convenient microwave pancakes are less expensive than eatery pancakes.
3. Transporting goods add cost. Post-incentive, IHOP's charge for bringing pancakes to you would be $10 (according the the previously cited article). As for menu prices, the least expensive pancakes seem to be pancake sides for $3.99. Most are about $8. Sure, they add loads of yummies. In any case, I'm guessing ~$20 for a breakfast indulgence that has about ~$2-4 of yummy ingredients, accounting for menu item size. (One unadorned pancake "serving" can cost as little as 10 cents in ingredients. More on that later.)

Want to have pancakes with little effort and cost? First easy method is microwave pancakes. Slightly more effort but less cost is pan frying your own pancakes and using pancake powder that requires only water. The third method, scratch ingredients, is more effort-intensive because of the number of ingredients. Oddly enough, the add-water pancake-powder method is actually more economical than acquiring and mixing scratch ingredients.

The bottom of my table at "Instant Pancake Mix, Info Table, Etc., for 12 Brands" indicates cost per serving according to the brands I checked in 2015.)

Microwaveable Pancakes

Want 'em fast? Find microwaveable pancakes in your store's freezer case. My supermarket HEB shows the pricing category of "Waffles and Pancakes" (prices subject to change). It's apparent they stock WAY more varieties of waffles than pancakes. The list shows the following brands, quantity, weight, and price.

• Pillsbury Buttermilk, 12, 16.4 oz, $2.36
• Pillsbury Heat-N-Go Mini Pancakes Blueberry, 1 pouch, 2.82 oz, $.98
• Eggo Chocolate Chip Pancake Bites, ~30 (5 pouches), 8.4 oz, $2.25
• Kellogg's Eggo Star Wars Buttermilk Pancakes, 12, 14.8 oz, $2.24
• De Wafelbakkers Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes, 18, 24 oz, $2.48
• De Wafelbakkers Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes, 18, 24 oz, $2.48
• De Wafelbakkers Fluffy Chocolate Chip Pancakes, 18, 24 oz, $2.48
• De Wafelbakkers Fluffy Chocolate Chip Pancakes, 18, 24 oz, $2.48
• De Wafelbakkers Buttermilk Mini Pancakes, 60, 21.2 oz, $2.48
• HEB Organics Mini Pancakes, 40, 14.1 oz, $2.27
• De Wafelbakkers A+ Cinnamonn Spelt Sweet Potato Pancakes, 6, 8.25 oz, $2.88

DIY Pancake Mix that Requires Only Water

On April 27, 2015, I wrote and published "Instant Pancake Mix, Info Table, Etc., for 12 Brands".

In preparation instructions, about half the brands call for a ratio of 2/3 cup of water to 1 cup of powder, and the rest of the brands call for 3/4 cup of water. … The prices for the powders range from $1.47 (Hill Country) to $2.78 (Whataburger).

Bottom line, making these pancakes requires only two ingredients—powder and water. (An entire box makes ~15-20 servings.) If you can measure, stir, and pan-fry, you can easily make pancakes fresher and in less time than going out for them or having them delivered.

Whataburger Pancake—Try at Eatery or DIY at Home

On April 10, 2015, I wrote and published "Whataburger Pancakes, Mix, or Scratch".

Yummy, quick, and economical! Know that you can buy Whataburger Pancake Mix at HEB? Have you tried making scratch pancakes? Also yummy, even more economical, but not quick! The scratch recipe, which I've used for many years (with slight occasional tweaks) comes from Pillsbury's Simply From Scratch Volume 2 booklet. This method of obtaining pancakes is yummy, slow, and economical, although surprisingly, more expensive that the Whataburger mix method.

Bottom line, DIY pancakes is way more economical than dine-out pancakes or delivery pancakes.

Something Else Doable with Pancake Mix

Another item you can make if you buy pancake mix or scratch ingredients is oven donuts. You would need to buy a donut pan, available at Amazon and craft stores. Do Google lookup and price comparisons. Often, craft stores provide weekly discount coupons.
On September 18, 2015, I wrote and published "Pancake-mIx Baked Donuts" (My recipe is for 6 donuts only.)

Why only 6? Coz they're quicker to consume so that fewer might get stale. Also, good way to avoid overconsuming in a short time.

Hoping you think give some thought about pancake options. When you control the pancake method at home, you can spend the saved money for something else. And the cakes taste at least as good as eatery pancakes. However you decide to get your pancakes, bon appetit!