Joanne Chang's Childhood IHOP Experience

For Greasy Spoons Week, Joanne Chang (Flour Bakery + Cafe, Myers + Chang) tells Eater of her single greasy spoon experience from childhood:

"When I was in high school, all I did was study. That's ALL I did. I didn't party or stay out late or do anything that normal teens do. On graduation day we all were celebrating, and my best friends and I stayed up all night. This was a first for me. It was early in the morning and we were starving, so we went to the local all-night place where my classmates went all the time (I had never been — I didn't even know it existed) and we each ate 2-3 orders of pancakes. Then we finally went home and I crashed.

The next morning I was talking to some friends whom I hadn't seen the night before, and we were recounting our partying. One of them asked me, "Did you end up at IHOP?" I said, "No, darn, if I had known you were there, I would have gone. Me and Katie and Jackie went to the International House of Pancakes instead." I had no idea why everyone bust out laughing. It took me 5-10 minutes before they stopped long enough to explain. So IHOP remains my favorite and only greasy spoon from my childhood!

Now we go to South Street Diner. I still love to get pancakes. With real maple syrup, which sometimes they have and sometimes it's the packets. Still delicious."