Rediscovering Perkins

I rarely go to Perkins. Nothing specifically against it, just little occasion. If I’m in the mood for diner style breakfast, I head to IHOP to feed my hankering for harvest pancakes. I was at Perkins recently for a meeting. Wow, their menu is much more taste focused.
They have a new special menu to brand their pie and dessert offerings – “The Bake Shoppe”. Great layout and very enticing special menu. A generation ago, the gold standard for great pie was homemade – especially by Grandma. Today, the gold standard for pie and homestyle desserts is made on the outside – the local pie shop or bakery; the restaurant pie shop (Marie Callendars, Bakers Square) or pie from a diner-style restaurant (Perkins, Village Inn, Coco’s). Making news of their pie skills helps elevate the taste perception of the whole menu. I want to believe the pies are being made in the back with love and care – yet I know better. I did not recall Perkins making a pie statement before, and they have done a great job of it now.

Banana Cream, please!

And if it's good, maybe something from the griddle....