Even those at International House of Pancakes know about the cinnamon roll competition among several local breakfast places in this county.

First sign: the hanging cardboard pictures of the Cinnamon Swirl French Toast.

They've done their homework.

But have they made the grade?

Brooke says yes.

I say, they've at least passed. But as far as how high the grade, many a cinnamon roll-savvy breakfast lover might say it wouldn't hurt to taste a bit more cinnamon.

IHOP, as it is known, opened a new location, out near Harmony Road, on Tuesday. Brooke and I were among its first guests.

In for a late lunch, we were delighted at the waitress who came up to us with the rehearsed speech.

"Can I start you off with a carafe of Minute Maid, I didn't say that right, a carafe of premium Minute Maid orange juice?"

I've noticed fast food and drive-thru eateries these days often attempt to plant a seed of what you want before you've spoken the words to order. Example: drive-thrus. But our waitress made the dining experience anything but inhuman as she went back often to see how we were. At least it was just orange juice. Not some crazy impossible to say combination off the menu.

And in fact, what she suggested was just what Brooke wanted.

Brooke put in an order for the carafe of Minute Maid orange juice ($2.39). Striking a balance between breakfast and lunch, I asked for both a Sprite ($1.59) and the bottomless cup of coffee ($1.39).

Relaxing for once, I decided on the Cinnamon Swirl French Toast Sampler ($5.99). Brooke ordered the Breakfast Sampler ($6.99).

Both our orders arrived promptly. They came with two eggs (we opted for the scrambled), two strips of bacon, two sausage links, two slices of ham and hash browns.

The real test was in the difference between the two. Hers came with the pancakes, mine with their cinnamon swirl French toast.

Seeing her pancakes, Brooke said, "They're kind of shaped." "Like parchment paper," I agreed.

The Cinnamon Swirl French Toast looked as good on the plate as it did on the cardboard cutout, I had to admit.

The eggs were well cooked. And there wasn't too much food, at which I was relieved. I always feel guilty leaving behind a lot, and yet I didn't have to take any with me. Good proportions of each, ham, bacon and sausage, were served.

Brooke noticed the selection of four syrups already on each table: butter pecan, blueberry strawberry and boysenberry.

"Be sure to tell them I tried the butter pecan syrup," Brooke said. "I've never heard of that syrup in my life. It's better than maple. It's good, Anna. You should try it."

By this time, I was already immersed in my choices for the cinnamon roll French toast, artfully decorating one slice of it in the red strawberry syrup and the other in the violet blueberry syrup.

I liked the later better.

But Brooke insisted I try at least one bite of the pancake with this butter pecan syrup she so raved about.

"It's butterscotchy," I said. "Isn't it?," Brooke said. "It's yummy."

We were both happy with the quick service and the simple yet classy decoration. Breakfast tradition, to Brooke and me, is about meeting up at the Egg & I every so often on a Sunday.

Traditions are never replaced entirely, but we wouldn't mind trying the lunch menu at IHOP and I know she'll try out more of that butter pecan syrup.

With the Egg & I, Village Inn and now IHOP within a two-minute drive of each other, the breakfast competition on the south side of town is heating up.