I used to be a regular at the International House of Pancakes -- frequenting many of them in various cities and locations. I'm a big fan of the Harvest Grain 'N Nut pancakes. My kids grew up on "Happy Face" pancakes.

But about three years ago I stopped going to these restaurants -- for no particular reason, just didn't go. And last week, I went for a late dinner to a local iHop. We both ordered pancakes -- I had the Harvest Grain 'N Nut, and my son had the buttermilk along with an omelette. And while we were at the table we both made the same observation and comment: "are the pancakes smaller now?"

Well, we just came back from having dinner at the same restaurant and the pancakes appeared smaller again.

I can understand why they would make them smaller: to keep prices low, cut down on waste (who eats them all?) and to make dining healthier (do you really need a stack of four pancakes?).

But are the pancakes smaller now or do we just think they used to be bigger?