A good pancake can change your entire day for the better, but a bad one can be a crippling disappointment on top of an already disastrous morning. In order to help the residents of DeKalb from experiencing said disappointment, I took it upon myself to hunt down the best pancake in the city. Here are my top three picks:

#3 IHOP

My experience at IHOP, 131 N. Annie Glidden Road., was extremely similar to my experiences at other locations of the chain restaurant. The novelty of eating in a DeKalb restaurant was absent, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that its pancakes are delicious.

First of all, IHOP’s menu offers an overwhelming selection, from chocolate chip pancakes to any kind of fruit topping you can imagine. Secondly, there is an impressive variety of syrup flavors, though I chose “Old Fashioned” to keep my comparisons as fair as possible. Because it’s open 24 hours, IHOP is a great place to go late at night with friends. That is perhaps the factor that sets this restaurant apart the most.

#2 Egg Haven Pancakes & Cafe

Egg Haven, 2562 Sycamore Road, is the classiest pancake house at which I’ve ever eaten. The minute I walked through the door, I was surrounded by gorgeous seasonal decorations and warm wooden furniture. Easy-listening instrumental music played throughout the restaurant, setting the mood for a high-class breakfast experience. A small vase of real flowers (yes, I checked) decorated each table.

The service was friendly and quick, and I had my pancake in no time. The pancake itself was almost dreamy, but it was slightly too fluffy for my liking. It seemed to fall apart rather easily in the syrup, resulting in a pile of mush in the middle of my plate. Just a mushy hint for the guys out there: Egg Haven is the perfect place for a sappy third date.

#1 Flippin Eggs

The homey decor, extremely genuine and conversational service, a cute BINGO punch card, and the ‘90s music playing through the speakers sealed the deal. Flippin Eggs, 831 S. 4th St., is the best pancake house in DeKalb. I felt like the waitress was actually concerned with providing me with a memorable and positive eating experience. This is your classic family diner, located amid residential areas and thus taking a student away from the college campus environment, if only for a meal. Its pancake was the best I have ever tasted. It reminded me of the center of French toast, with more of an egg taste than usual.

This is the kind of place where you can go by yourself or with friends, family, or someone you just met down the hall. Though the variety of pancakes is not quite as impressive as the other two restaurants on this list, the plain old buttermilk pancake is so much better than its competitors that variety is not even an issue. Do yourselves a favor and pay Flippin Eggs a visit.