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Out of all the International Houses of Pancakes in the nation, only one gives diners the option of sweetening their cakes with authentic maple syrup, for an additional charge of 99 cents. That House is in Vermont, and guess who's jealous? Our own Senator Chuck Schumer, who has become something of a crusader for New York's maple syrup industry. Last month he co-sponsored a bill to help small American producers get access to maple trees on private land. Now he's taken a special interest in IHOP, firing off a letter to CEO Julia Stewart encouraging her to let the 40 franchisees across the state add New York State maple syrup to the menu. Unfortunately, Stewart has yet to respond, so it may take some more sweet-talking from Schumer before we'll be able to drown our Harvest Grain ‘N Nut Pancakes in fancy-boy natural syrup—for now, at least, it's strictly BYOS at New York's IHOP locations around the city.
Schumer To Liberate IHOP Diners From Tyranny of Corn Syrup
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Schumer is truly a champion for the REAL problems facing New Yorkers. And by "New Yorkers" I mean all 3 of the ones who own maple farms on the Canadian border.
1500 independent, family-owned farms in New York produce Maple Syrup and a few of you, with heads so far up yer butts that you should have a glass belly button put in (so you can see where you're going) that you make cracks about it? Senator Schumer is representing ALL of New York, not just the city.
I always bring my own maple syrup when I know that I'm going out for waffles or pancakes. That corn syrup based stuff is nothing but artificially flavored sweetener.
Yeah - he's looking out for those 1,500 upstaters!
But what about the other 22 million New Yorkers (or do we have to write him big soft money checks, like the maple farmers did)?
Sounds like a real sticky situation.
99 cents is a good deal for real maple syrup on your pancakes. Though I bet IHOP doesn't give you a half-gallon sized (sticky) pitcher of it like they do with the fake stuff.
If you click through to the piece on the Vermont IHOP, you'll see that you are correct.
I'm glad he's taking care of important things. Thanks, Chuck.
Generating millions of dollars for small businesses in upstate New York is important, indeed.
Yep, and for regions of the state where the local economy is particularly bad. The "three maple farms on the Canadian border" crack above is way off the mark; there are more than 1500 maple syrup producers in New York, and even more property owners that simply sell access to their trees but aren't counted as "producers" themselves. Maple trees grow all across the state and anyone with a significant amount of property that has them could be profiting from them.
Fair enough, but I don't feel like the US Senate should be influencing the menu of a privately owned restaurant. And besides, IHOP might be a symbolic name, but I'll guarantee the amount of syrup used by New York State's thousands of McDonald's locations is several orders of magnitude greater than all of the IHOPs in NY.
The U.S. Senate is doing no such thing. One Senator wrote a letter.
IHOP was chosen because they've demonstrated that they're open to local sourcing arrangements. McDonald's has not.
Got anymore partisan nitpicking?
it's tough, i know. he's a senator representing New York State not just New York City. daddy will come back around and pay attention to you plenty. don't worry lil' guy.
Another reason we should secede from upstate!
New York City deserves it's own senators, it's own governor and to keep all of our tax dollars down here!
We've been subsidizing the hicks for way too long!
FIFTY FIRST STATE!
Another case for small, limited government.
This just proves how useless Upchuck and the rest of the fools on the hill are.
for some reason i read "tyranny" as "tranny". i couldn't figure out what trannies had to do with corn syrup...
You've never heard of "pancaking"?
/Homer drool
mmmmm, pancakes....
HFCS 'maple' syrup tastes like shit compared to the real McCoy.
What's Charlie's cut?
Here's a novel idea: let the people who eat in this places decide what syrup they like.
You're a moron.
Instead of going all hate and snarky on Chuck, we should be proud that he's trying to increase small business interests in NY State (1,500 small family farms). A letter to IHOP's CEO encouraging her to offer customers the option of paying for real maple syrup is hardly government interference in business. In fact, for those of you who believe that small, limited government is best than this is EXACTLY the type of action that you should love - it uses the power of persuasion, rather than legislation, to accomplish the goal of furthering NY State's economic interests. But no, you have such a knee-jerk reaction against anything that Schumer does that you excoriate him even when he does something you would applaud in a Republican. Hypocrites.
well-said, of all the things gov't does, I have no problem with a Senator writing a letter to encourage a New York business to support New York products. I can't fathom why anyone but a "fake" syrup producer would have a problem with this.
I would never praise a politician for telling private industry how to run their business if it's not a clear and present danger to the citizens of NY.
"I would never praise a politician for telling private industry how to run their business if it's not a clear and present danger to the citizens of NY."
Just where is Schumer telling private industry how to run their business? He wrote a simple letter of encouragement for chrissake. Schumer is using the LEAST intrusive and heavy-handed manner possible to promote small business in NY State. I repeat, you are a hypocrite.
Do you understand what hypocrisy is?
Schumer does nothing without some sort of payback. Politics is strictly a pay to play proposition.
Sorry Chuck, in NYS even the trees are all tapped out.
and then we will have a definitive source of the maple syrup smells...
If someone tried to exercise their newly bestowed privilege to "access maple trees on private land" & that happened to be my land, I'd treat them as trespassers & thieves.
What letter of word "private" this clown doesn't understand?
You should educate yourself about a topic before speaking.
The legislation would require landowner approval.
And it says so where? We didn't need special legislation about access to trees on private land, if owners were already interested in maple syrup & thus willing to consent.
Well if the landowners are willing to give their approval, what need is there for legislation? Legislation forces people to do or not do certain things, it's not voluntary.
Only one person would be "forced" to do anything by this legislation: Tom Vilsack, the Secretary of Agriculture.
I always bring my own maple syrup. High fructose corn syrup is gross and should not be passed off as syrup.
I'm going to go jug some maple syrup right now.
I'm "jugging some maple syrup" right now, if you know what I mean.
For those of you saying that this is something Schumer should be championing, you have completely lost any concept of what the Federal Government is meant to do! We have a CONSTITUTION THAT LIMITS THE POWER OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT! They should not be going anywhere near this. They are supposed to "Protect the General Welfare" IF anyone should focus on this, it should be at the state level. And even then, picking out one company is particularly insidious, and very far removed from what the national and state founders envisioned. GROW UP!
Fortunately, the secretary of Agriculture is from Iowa and surely will not stand for this outrage! This could be the wedge issue that will ultimately split the Democratic party apart. I'm going to call Senator Harkin and make sure he stands up for corn based products rightful place on breakfast tables everywhere!
I love how you liberals love to be led around by your noses by Mama Government or Papa Schumer. But then again I have never met a one with any personal responsibility that could think for them selves. Maybe you would like Papa Chuckie to pick your clothes out for you? Grow-up and get a pair of balls.
Somebody PLEASE "liberate" us from the stupidity of Charles Schumer.
Here's an idea. Everybody should send empty bottles of maple syrup to the Senate offices of Charles Schumer.