Do You Want To Eat Like A Hobbit?

By Anthony Todd in Food on Oct 24, 2012 2:00PM

When we think Hobbits, we think food. And foot hair, but mostly food. Hobbits eat so many meals in a day, they're a dream for food marketers looking for more ways to shove calories down your throat. The marketing geniuses at Denny's have realized this, and they are releasing a hobbit-themed tie-in menu for the upcoming movie.

According to AdAge, "Hobbit-themed" menu items including will be coming in early November. The ad campaign has already started, and in a surprising show of erudition for Denny's, teasers were written in a language created by Tolkien himself, presumably to encourage curiosity and interest among the nerds.

So, what exactly is a hobbit-themed menu item?

Menu items include 11 breakfast, lunch and dinner items such as "Hobbit Hole Breakfast," "Frodo's Pot Roast Skillet," "Gandalf's Gobble Melt" and the "Build Your Own Hobbit Slam," which includes limited-time items such as "Shire Sausage."

It's not entirely clear how any of these dishes are different from normal Denny's dishes, except that they've added the word "hobbit." We expected some lembas bread! Or at least some fake lembas bread. Or perhaps a good roasted chicken, some nice crispy bacon or potatoes (boil 'em, mash 'em, put 'em in a stew). Nerds - you get all of those references, right?

Denny's also seems to be happy to admit that, well, fatness leads to contentment.

Fans of the Hobbit knows that hobbits eat two breakfasts, and eat about seven times per day. "We just felt with the two breakfasts that whole notion of comfort eating and comfort food" were a fit for Denny's, said Frances Allen, CMO at the restaurant chain.

So get out there and eat as many breakfasts as you want. It won't make you look like Elijah Woods, but you'll certainly be happy. There will also be trading cards, which are sure to become collectibles - so few of them will remain un-grease-stained that perfect copies are destined to be rare.

Take a look at the commercial below. Would Gandalf eat at Denny's?