My first dining experience at the Cheesecake Factory was somewhere around 2003 in Chicago, Illinois, and I was just blown away by the architecture. The outrageous curves of the art nouveau architecture really sets the mood. And you want selection? There's two pages of just appetizers. TWO pages! Just check out all the mouthwatering selections online if you have a moment. I haven't even tried a tenth of their menu, and yet it remains one of my favorite places to eat. 98% of all the trips I take to chicago must include The Cheesecake Factory somewhere. Go for the cheesecake, stay for the food, never a disappointment!
This past weekend I was visiting Chi-town for an interesting exhibit on a popular wizard at the Museum of Science and Industry when the opportunity presented itself to dine at TCF. When we arrived at the restaurant we were greeted by air conditioning (which was gladly welcomed due to the heat index being over 100ยบ that day) and a mere 15 minute wait for a table. I was ecstatic at the wait time because I've always had to wait over an hour.
I sat oogling at all the goodies on their extensive multi-paged menu and already knew that whatever I ordered must be a small enough portion to be able to enjoy a big piece of cheesecake at the end. After contemplating and not being able to decide, I chose to go with two appetizers, one to share and one for my entree.
Our pre-dinner appetizer was the fried mac and cheese. These delectable little devils were definitely not low-fat or low-cal but they were very high-delish. The menu did not give out the secret to what ingredients were inside their crispy shells, but my guess is some sort of mellow goat's cheese, a little cheddar, and mini penne pasta. They were served on a creamy marninara sauce that was a perfect pairing for such a thing. I could've easily made these my meal.
For my entree I got the Crispy Crab Wontons, which are similar to crab rangoons. I have gotten these before and loved them. This time the recipe was slightly different and they weren't as I expected, but still tasty nonetheless. I wish I would have ordered a small plate, but that just means I get to go back and try some more! I was glad I went with another appetizer when I saw my dinner mates' plates. The portions at this place are HUGE!
My baby-cakes ordered a Kobe beef burger (U.S. Kobe). It was our first experience with Kobe beef and I do say the meat was very tender and the burger had quite the charbroiled flavor to it. If you are unfamiliar with Kobe beef, check out this article. I find the entire practice quite fasinating. U.S. Kobe beef uses the same cow breed, but they are cross bred with Angus cows to meet demand, and fed less expensive feed. I would love to try authentic Japanese Kobe beef sometime. We saw it on the menu of a restaurant in Las Vegas, $93.00 for a 6 oz portion!
For dessert I ordered my favorite (so-far): Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake. Now I'm not the biggest fan of cheesecake...but I LOVE Cheesecake factory cheesecake. It's so creamy and rich. When I received my cheesecake slice I dove right in and then realized I hadn't taken a picture yet. I was so excited to try it I forgot to shoot it! So here is a shot of an already-well-enjoyed cheesecake!
I can't wait to go back and try more. I give this multi-faceted restaurant 5 stars out of 5!
★★★★★
★★★★★
I like the cheesecake at the factory. I give it a 3/5
ReplyDeleteI love the Cajun Jambalaya! I always order that one when I go to Cheesecake Factory. I would rate Cheesecake Factory 4 1/2 stars out of 5. The only exception is that the food is a but expensive and pricey. Other than that,I love the food! And don't forget the chocolate cheesecakes!
ReplyDeleteI always go to Cheesecake factory in Menlo Park Mall in NJ on Mondays for the lentil soup. Today I ordered the soup and the gave me the tortilla chicken soup without telling me. They just change my order because they didn't have more lentil soup. They didn't asked me what I want. Now they make decision for you? not one "I'm sorry" nothing! Very bad bartender!
ReplyDeleteMy experience was not good...celebrating my birthday..Ordered crabcake appetizer,3 crabcakes the size of pigpong balls...my husband ordered chicken w/biscuit, biscuit not ready ..changed order to hamburger, too strong charcoal flavor...then chicken dinner came because waiter not aware order had been cancelled...was offered it rather than throw it out...that too was not good...not a good night
ReplyDeleteWorst restaurant experience ever! At the Irvine spectrum location, food delivered with no cutlery. Asked several waiters and servers and nothing. We were only a few feet from server station so my friend got up to get the knives and forks and was sent back with nothing. 20 minutes after appetizer had been delivered and only a couple of minutes after the cutlery arrived, the manager came, and instead of apologizing, began rudely shouting at us in front of everyone. The guests sitting next to us and most in the section where we were we all staring at us. I could not believe we were being treated that way. I told the manager we had no cutlery to eat with and he got even more upset at us! We couldn't eat we were so upset. We paid the $80 bill and began to leave when a few of the diners around us began to tell us how shocked and disgusted they were with the way we had been treated and that they were not coming back to that location again. The embarrassment left me feeling sick to my stomach and basically ruined my whole weekend. After I complained on their website, it took the Irvine Spectrum location's general manager a couple of weeks to call back with apologies and promises to make it up to us. 7 months later, and several complaints to their corporate later...NOTHING! They probably gave the rude manager a promotion! He got customers to pay without touching their food! Cheesecake factory knows who I am.
ReplyDeleteThe food is okay but the I was charged incorrectly just for the burger. I don't know and don't understand why my bill is different than the price on the menu. So expensive burger!
ReplyDeletethe cheesecake factory is basically the chain restaurant that other chain restaurants aspire to be. Its tough for any restaurant to compete with a restaurant that makes nearly 100 sauces and dressing in house every day.
ReplyDeletethe cheesecake factory is basically the chain restaurant that other chain restaurants aspire to be. Its tough for any restaurant to compete with a restaurant that makes nearly 100 sauces and dressing in house every day.
ReplyDelete