Cheesecake Factory

[focusondisney]

I love the small plate stuffed mushrooms & chicken piccata. Can't get enough of the brown bread. And the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake. Yummy!

 

[airhead]

Crispy Orange Beef, deep fried Mac and Cheese(O-M-G!!), Lettuce cups,and ALL deserts! lol

 

[superme80]

Fettuccine with chicken and sun dried tomatoes.

This is the dish!!!! I love this one!!!!

 

[Disneychick75]

The Shepard's Pie is delicious!

 

[crayon3448]

PSA: If you dine in at the Cheesecake Factory July 30th or 31st the cheesecake is half off.

 

[Shmily1]

Chicken Parmigiana. In Italian it's pollo alla Parmigiana.

That one has the marinara type sauce. I had to look it up. It is called Chicken di Pana. YUM!!

Crayon 3448, Thanks for the heads up! I'll be there on the 31st! YAY!

 

[bcla]

You know, I enjoy Cheesecake Factory as much as the next person, but to me it's really chain restaurant comfort food in upscale locations, but where there's probably better food to be had nearby. I know it's kind of selling itself as approachable fine dining, but it's more or less a casual dining restaurant that features dessert. I've even heard some people talk about going there as if they're pretentious people dining at a four-star restaurant and not a dressed-up casual dining place.

I've seen people waiting in San Francisco for the location at Macy's Union Square, and 3 hour waits are the norm on a weekend or Friday night.

Here's one take:

http://splicetoday.com/consume/the-wal-mart-of-fine-dining

The “Cheesecake” in my town is right next to a movie theater. The next closest one is also right next to a movie theater. The closest one after that is right next to the aquarium. Anecdotal evidence from friends around the country has led me to believe this is a trend. There needs to be a distraction nearby that can occupy upwards of three hours, since that’s more or less the average waiting time to get a table at the restaurant. Three hours. I have seen it with my own eyes on several occasions. We’re not talking about Dorsia here; we’re talking about “Cheesecake.”

A standard Factory experience proceeds something like this: First, you have to choose at least two nearby restaurant backup plans because your first backup is usually filled up with the first batch of rejects from The Factory. Picking one restaurant is often difficult enough, but three is usually impossible.
** ** **

Let’s pause here for a moment. Who cares, right? But here’s the thing: The Factory may not have a food-based identity, but it does have an identity. The Cheesecake Factory has sold itself as a pseudo-exclusive fine dining restaurant for the middle class. It is high culture for the middle and lower class and acceptable kitsch for the upper class. It isn’t $40-an-entrée kind of place, but it is a bit expensive.

Their reputation is based on having three-hour waits and that is it. This isn’t a wolf parading around in sheep’s clothing—it’s a wolf parading around in lion’s clothing. The Factory is essentially an everything-under-one-roof-beat-out-mom-and-pop-store Wal-Mart for people who often look down on Wal-Mart. It offers bogus exclusivity: if you wait long enough or time your visit just right, you’ll get in and prove you’re smarter than everyone else.

What troubles me about The Factory isn’t its ability to occupy multiple spaces on the social strata—it’s the particularly manipulative way they’ve done it. It’s not a 10-table boutique restaurant in Soho, it’s a massive countrywide chain that presents faux-exclusivity and plays on people’s anxieties and stereotypes about acceptance, class, and being cool. Half of the people in the restaurant, those that are maybe a bit nervous that they’d never fit in at the local chic upscale steakhouse, get to pretend they’re getting that fancy vibe while the other half of the restaurant is quietly mocking them from the privacy of their mammoth booths. The Cheesecake Factory dining experience has become a subtle exercise in class/dining relations and appearing either cultured or uncultured depending on what you’d rather be. It forces you to choose which “side” of society you embody with the way you react to your dining choice.

I find the food to be no better or worse than other places like Chili's or BJ's. And I can be seated at BJ's immediately.

 

[daannzzz]

Buffalo Blasts

 

[pigletgirl]

I really enjoy their roasted vegetable sandwich and a side salad. My favorite cheesecake is their white chocolate raspberry.

 

[LUVDZNY2008]

Chicken Bellagio

 

[Art 1]

My daughter likes the place so I take her there when she is in town. But to me the food taste like slop, there is nothing there other than the cheesecake that I have cared for.

But then again I don't care for T-Rex or Rainforest Cafe but many think the food at those places is the best.

 

[bcla]

My daughter likes the place so I take her there when she is in town. But to me the food taste like slop, there is nothing there other than the cheesecake that I have cared for.

But then again I don't care for T-Rex or Rainforest Cafe but many think the food at those places is the best.

I think it's OK. Like I said - comfort food in a nicer setting than Chili's or Applebee's. Shouldn't be confused with fine dining because it isn't. As long as you temper your expectations, it's not so bad.

I actually like eating there every once in a while, but I don't lose sight that it's a chain restaurant serving more or less what one can find at a place like BJ's Brewhouse. In fact - I like BJ's better because I don't have to wait hours for a table, spend less, and like watching sports on the TVs.

 

[goodeats]

Last visit I had to BJs I did not like one thing that came to our table (including the beer and pizookie!) and I don't plan to ever go back. Cheesecake Factory isn't fine dining, but the food is much better than BJs. We don't go too often, but it's a decent option with the kids.

I really like the crusted chicken romano and bbq chicken salad. I also like this one pasta that has mushrooms, peas, sundried tomatoes, and pancetta in a cream sauce. I usually get that one over broccoli instead of noodles to save room for cheesecake. The pumpkin one is my favorite, but it's seasonal.

They also have a delicious white sangria on the cocktail menu!

 

[momrek06]

I love their SKINNY menu!!!

Their FLATBREAD pizzas on the SM are AWESOME!!!

 

[superme80]

I love their SKINNY menu!!!

Their FLATBREAD pizzas on the SM are AWESOME!!!

Me too!!! It is a good thing that place is 30 miles from me!

 

[Irish9697]

Herb Crusted Salmon Salad...it is beautiful and delicious! I've had it in Chicago, Indy, Palm Beach, and Nashville that I can remember and it's always amazing!!

We don't have a Cheesecake Factory here. Wish we did.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

I always get the fried zucchini there, it's the best! Actually, I usually get 2-3 appetizers because they have so many and they're good.

But also, I usually don't get cheesecake.

 

[Cindy B]

I think I'm the only person in the world that doesn't like the Cheesecake Factory. We have one about five minutes away and we went a few times when it opened. Long waits for a prettier Applebee's ! And it was so expensive! We have tons of choices in my area so I never get why people wait hours sometimes even two hours to eat there .

 

[crayon3448]

I think I'm the only person in the world that doesn't like the Cheesecake Factory. We have one about five minutes away and we went a few times when it opened. Long waits for a prettier Applebee's ! And it was so expensive! We have tons of choices in my area so I never get why people wait hours sometimes even two hours to eat there .

I don't care for it either and have only eaten there a few times, always with friends who wanted to go there. Last time I ate there was when I was pregnant and some friends were in from out of town and suggested it. There must have been a ton of salt in the food because both me and my DH swelled up like balloons.

 

[pigletgirl]

I think I'm the only person in the world that doesn't like the Cheesecake Factory. We have one about five minutes away and we went a few times when it opened. Long waits for a prettier Applebee's ! And it was so expensive! We have tons of choices in my area so I never get why people wait hours sometimes even two hours to eat there .

It's a relatively "safe" place to eat and everyone can find something to eat there. I do think its over priced but you pretty much get two meals in one.

We have a thousand other places around us that are better and cheaper.