Cheesecake Factory

[Poohforyou]

I hate cheesecake of any kind but I do like cheesecake factory's herb crusted salmon salad and ahi tuna salad on their skinnylicious menu. The sangria is good as well. Dd loves their pasta pesto with chicken. She loves the place which is why we go. I'm just glad they have menu items I'll eat and enjoy.

 

[tcufrog]

The food at the location within 5 minutes of our house is awful. I am not impressed and I can get their Cheesecake for less in frozen food aisle of my Costco down the street. I can also get a fresh cheesecake at the same Costco. The cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory locations is made elsewhere and sent to their restaurants frozen.

 

[bcla]

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.

The blog post I mentioned does sort of go into some types of people who would go there. A lot of middle or lower class families can sort of afford it, and get the feeling that they're moving up in the world by eating at a place that seems "upscale" because they have better decor than an Applebee's and higher prices. The locations are often in higher priced shopping centers, so upper class people can be "slumming" there for the kitsch factor. And you mentioned the extensive menu where there's probably something for everyone. I remember reading a local news article mentioning that one was going to open. It had a rah rah feel like it was an improvement in the neighborhood. Mind you, this shopping area already had places like Nordstroms and even Tiffany's. There were also local restaurants with stellar reputations. Cheesecake Factory was frankly a downgrade compared to those places, but probably served considerably higher volumes.

In the end it's a "formula" restaurant chain serving comfort food with large portions (with criticism that it can be extremely unhealthy) and not really a fine dining option. And with any formula restaurant, sometimes the formula gets messed up depending on the competence of the kitchen staff. It's one of those places where you can have people visiting from around the country, and they've mostly heard of it and think it's acceptable.

I don't mind it if I don't have to wait more than 15 minutes. However, I've seen where it's standing room waiting for a table and where I heard up to 3 hours wait without a reservation. I mentioned Macy's Union Square in San Francisco, but I'm familiar with the area and have more "local" places I'd choose first.

 

[aristocatz]

My favorites are their avocado eggrolls, herb crusted salmon salad, and their cobb salad-yum!

 

[disneyhand]

The Chicken Marsala is my favorite, delicious!

 

[suzimar57]

i love the avocado egg rolls, for DH it's the chicken & biscuits, and dessert is usually the banana cream cheesecake - now i want to go there....

 

[bcla]

I went to one particular location yesterday. We took guests from out of the country to see what Americans eat. The wait was pretty short though - at about 15 minutes.

Their impression wasn't that great. We ordered a couple of jambalaya pasta entrees, two sandwiches, and a kid's meal. I was OK with the sandwiches since I know what to expect, but they complained that the bread was too tough. The pasta was overly salted. The chicken/shrimp on top was bland. When it was mixed, the result was still way too salty. About the only thing they didn't complain about was the sweet potato fries that came with the sandwiches.

I'd probably go there again knowing that there are good and bad days with any chain restaurant, but they specifically said they don't want to go back. They have the leftovers (a lot) but I'm not sure if they're not going to just toss them.