Any Reason to go to Cheesecake Factory?

Meh. Their food is acceptable because it is a popular chain and his has to be, but it's really nothing special.

I've been to CF's in 5 cities. Other than the LONG waits you might have, I find the decor interesting, the service is mediocre but professional, and the servings are HUGE. From almost any dinner you could easily bring home leftovers and eat two more times. I have never tried their cheesecake, because (1) I'm too full; and (2) it's about $6 per slice. According to a newspaper review I read when they opened one in my city, the desserts are all made in CA or somewhere and shipped to the stores.
My wife did have the carrot cake, another humongous serving which we both shared for several days.

Their menu is a book, and it's online at their website.

We're going to the one in Dallas this weekend. It's a good place to people watch too.

H.

Eh! Just a plain ol' commercial chain restaurant, seem to recall large portions of average food. Cheesecake is so-so - have had worse but have also had lots better. Caveat: been awhile since I visted on of the restaurants. Low on my priority list.

shel

Yeah! Okay! Inspite of what others have said the place is pretty decent. Great standards and the food is very good for the kind of place that it is plus the desserts have never dissappointed us.

I'll argue the fact as to whether or not it's mediocre.... With some of their units doing between 10 and 15 million or more a year in sales....... In order for them to do that the recipes need to be executable. It's not a boil in bag place. And as far as I'm concerned and IMHPO Kudos to them for keeping the standards they do in the face of the sales. How many $12,000.00 in sales hours have ya'll worked in your careers!!! :bounce:

>How many $12,000.00 in sales hours have ya'll worked in your careers!!! <

So, does that just make it an upscale cafeteria? :look:

I've never eaten in one, so have no opinion. But they were featured on Into The Heat, and one thing did turn me off: their style of touring great reastaurants across the country and developing versions of the chefs' best sellers.

No. Not at all. But then again I have never run a cafeteria so can't say whether or not they are even capable of performing a 12,000.00 sales hour and if they did I have to believe it would be no where near the quality you find at Cheese Cake Factory. But I have run an upscale food court on the Sprint World Campus and even with the number of folks we fed in the diningroom as well as the Executive dining and catering we rarely came close to that number for daily sales let alone an hour. And as far as my experience with a 12K hour? Cinco de Mayo when I worked for Rio Bravo in Atlanta. Rio Buckhead's numbers for the single day were close to 105,000.00 and that's beer, quesadillas and tacos. Crappy food by some standards here:D

But that's not the issue. It's just gets my blood boiling with the unsubstantiated or blanket "opinions" from people that believe the way to post new and interesting recipes if to do a cut and paste to the Food Network site. They're insulting and counter productive to the industry. Things are always going to be what they are and not what you want them to be. Food is food and as Chefs we produce all types. Ya know a good friend of mine who is also a very successful Chef once told me that as a Chef you can't always write menu's with world class cuisine. Sometimes you have to do the chicken wings and Cobb Salads as well. Just part of being a Chef or at the least a TRUE FOODIE!

Yeah there are plenty of things I personally and professionally don't like about what people or corporations in the industry throw our way. But then again some people don't like my concept or menu ideas and that's all well and good. Just spouting some cliche or "one of the flock" statements like "Just a plain ol' commercial chain restaurant" doesn't do any good. And don't base things off of one visit 10 years ago or what ever. Cheese Cake Factory is what it is. And so are many of the other concepts out there. A good portion of my career was working in many of those so called "plain ol' commercial chain restaurants". And yeah, many of them have sold out to the way of the mass produced and boil in bag menu. But it wasn't always that way and there are still that some that believe that much of the food they serve should be brought in the back door and produced on site. And as far as I know Cheese Cake is still one of those. Plus their food was once considered out of the ordinary and exciting too. And I wager a bet that there are a good many of ya'll out there that are my age or older who frequented places like Cheesecake factory, Bennigans, TGI Friday's or similar more than once or twice.

As far as Cheese Cake Factory goes...We have one here, there was one in Atlanta and KC had one as well. From my experinece with them I know they draw a wide range of clientele and have never reall heard too much negative other than the looooong wait. So they must be doing something right to be on a 2 hr wait 'til 11pm and continually do the sale they generate. Of course they've been doing it at some of their locations for close to 20 years too.

Rant over! Soapbox neatly tucked under table!

I enjoy their chopped salad; I think it's on the app menu. It has chopped romaine and other veggies, some chicken plus toasted pecans and bleu cheese. It's my meal of choice there. We don't eat there often though. When I want a treat I get 6-carb cheesecake. It's pretty good for what it is (a dessert from a large chain restaurant).

I've been 2x in the last 1.5 years....
was Ok. why did I go....plan old curiosity. 2 hour wait....is common.....just blows my mind, people would wait that long for dinner.

So go the Asian salad last time and it was heavy in cabbage light on chicken but monstrous. Lots of various veg., good dressing.
Service was good.

Frankly, can't remember the meal before and that says alot....

What is pretty interesting is the various ethnic combinations.....for the life of me it's hard to figure out what's mainstream ingredients and what are "weird", some of the chains are bringing novel ing. into play.

I don't really like that place. Every time I've gone there, I was dissapointed with what I got. I don't plan on it being a 4 michelin meal, but I think it could be improved. On my last visit however, my wife got a cobb salad and it was delicious.

I really like Cheesecake Factory. I agree the servings are huge, but it is a great example of how a restaurant should operate. The whole science behind the place is impressive. Most if not all Cheesecake Factories are in high traffic areas, (malls, tourist traps, etc.), so that when you take home that half eaten piece of cheesecake that is still bigger than your head, you carry it around through that mall and everyone sees your bag that says "Cheesecake Factory." It's genius.

So, what's that got to do with the quality of the food?

shel

Mr./Ms. Shel,

If the food is average or above, there may be other qualities that draw customers. I happen to like the unique wall paintings/murals, nice ambience, lighting, usually higher level income well-dressed customers, HUGE variety of menu options, waiters are nicely dressed and professional, etc. I can take my family and friends there and know MOST everyone will be happy. At the end of the day, I don't feel so bad about dropping $150 or more there. and bringing home some lunch for tomorrow.

So maybe there's more than food quality someone might look for? After all, it's only a one-night visit. Isn't it nice we have options.

H.

TCF is a fine place for what it is, a clean, friendly, well decorated, well run, many options chain restaurant. The menu offers something for everyone, and from my experience, if you are unhappy with the quality of the food, your expectations were probably too high.

We go their a couple times a year, usually for group birthdays, etc. I think the cheesecake is okay, but serves more as part of the marketing than for the meal. Like everyone said, the portions are (too) huge and usually you won't be able to eat desert if you finished your meal.

gotta be hungry!

OK, so i went to a CF last week, but that is because my boss paid for it.
the portions are huge, and the meal was tasty.

i had the bbq beef ribs and they were fall off the bone tender, altho a
little heavy on the sauce. the fries were thin, light and crisp, and the
fried onion "strings" were crispy and not at all oily like battered onion
rings usually are.

give any ingredient to a few cooks/chefs and they will all be slightly different because of timing, heat, etc. such is life with a lot of "chains" as well. the better ones are more consistant.

maybe here is a perspective on eating food ... even from someplace like CF (altho it is nowhere near as bad as a lot of places i have been to and, in fact, i enjoyed my ribs).

my brother-in-law, quite the cook, was on a plane flight back from europe and who was flying on the same flight?? jacques pepin, as celebrated a chef as there ever was (to a lot of people!), sitting across the aisle from him.
when the in-flight meal was served (this was in business class, NOT first class!!). i asked (remember ... this is airline food!!) my brother-in-law if jacques pepin bothered to eat the food.

my brother-in-law answered " .... like it was his last meal!!"

I don't recognize the name of the restaurant.....??

clarification!

OH!!

we were talking about CheesecakeFactory. sorry for the confusion!

The thing with chains of any kind- Lowe's, Macy's, Applebees- any kind at all, is that each time one opens, we flock to them like flies....or sheep, to the detriment of individually owned businesses. I'm tired of corporate America telling me what I should eat, wear, put in my house. I'd rather eat at a privately owned restaurant and take my chances than eat at a chain and get the same food in NH as you'd get anywhere else in the free world.

I recently had a job styling slices of their cheesecakes for the packaging of their frozen retail offerings. These were some very tasty cheescakes! It's not even one of my favorite desserts, but these were really yummy!

Haven't eaten at their restos, so I couldn't comment. The people in charge of the whole thing were very nice. They were easy to get along with, clear and communicative about their goals. I like that.

eating where??

I felt the same way when i had a four hour layover in hawaii when i was en route to midway island ...
we took a taxi downtown and what were our restaurant choices?? mickey d,
burger king, tgif, denny's, chain after chain. unfortunately,
knowing EXACTLY what the food will be like is a source of comfort for a lot of people. generally speaking, a chain or franchise is some sort of comfort in the sanitation department as well. a chain/franchise is almost a guarantee of being a money maker .... a plus when you consider what real estate rentals are going for!
you just have to watch "kitchen nightmares" on tv and just imagine how
icky the average restaurant could be ... especially in a city you know nothing about.
i am a big fan of hole-in-the-walls. "drive-ins, diners, and dives" on
food networks really stokes my fires!! so many great food ideas!

I've eaten at several CF's over the years.
I also spent several years working for a casual dining chain that competes with them on certain levels.

My first CF experience was many years ago in LA. Specifiaclly, Marina Del Ray location. I lived on a sailboat in the marina at the time, and was able to take the dingy there, since they had a dingy dock for marina residents. To me, at the time....that was part of the 'experience'.
I've seen that unit on a 2 hour wait for LUNCH ON A WEEKDAY!!!!
I've also heard that unit has done over $20 million in sales in one year. To execute those kind of sales and have people come back, is an accomplishment that we should all admire....regardless of whether you like chains or not.

Someone mentioned the Dallas location. I ate there about a year ago, with a large group. That particular location intrigued me because of the location, evironment etc...
I was shocked at the sheer size and grandeur. I figured the buildout must have been at least $10 million......I was then informed of how much TI they received from the landlord, because of it's flagship status. Almost half the entire buildout!!!

That, my friends, is very impressive to me. When a commercial landlord gives you $5 million bucks to build you restaurant....you are on to something.

The service?...okay..nothing memorable, either way, and I'm not sure that's a bad thing.

The menu?....way too extensive for me...I prefer simple, but they do seem to have something for everyone.....reminds me of a glorified TGIF to a certain degree.

The food?....met my expectations but did not exceed them. That too is okay for me...especially with a large group (75+).

The strange thing is....I would never even consider taking my family there for dinner.....but I would entertain business clients there, without even thinking about it much.

It is what it is.....a success story in casual dining.

Cat Man

Comfort, sure, I get that, especially in a strange city, but in general, I think we've just become used to having corporate America make our choices for us. The chains have the $$ to get prime real estate so they put their businesses near where people are- at the malls- and we are too lazy to venture off even 1/2 mile to find something different.

Our bellies have been trained to expect a monster burger from Ruby Tuesday's and should we end up in a mom and pop diner and get a normal sized one, we feel cheated. The diner doesn't have the buying power to get burger cheap enough to make a half pounder, serve it with a load of fries, and a salad bar for only $2.99 extra. Chances are, they're not even in a location that would get enough traffic to sell enough of them to break even.

This is a topic that really interests me, but I've got to my high schooler to his ride to school and get myself to work.

On a similar note, TCF owns a chain of higher end restaurants called Grand Lux Cafe that is growing by leaps and bounds. It is a very nice, well appointed concept that has very good quality food. Nothing frilly or pretentious, but something for everyone. What's more, the Grand Lux at the Venetian in Vegas is the second busiest restaurant in the world. Last year they topped 120 million in sales. They have over 360 employees, run 24 hours a day and serve on average 5-7 thousand covers per day. And they do it well. Very short waits, fast service and good food. This just speaks to the organization of the company, the system and the management. Oh yea, and with the exception of the cheesecakes which come from corporate, everything is made from scratch. This restaurant does a la carte, they have an in house express breakfast and lunch buffet, a bakery that sells carry out goods and coffee, a pizzeria section and a hot line that is about 100 feet long staffed by 20 line cooks. It is worth touring just to see the operation, even if you don't want to eat there.

Montelago, I had a trip planned this month to LV for a conference, but in the end couldn't justify the $$. I would have liked to have seen the place you talked about. Sounds interesting.

I don't begrudge anyone who's working in a chain. In fact, I worked for Holiday Inn Corp for a few years. It was how I was able to do a lot of travelling, knowing I was assured of a job when I got someplace.

My (quasi) stand against chains won't amount to a hill of beans anyway. There will always be a line out the door of most chains for all the reasons posted above: consistency, name recognition, food safety (or the illusion of same), placement of restaurants... Their $$ spent on marketing to the masses far surpass that of most, if not all, privately owned establishments. I know that they're willing to pay top dollar for real estate in high traffic areas like around malls which has raised the value of land in those areas, and imagine they've done the same to leases inside malls. If McD's is willing to pay $3K (and I'm guessing here) for a space, my little cafe wouldn't be able to match that. I pay $800 for 600 sq ft! A bargain until you see my heating bill and realize that we have to wear layers in the kitchen because there's no heat there- only what drifts in from the front or what comes off the ovens. I had plants freeze in there. Hot as Hades in the summer, too. My baker complains about the cold; just wait until she experiences August! I keep telling the landlord that a little insulation in the ceiling would do wonders...

what a bargain!!

$800/month?? how much is the heating bill??

compare your $800 for 600 sq. ft. to san francisco's outrageous rent of
(on the average for a good not prime location) $5.00/sq. ft.!!
your little 600 sq. ft. restaurant would be costing $3,000/month BEFORE
heating, gas, electricity, et. al.!!

no wonder there is such a high failure rate in this town ... and now, by city law, owners have to provide a health plan, paid sick leave, and a $9.00/hr.
minimum wage!

HA! Crimson, my space is layed out so poorly, you wouldn't believe it! The building is OLD!!! It used to be 3 units connected end to end approx 10-12 feet in width by 60 feet in length total, so it's sort of like 3 train cars. The first unit has my office, catering storage, and dry good storage as well as a fridge and a freezer, no insulation and a monitor heater. When I sit at my desk, I can feel a breeze at my feet and ...no lie, either, my hair ruffles when it's windy. The second unit is my kitchen sans sink and refrigeration. I have 2 freezers, a conv oven, a regular house type stove, food prep sink and 2 hand sinks as well as 4 stainless tables and shelving. We're very cramped, but need everything in there for a baking area, sandwich prep, and general prep. The third unit is divided up into a tiny sitting/retail area with a bakery case and beverage cooler the rest is for the 3 bay sink, 2 door commercial fridge, and small counter for coffee and soup. This unit has another monitor heater. There are tables on the porch and picnic tables on the lawn. for a total of about 20 seats.

When I started, I was mainly catering and take-home meal prep. The tiny cafe/take out is an afterthought, but is my bread and butter during the off months for catering. I'd invest more $$ knowing what I know now and probably put the cafe in the front part (with insulation, a new floor, and a door that actually opens and closes without swearing and banging of course) keep the kitchen in the middle and use the back for storage/office/3 bay/refrigeration.

Heat is about $375/month and elect is $225 for a total of about $1400/month in the winter months. And, in case you hadn't heard, we're having our first real winter in years this year! I've spent $800 in heat alone since 12-7-07. I love winter, but my checking account is suffering.

Sorry, that was long winded..:rolleyes:

I am usually not a big fan of chain restaurants as they seem to all serve the same dishes. My in-laws however, love to go out to eat, often to places such as CF. Last time I was there, we had a roasted artichoke, served with a garlic sauce. It was absolutely grand.

Seems to me that they wouldn't be a "chain" restaurant if their food wasn't considered, by and large, pretty good. IMHO it's not a gourmet restaurant, but on the other hand, it's not a dive either. Go, try it, and hopefully enjoy. After all, if you don't like it, you never have to go back again.

I disagree on this point. I am turned off by places that insist on providing monster portions.

I don't want to take food home after a meal, and I don't want to waste food. I may be in the minority, but if a place insists on serving me more food than I want (most chains do), I probably won't return.