I understand the attraction of The Cheesecake Factory. I really do.
The menu is so huge that even the pickiest eater can find something to like here: The glossy, spiral-bound menu is 22 pages big, offering salads and lunch specials and pizzas and steaks and breakfasts and burgers and pastas and etc. It’s so big, in fact, that there are separate “appetizers” and “small plates and snacks” sections. Beyond the food, the atmosphere is pleasant, with an upscale, energetic vibe. The service is generally decent or better. And the namesake cheesecakes—more than 30 types—are pretty darned delicious. In many ways, The Cheesecake Factory is the ultimate upscale chain restaurant, and that means good things.
However, it also means bad things. You may have to wait—for quite a while—before you’re seated. The food is tried and true—and therefore, safe and unadventurous. And there are advertisements in the menus.
Please indulge me as I go off on a brief rant: I am a big fan of advertising. A huge fan, in fact; ads have kept the lights on at Casa de Boegle during my entire adult life. However, there is a place and a time for ads, and a restaurant menu when I am hungry is not the place and time. If I just waited a half-hour for a cramped table, and I am willing to fork out $10.95 for a chicken-salad sandwich, I do not want to have to dodge ads for upscale cars and Carnival cruises while I peruse the appetizer options. So there.
Fortunately, on a recent weekday evening (before the post-Thanksgiving holiday-shopping madness set in), Garrett and I did not have to wait for a table. Unfortunately, the table we received kind of sucked: We were seated in a cramped end banquette/table up against a wall. We ordered cocktails to start—an “ultimate margarita” ($10) for me, and a “J.W.’s pink lemonade” ($8.95) for Garrett—along with the warm crab-and-artichoke dip ($5.95) and the guacamole made-to-order ($9.95). Our server also brought over sourdough and brown-oat breads, both of which were tasty.
Someone needs to tell the bartenders to calm the heck down with the sweet stuff; both of our cocktails were so sweet that they were almost undrinkable. (Being an editor, I managed to drink both mine and most of Garrett’s, anyway. It’s a tough job, really.) Our appetizers were delayed a bit—a surprising service glitch—but when they came, they were both enjoyable. The small dish of crab-and-artichoke dip was cheesy goodness (aside from one or two bites that tasted slightly fishy), while the guacamole was fresh and delightful with a pleasant kick, thanks to an ample amount of chiles, per our direction. (The guacamole also came with a decent amount of salsa, as well as sour cream and chips.)
Garrett picked the spicy crispy chicken sandwich ($10.95; includes fries or a green salad; sweet-potato fries are an extra $1) for his entrée, while I decided on the Cajun jambalaya pasta (“Our most popular pasta dish!” says the menu; $16.95).
Both main courses were just as you’d expect: fine. Just fine, nothing more, nothing less. The chicken breast on Garrett’s sandwich was slightly overcooked, making the outside of the meat quite tough. The sandwich comes with a choice of spicy buffalo sauce or chipotle mayo, and Garrett requested both, on the side. Unfortunately, Garrett got the chipotle mayo on the side, but the buffalo sauce was included on the sandwich. The accompanying fries were typically … fine.
My pasta suffered from a fate similar to that of Garrett’s chicken: It was overcooked. The linguini was slightly gummy, and the shrimp and chicken atop the pasta were a wee bit tough. However, the tomatoes, onions, peppers and the “very spicy Cajun sauce” (which wasn’t very spicy) added enough flavor to make the dish … acceptable. You know, fine.
If anything would compel me to return to The Cheesecake Factory, it would be the cheesecake. Garrett decided to try the Reese’s peanut butter chocolate cake cheesecake ($7.75, with a whopping quarter going to Feeding America), while I went with the original ($6.75). Both desserts were fantastic; the Reese’s concoction was rich but irresistible, while the sour-cream topping on the original proved to be a perfect match with the creamy, sweet cheesecake and the delicious graham-cracker crust.
Regular readers know that I am not anti-chain; I’ve given deserving chains some rather positive ink/pixels in this space. However, as a general rule, I also believe it’s better to frequent the right locally owned restaurants—not only because it’s good to support local businesses, but because some local restaurants are better, period.
If you want to play it safe, and settle for pages upon pages of food options that are just fine, go to The Cheesecake Factory. If you really want to eat well, forgo The Cheesecake Factory, and head for a great locally owned joint instead.
This article appears in Dec 2-8, 2010.
Lets try this again…after my pretty faint and fairly soft criticism of the review was deleted…. Why would the only major “Indie” paper in Tucson review a huge chain? Answer: Advertising dollars. Don’t kid yourselves…if you work for the Tucson Weakly or read it..It is bought and sold…look elsewhere for reality. This is a corporate rag. It’s an insult.
NYC expat: We’ve deleted no comments on this review, nor have we deleted any comment you’ve ever left. So, um, yeah. Comment away. Also, explain how semi-negatively reviewing a chain helps get advertising. Thanks for reading!
Reviewing a chain.. or ANYONE, for that matter, gives them attention and advertising.. You didnt answer the question..Why would the only major “Indie” paper in Tucson review a massive national chain when there are hundreds of mom and pops to review? Is McDonald’s and Carls Jr next?
NYCexpat – the majority of the reviews we do are local, mom and pop places. Chains are few and far between.
Nevertheless, it’s a missed opportunity to do something positive for the city. Steps off soapbox.
Readers want to know about chains, too. Thanks for getting off of your soapbox. And thanks for reading!
I look forward to your review of Golden Corral.
and Jimmy..I think your soap box is tired ( perhaps Yuma?). I would surmise that you have run out of things to review..you’re bigger than this podunk seed toss of a “city”.. You, unlike, everyone else at your pathetic paper are going places.
NYC expat, I think a review can help a restaurant but can also kill a restaurant. In this particular case after looking at the picture of the food and reading the experience of the critic I don’t even want to try it. I think people don’t see this particular restaurant as a chain since it is the only one in Tucson and with those high prices they should be warned if it is worth the money to go. Eventually all the restaurants in town will have a chance for a review. Do you have a particular restaurant in mind that you would like to see featured?
Wow…we actually have a live wire from NYC critiqing the restaurant scene here. It might make for interesting reading, as most all of the reviews I read in our two local papers are glowing & gushing with praise about the decor, or some other meaningless aspect…
Many major city newspapers are, and should be, downright vicious in their reviews. It not only makes for much better reading, but it makes these crappy restaurants wake up.
Just in case no one has paid attention, we are in a depression here, and no one is anxious to spend $25 bux (and more) per person for lousy service, mediocre food, and glowing decor. I can do much better right here at home. Many of our better restaurants have lost my business in recent years with their snotty attitudes and over-priced “cuisine”.
As for the Cheesecake Factory, I have zero interest in dining at any restaurant with a 22-page menu. They should pay me to read the dumb thing. The secret to a great restaurant is to do a few things very, very well, with consistant excellence. And cheesecake is not food; it is a heart-attack on a plate…
There might be a dozen restaurants in Tucson worth your time, effort and money… Perhaps I shall name names in a future post, but most of them are dirty rip-offs with zero appeal. Perhaps many people enjoy the chain places because at least you get clean, and some degeee of consistancy.
Merry Christmas! Now save your money and learn how to cook at home…
@NYC expat
Go home then.
I’m sure that they don’t have any horrid “chain restaurants” where you are from.
No room, what with all the mounds of snow and piles of garbage.
I for one look to the “indie” Tucson Weekly, to let me know about what is going on in uhm, Tucson.
We have a Cheesecake Factory?
I did not know that.
People eat there?
Why?
Turns out that I’m not terribly interested after reading this review but if I’m dragged there, I probably WONT want to gouge my eyes out with a fork.
(Something that cannot be said about some local Mom and Pop restaurants that are Tucson traditions.)
Good to know.
Thank you Jimmy and Garret!
The first two times I went, once in California and once in Tucson, I thought I liked the Cheese Cake Factory. But after the third time, I’m no longer impressed. Salty, expensive Americanized prefab food. That basically sizes up this chain. Check these interesting quotes out I found online:
“The Cheesecake Factory is accused of mistreating its employees. There is at least one lawsuit against the company in violation of federal labor law by engaging in illegal pay practices….”
“The Cheesecake Factory has been called the “worst family restaurant in America…” The average sandwich at the restaurant contains 1,400 calories.”
I haven’t tried the cheescake factory in Tucson yet but have visited the one in Scottsdale/Phoenix area. Two times I ordered an entree with chicken..one a salad and another a sandwich, both dishes had overcooked dry chicken breasts, so sounds like it is a problem that needs to be fixed. The last time we visited I ordered the chicken carbanara, chicken again was tough, and the sauce was very watery and not creamy at all. I had to send it back. Have to say their low sugar cheesecake is yummy…love the nut crust.