Enjoying the palace that is The CheeseCake Factory

Welcome back to other edition of Good Times and Eats by your food and restaurant connoisseur, Hasani!



I would just like to say that I love food and going to The Cheesecake Factory on a Friday afternoon after work was so rewarding. I was thinking to myself that if I stopped by some of the restaurants that I have acquainted myself with over the past couple of years, I would be a happy person before I made my journey back to OWU. I guess working over forty hours a week tends to do that to you. I treated myself to The Cheesecake Factory after surviving another outing at Parker.

To show you what The Cheesecake Factory actually looks like, I took some pictures to leave your mind in a state of amazement and shock. The first picture to the right captures the image as I walked through the front door. Stated simply on the building, The Cheesecake Factory has its intended purposes. The Cheesecake Factory is a great social place to hang out, meet up with friends, and just to relax from the reality of the day. The Cheesecake Factory works as a restaurant for those individuals that want to sit down and enjoy their time with their loved ones or their co-workers, as a bakery where you can call in an order to take back to work with you or to enjoy in the comfort of your own home, and as a bar, where you never know what is going to happen when you gather with friends to enjoy a couple of drinks and a good pro sports game. Yesterday, I did the restaurant option since I was by myself and wanted to enjoy the day by not being at work or at home. By the way, I think the design that you see there in the picture is based on the carrot cheesecake since the color is orange. I might be wrong but it is just an assumption.

I believe that you can gain a feel for the restaurant just by the ambience of the environment. A perfect place to capture the mood and the ambience of a restaurant is believe it or not is in the restroom area. The Cheesecake Factory has an immaculate restroom area. When I saw it when I visited it the first time three years ago, the restrooms caught my eye. The appearance of the restroom told me that I was going to spend a good amount of money in that restaurant. There was no unwanted spills or messes in the restroom, just a room with jazz music and an ambience that displays the quality of the entire restaurant. I just found this aspect of The Cheesecake Factory interesting.

As you tour farther into The Cheesecake Factory, you notice little things that seem to pop out at you. I happened to look up and the ceiling is painted in a very artistic manner. I could not get an exact picture of what the ceiling was trying to represent but the painting was very catchy. I could try to link it to what the theme of the restaurant was trying to tell me. The Cheesecake Factory is very much like a palace, just look at the picture to the right. I think that The Cheesecake Factory seems Egyptian or Indian in its appearance and theme, even though they do not have any specialized food that would say that it is Egyptian or Indian. You tell me if these images are Egyptian or Indian.














I am not exactly what the history of The Cheesecake Factory is but the images in the restaurant make me wonder what are its origins. Being in The Cheesecake Factory is almost like traveling to other country with its scenery scattered throughout the restaurant.

On to the food. I had a really good time at The Cheesecake Factory- a lot better than The Melting Pot, I must say. I wasn't good bad after the food, mainly because I didn't mix spicy with sweet and bitter food items. This time around, I managed to get an appetizer, entree, and dessert at the same time instead of taking appetizers and entrees at one place, stop to take a break, and then go to Ben and Jerry's to make up for it. For my meal at The Cheesecake Factory, this is a rundown. For my appetizer, I had four crispy taquitos (you know the rolled up taco that Taco Bell always advertises through its commercial of that guy enticing the two Kenyan runners during a marathon) with guacamole, sour cream, and salsa as my sides. My entree was a combination- steak diane and crusted herb salmon. This was a good meal served with some garlic mashed potatoes. With my authentic, pure orange juice, I was ready to chow down and make the most of this meal. The picture may be misleaded to some viewers; the amount of food on the plate is not as much as you may think it is (even though I was pretty full after finishing it). For dessert, I had to get it since I am in The CHEESECAKE factory. I contemplated and anguished over which cheesecake to get- over forty variations of extravagant cheesecake did not make my decision any easier. My server (who I had a pleasant conversation with throughout my time there) came over and helped me pick one. I settled for something new- Adam's Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple Cheesecake. Sounds like a mouthful, huh? Well, it is but a pleasing one. Topped with Butterfinger and Reese's crumbles on a smooth chocolate crust and a peanut butter filled cheesecake, the thought of it made my mouth water and my hunger for cheesecake crave for more once I finished it. I was totally full but was wanting more. What can I say; it is a fabulous eating experience and would do it again in a split millisecond!

I will leave you with some final thoughts. Sometimes, to get the best, you have to splurge. Although I didn't spend as much as I spent at The Melting Pot last week, the three course meal was considerably affordable for me, expensive for some other individuals. I encourage you to splurge on things that you really want but be reasonable when you do. Don't get yourself into bankruptcy or debt pursuing that little red corvette you see but don't be afraid to make an investment plan to eventually get it. This is just an example by the way. Right now, I am living life the way it should- not in crisis but in enjoyable fashion.




Sopping up life,
Hasani Wheat
Class of '10