THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY Requires a Re-designed Production Line.
Written: Sep 28 '01 (Updated Mar 18 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: An ambitious menu, granting ample portions of food from various cuisines.
Cons: An overly ambitious menu, which thwarts a willing waitstaff.
The Bottom Line: If THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY can solve the problem of keeping the orders together, and delivering the food still warm to the table, it could have a long run.
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| macresarf1's Full Review: Cheesecake Factory |
It is hard to celebrate your Birthday on a National Day of Mourning, and so there were some glitches as we attempted to do what we could, at a Party prepared for me by my friends, Todd and Vivian, at The Edinburgh Castle, -- superb, for all the sadness. One of the glitches was that my beautiful blonde daughter Miranda did not reach the party with her family because my little grandson fell ill on the way from Nevada. One of my hopes had been to reunite her with her sister Melinda. The solution, suggested by Melinda, was to have Brunch at the new CHEESECAKE FACTORY on the following Sunday, before Miranda and Co returned to Reno.
THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY is a burgeoning chain of nearly 50 upscale popular restaurants across the country. More open each month. There is one on Long Island, another in Hackensack, N.J., one in Washington, D.C., one in Cambridge, Mass., two in Atlanta, Ga., one in Ohio, three in Illinois, and eight in Florida. A CHEESECAKE FACTORY opens in King of Prussia, Pa., any day now, and I am not familiar with Frisco, Texas, but it hosts one.
Besides the Marina Del Rey branch, to which Epinions gives its own entry, California has over a dozen, of which the one in San Francisco sits atop of the main Macy's on Union Square. As our waitress told me later, this venue has been on the spot 14 months. Though no one could quite remember what had been there previously, it replaces in function the long-lamented Blum's, a favorite of "San Fran matrons" coming downtown years ago.
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We rendezvoused in front of the stolid, massive department store. (The street was curiously mute and almost deserted, but on my way along, I noticed a couple of hundred people of all stripes lined up around the block at the door of Cecil Williams' Glide Memorial Church.) Miranda, her husband Bruce, and little N.B. met Melinda and her husband Arnd, and I joined them. Melinda led us to an elevator at the right of the front door, which took us to the restaurant. It is a large, airy room with a large reception desk, a glassed in counter displaying many scrumptious appearing cheesecakes and other pastries. The dining room proper is divided into modified traditonal rows of booths, with replica Tiffany Lamps hanging from the ceiling.
Our reservations were for 11 a.m., and Melinda had been told that the entire party must be on hand by 11:10 or we would lose our table. As it developed, the place was full but not packed, and they were ready for us. The Maitre d' Table, a tall young black man in a dark suit of the latest style, blue shirt, and burgundy tie, led us to our booth. Complimenting me on the color combination of my attire, he turned us over to a jovial, laid back waitress, who gave us menus and recited "special" specialties.
THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY menu is huge: 23 Appetizers ($5.50-8.95; more available on request) five Appetizer Salads ($5.95-9.95); more available on request), 10 Pizzas ($7.95-9.95); including a Lunch and Salad combination), 26 Specialties ($8.50-14.95), 13 Pastas ($10.95-15.95), 10 Fish and Seafood dishes ($13.95-18.95), eight Steak and Chop plates ($15.95-24.95); six side dishes: $3.00-4.50), 10 large Dinner Salads ($10.95-11.50), 16 different Sandwiches ($6.50-10.95; including combos and "hot" dishes), seven Egg-Brunch dishes ($6.50-9.95), nine Sunday Brunch dishes ($5.95-10.95; including a Children's Brunch), 10 Dessert Specialties and four Ice Cream Delights ($3.95-6.95), 35 different kinds of Cheese Cakes ($5.75-6.95), nine Espresso and six Frozen Drinks ($3.95-4.95), plain coffee and various teas, juices and soft drinks.
Arnd, a division manager of a large electronics store on Market, receives food cards for THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY, when he must work overtime. He advised that we stick with the Appetizers, which he felt were the best value for money. I think he had that about right, but those who strayed, obsessed like myself by the idea of Sunday Brunch, had large, satisfying meals for the prices paid.
Young N.B. had the Children's Brunch ($5.75, of which he actually ate a lot). Miranda, his mother, however, was defeated by the immense Apple Banana-Nut French Toast ($8.95), which consisted of a foot-wide oval platter lined in thick, grilled egg-bread French Toast, layered with cinnamon Apples, Caramelized Banana and Sugar-Glazed Walnuts, topped by a long plume of creamed butter. Too much!
Old Hands Arnd and Melinda chose Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes, topped by Sour Cream, Salsa, Avocado, and Salsa at $7.95; and an Asparagus, Portabella and Artichoke Omlette with Fontina Cheese and Tomatoes for $9.95. Both dishes very satisfying and ample.
Bruce, Miranda's husband, selected (if I am not mistaken, Blintzes filled with Cream Cheese and Chicken ($7.95), and I picked a Stacked Breakfast Tostada: layers of crisp Tortillas, Salsa Verde, Cheese and Sour Cream, crowned with Scrambled Eggs, fresh Tomato Salsa Garnish, and Black Beans for $8.95.
Other items on the menu which interested me were, among the APPETIZERS, PIZZA, PASTA and SPECIALTIES: Crispy Crab Wontons, a version of Crab Rangoon with fresh Crab Meat, blended in Cream Cheese, Green Onions, Water Chestnuts and Sweet Chili Sauce in crisp-fried Wonton Wrappers ($8.50); Firecracker Salmon Rolls: Salmon rolled in Spinach and fried in crisp Wrappers and served with Sweet Hot Chili Sauce ($7.95); the San Remo Pizza (a city close to my heart) with Mozzarella, Brie, Sausage, Caramelized Onions, Spinach and Mushrooms ($9.50); Grilled Chicken Medallions (marinated in Balsamic Vinaigrette and sauteed with Peppers and Onions, served with Mashed Potatoes -- $13.95); Straw and Hay: Penne tossed with Olive Oil, Roasted Egg Plant, Smoked Bacon, Mushrooms, Peas, and Garlic in a Parmesan Sauce ($12.95).
Among the FISH AND SEAFOOD, DINNER SALADS and HOT SANDWICHES, these appealed to me: Cajun Jambalaya Pasta: Shrimp and Chicken sauteed with Onions, Tomato and Peppers in a very spicy Cajun Sauce on top of Fresh Linguini or Rice ($15.95); Java Salad: Grilled Indonesian Marinated Breast of Chicken over a Salad of Noodles, Vegetables, Green Onions, Cilantro, with a Spicy Peanut Dressing ($10.95); California Cheese Steak: thinly sliced Grilled Steak covered with sauteed Mushrooms, Onions, Peppers, and Cheese on a Sourdough Loaf, served with Fries ($9.95).
Other BRUNCH choices offered: Mashed Potato Omlette, containing Mashed Potatoes, Smoked Bacon, Green Onions, Sour Cream, Jack and Swiss Cheese ($8.95); and the Factory Breakfast Burrito: a Tortilla Burrito filled by Grilled Chicken, Bacon, Fried Potatoes, Onions, Chilis, Scrambled Eggs, topped with Salsa Verde, Sour Cream, Avocado and Cheese, and served with Black Beans and Rice ($10.95).
We never got near the deserts, of course, which served up everything from Linda's Fudge Cake ($5.95) to the Giant Brownie Ice Cream Sandwich with Nuts & Chips, Hot Fudge, and Vanilla Ice Cream ($6.95), but my son, Jason made a surprise appearance with my little granddaughter Laversa. She dragged him away for Cheese Cake, which came in versions like White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle, Dulce de Leche Caramel Cheesecake, and Craig's Crazy Carrot Cake Cheesecake.
I understand the Cheesecake drew no complaints.
With coffee and juice, our modest meal for six came to 78 dollars, change and tip.
Not bad.
Looking through reviews of THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY in other locations, I note how many Epinionators made a "Con" of the prices. Given this vast cornucopia of food, which we discovered came in substantial proportions, I did not find most of these charges out of line -- certainly not in San Francisco.
No, the source of my negative criticism, I believe rose from the size of the menu. It soon became apparent that different dishes came emerged from different parts of the kitchen, delivered by different waiters, at rather widely spaced intervals, causing the regular waiter and a supervisor to check back to see how things were going. How things were going is that the little boy had finished what he was going to eat by the time we were all served, and although I was one of the last to dig in, my Breakfast Tostada was no longer hot.
But for that failing, I would give THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY pretty high marks.
Anyway, it was so nice to see Melinda and Miranda -- "Rose Red and Rose White," Miranda's mother always called them -- chattering and giggling together after some years.
It was worth it.
Let's hope THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY figures out how to deliver the food to the tables in a timely fashion, at least, for the sake of those fabled San Francisco matrons.
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UPDATE: March 18, 2005 -- On this day, when the above Epinion achieved the magic "5000 Reads Mark," the first and only Macresarf1 Restaurant Review to reach that goal, I regret that I must add another negative report. In recent weeks, articles have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle and other papers about law suits lodged by CHEESECAKE FACTORY employees and former employees. According to the articles, help say they are kept relentlessly at work on long shifts, denied breaks, fired for attempts to unionize, and unable to have time to have lunch or dinner hours unless they come in early to make up the time.
These charges are now in the courts, the fairness of them yet to be established, but they may explain some of the problems listed above.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
macresarf1
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Location: San Francisco, Ca.
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