# The Cheesecake Factory **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 2, 2020, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374 "2020-02-02T06:39:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/21 "2020-02-03T04:02:15Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > One thing I hate about them is that it is corporate policy to make you wait even if they dont need you to do so. They think it makes the place look more in demand. > > I wont patronize them for this reason. Ah. Can we have a cite for this? I was trying to tell my wife about it, but my Googling is failing me. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/22 "2020-02-03T04:15:17Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Ah. Can we have a cite for this? I was trying to tell my wife about it, but my Googling is failing me. I am sorry. I read a interview with the CEO in a restaurant Trade magazine some time ago. However, many people have confirmed that they are never immediately seated. Here are some reviews: > **[Average food, but waiting time too long. - Review of The Cheesecake Factory,...](https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60982-d569297-r138380169-The_Cheesecake_Factory-Honolulu_Oahu_Hawaii.html)** > > The Cheesecake Factory: Average food, but waiting time too long. - See 13,957 traveler reviews, 4,059 candid photos, and great deals for Honolulu, HI, at Tripadvisor. This may work: > **[The Cheesecake Factory Phenomenon](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-cheesecake-factory-phenomenon_b_7530114)** > > There's something funny about The Cheesecake Factory. It seems no matter what time you go and no matter which location you visit, there's a wait to get in. T\*here’s something funny about The Cheesecake Factory. It seems no matter what time you go and no matter which location you visit, there’s a wait to get in…There’s something funny about The Cheesecake Factory. It seems no matter what time you go and no matter which location you visit, there’s a wait to get in.\* So, the wait is real, and is well known. The why is not. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/23 "2020-02-03T05:20:46Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Can we stop assuming that everyone understands whatever stupid local abbreviation is obvious to you? Sowwy.:o Everyone here uses Tosa for Wauwatosa so much it’s almost official. Even newscasters use the term. The where-abouts of the Cheesecake Factory I’ve had grub & barley pops at is in _Wauwatosa_, WI near the stop 'n go lights by the Mayfair Mall. For cripes sake, you can betcha I didn’t mean to get myself in a trick bag with a couple two-three of youse in the cheeseless 49 by using a local colloquialism. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/24 "2020-02-03T05:33:48Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I am sorry. I read a interview with the CEO in a restaurant Trade magazine some time ago. > > However, many people have confirmed that they are never immediately seated. > > Here are some reviews: > > [https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60982-d569297-r138380169-The\_Cheesecake\_Factory-Honolulu\_Oahu\_Hawaii.html](https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60982-d569297-r138380169-The_Cheesecake_Factory-Honolulu_Oahu_Hawaii.html) > > This may work: > > [The Cheesecake Factory Phenomenon | HuffPost Impact](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-cheesecake-factory-phenomenon_b_7530114) > > T\*here’s something funny about The Cheesecake Factory. > > It seems no matter what time you go and no matter which location you visit, there’s a wait to get in…There’s something funny about The Cheesecake Factory. > > It seems no matter what time you go and no matter which location you visit, there’s a wait to get in.\* > > So, the wait is real, and is well known. The why is not. Again, as in my previous post #15 which apparently is invisible, I have NEVER had to wait when tables were available, in the year and a half I’ve gone there (one of my friend groups meets there regularly). And in the 2 years my daughter was a waitress there, prior to my going there, she confirms there was no policy to make people wait. Likely the one you read about was short-staffed. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/25 "2020-02-03T06:05:47Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Again, as in my previous post #15 which apparently is invisible, I have NEVER had to wait when tables were available, in the year and a half I’ve gone there (one of my friend groups meets there regularly). And in the 2 years my daughter was a waitress there, prior to my going there, she confirms there was no policy to make people wait. Likely the one you read about was short-staffed. No, I read about the whole chain, it was the idea of the CEO. Mind you, maybe they dropped that policy, who knows? But the extreme waits there are well known and remarked upon in many forums. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/26 "2020-02-03T06:07:59Z")
We went to the one in Crocker Park for the first time a week ago. It was fairly busy but we were seated immediately. Very ornate inside with huge faux Egyptian columns and awesome colored/blown glass lights. Service was beyond reproach and our waiter was very helpful. There are like 15 pages in the menu. What we had was good and plentiful. The layered cheesecake with regular cake and two toppings was amazing. Hah! thought I dropped a local name, huh? Well, here is Crocker Park: https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.4595714,-81.9520887&z=16&output=embed&dg=ntvb ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/27 "2020-02-03T14:30:36Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > I was all prepared to say that we don’t have them in Michigan, but I decided to double check, and it turns out there _is_ one in Michigan, and not far. It looks like it’s attached to a mall, so the chances are good that I’ll never eat there. > > I remember seeing one in Phoenix or a suburb back in '04 or so, whenever I drove up from Hermosillo. It was in some type of “fashion mall” that I never bothered to stop at, either. > > I just took a look at their website. I’m not really sure what they’re trying to be, so if I ever find a freestanding one, I have no idea whether or not I should go inside. Their menu seems to be all over the place, and I worry that it’s just frozen stuff microwaved. > > If I’m ever a tourist someplace with one, you can bet I’ll be looking for local favorites, though. While 12 Oaks is never a joy to navigate in and around, the cheesecake factory is at least accessible without having to go into the mall itself. Don’t know if that will change your mind much. It is always rather chaotic in there. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/28 "2020-02-03T14:50:22Z")
Haven’t been to a CF in a few years but I remember they always listed the calorie counts underneath each meal, and we made a game of who could order the most calories (it’s not difficult at all; almost any entree+appetizer combo will top 2,000 calories). That said, I’ll admit for a restaurant with as extensive a “try to please everyone” menu as they do, the food is pretty decent. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/29 "2020-02-03T14:56:20Z")
FYI, and only sort of related, [this](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/08/13/big-med) is a New Yorker article by Atul Gawande (paywall warning) about what lessons the healthcare industry can learn from places like The Cheesecake Factory, where 80 million people a year are served food that is almost entirely made from scratch. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/30 "2020-02-03T15:24:10Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > While 12 Oaks is never a joy to navigate in and around, the cheesecake factory is at least accessible without having to go into the mall itself. Don’t know if that will change your mind much. It is always rather chaotic in there. That’s the one. I avoid Novi completely unless I have to drive through it to get somewhere else. It’s my idea of hell. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/31 "2020-02-03T15:25:27Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > There is one in ‘Tosa. We don’t care for it. The food is good though overrated. > > What we don’t like is the architecture. The dining area is open air. There is no sound buffering at all. Even when there aren’t many patrons it’s loud as hell in there. You can hardly hear yourself think. It really subtracts from the dining experience. Is that floor-plan a chain-wide thing? We’ve gone to one in **Pittsburgh** (a city in the south-western portion of Pennsylvania) and it was a huge, open floor plan. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/32 "2020-02-03T15:47:51Z")
My main complaint is the menu is just too large. I really do not want to invest that much time scanning that many entree offerings to figure out what I sounds good for dinner. I like a well designed menu with a good range of offerings but their menu is just too much. As for quality, anytime I’ve eaten there the food has been good. They are an upgrade from the Applebee’s, Chilis, etc., chains. Service has been good. The wait times to be seated are another factor that results in my choosing a different option. I suspect that is mostly because the only one I have dined at is located in an incredibly popular retail shopping center and Cheesecake Factory draws large crowds. In the warmer months it is not unusual to see a large crowd standing outside the restaurant waiting to get in. The other restaurants available may have a wait list but it seems no where near the sheer volume of people waiting. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/33 "2020-02-03T16:50:21Z")
> [@MeanJoe](#): > > My main complaint is the menu is just too large. I really do not want to invest that much time scanning that many entree offerings to figure out what I sounds good for dinner. I like a well designed menu with a good range of offerings but their menu is just too much. Shout-out to neighbor **Locrian**. Sherman Oaks Arclight is our local movie theater. We haven’t been in the Cheesecake Factory there in years. Prefer Frida’s or P.F. Changs. The Cheesecake Factory portions are way too big for us, and we’re not into eating a 3,000 calorie slice of cheesecake. Regarding the menus, I recall that they have advertisements in them. So, not only are they pages and pages (and pages and pages), but some number of pages are taken up with advertisements. Egads! ---
**Author:** ![Kovitlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kovitlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kovitlac)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/34 "2020-02-03T16:55:17Z")
I’ve been there and enjoyed it, but I think just the one time. The nearest one to me is 90 miles away, in another state. I wish we had one here. There’s literally only one in my state, and it’s about 150 miles away. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/35 "2020-02-03T17:00:22Z")
My wife and I have been a handful of times. I will go for the Fire-Roasted Fresh Artichoke appetizer alone. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/36 "2020-02-03T17:08:43Z")
I ate dinner at a Cheesecake Factory maybe ten years ago, and I’m still digesting it. As a rule of thumb, I steer clear of restaurants whose names include things like “factory,” “warehouse,” or “abattoir.” ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/37 "2020-02-03T20:04:22Z")
Found this: > **[The Best and Worst Menu Items at The Cheesecake Factory](https://www.eatthis.com/cheesecake-factory-menu/)** > > Overwhelmed by The Cheesecake Factory menu? So are most. So we spoke to an expert dietitian about all the best and worst menu choices available on the menu. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/38 "2020-02-03T20:11:24Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I ate dinner at a Cheesecake Factory maybe ten years ago, and I’m still digesting it. > > As a rule of thumb, I steer clear of restaurants whose names include things like “factory,” “warehouse,” or “abattoir.” Also, “barrel”, “corral”, “outback” and days of the week. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/39 "2020-02-03T20:21:31Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Found this: > [The Cheesecake Factory Menu: The Best and Worst Orders](https://www.eatthis.com/cheesecake-factory-menu/) If the menu has more than two pages, and “pasta alfredo” is one of the items on it, (especially if it’s making the laminated pages stick), no way in hell is that sauce not coming from a 5 gallon plastic bucket. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374/40 "2020-02-03T21:21:35Z")
Perhaps, but at the Cheesecake Factory they are kind enough to warm it up before bringing the bucket to the table. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheesecake-factory/847374.md?page=3)