The Cheesecake Factory

Guten Tag everyone! Mrs Fressen and I recently returned from a wonderful weekend away in Buffalo.  Buffalo you may say, the old industrial town that is part of the ‘rust belt.’  Yes, that Buffalo.  While it maybe a shell of its former glory, Buffalo is still a wonderful, quick retreat for those who live within the Golden Horseshoe of Ontario.  Now that the Canadian dollar has been at or close to parity for a number of years, Buffalo and the Niagara region has prospered somewhat with cross-border shoppers.  Mrs Fressen and I were able to score a reasonable rate for a hotel room and, better yet, we were able to score some wicked deals.  The drive was definitely worth the savings and it didn’t hurt that we enjoyed some good food.

The first place I’m about to review with you is the large American chain The Cheesecake Factory.  Mrs Fressen and I are devoted fans of The Big Bang Theory, whose soundtrack is written and produced by the very Canadian band, The Barenaked Ladies!  Anyways, Penny is a waitress at The Cheesecake Factory.  Not knowing what to expect, both of us were quite surprised and relieved that the decor and atmosphere at The Cheesecake Factory outpost in Buffalo was nothing like in the show.  The restaurant is modern, very airy and a nice ambiance to it.  The restaurant was also quite busy with many Canadian patrons.  We were seated very promptly and the menu was explained to us.  Not too sure what to make of the menu, its kind of like a potpourri of dishes like pizzas, burgers, sandwiches, Mexican, Chinese, Asian-French fusion etc.  After attempting to navigate the smattering of a menu, we had settled on two dishes.  Our orders were placed and arrived in about 15 minutes.

Mrs Fressen opted for the Chicken Bellagio, which our server informed us only came in one size, not a lunch size.  The warning was well warranted as the serving size was very large for a lunch.  Two large pieces of chicken breast, which were flattened and breaded, adorned over the basil pasta with Parmesan cheese sauce.  Thin slices of prosciutto and a decent helping of arugula complimented the dish.  The chicken was cooked superbly, but the star of the show was definitely the basil pasta.  The Parmesan cheese sauce was definitely cheesy, but not overpowering.  Surprisingly, the dish was well executed.

Chicken Bellagio with prosciutto, arugula and basil pasta

I decided to go for a lighter fare and ordered off the lunch menu, which is basically the same food but in lunch portions.  I opted for the fish tacos, which the menu read as “Soft Corn Tortillas Filled with Grilled or Crispy Tempura Fish, Avocado, Tomato, Onions, Cilantro and Crema. Served with Black Beans and Rice.”  The description of my meal sounded absolutely delicious and I figured some form of Tex-Mex would be apropos for our venture into the United States.  Sadly, I was wrong.  The corn tortillas overpowered the ingredients found in the tacos.  Even the crema was lost to the corn taste.  The tempura fish was not seasoned and quite bland.  A very big disappointment for me, but the rice and beans were good.

Fish Tacos

Spanish rice and black beans

Overall, The Cheesecake Factory was a letdown.  Mind you, we didn’t try, nor were we up for, dessert, but if the mains were a reflection of the menu- a smattering of foods and ideas that are hit and miss, then the experiment can be deemed a failure.  Mrs Fressen’s chicken bellagio was very good while my fish tacos were a flop.  Would we return?  Probably not, especially given Buffalo’s culinary options including PF Changs (reviewed here) and Grover’s Pub and Grill (reviewed here).  Maybe The Cheesecake Factory would be ideal for dessert, like in cheesecake!  My molars left unsatisfied.