Cheesecake Factory

We ate out at the Cheesecake Factory last Saturday for Emma's birthday. The kids each get a turn picking a restaurant for their birthdays. It's really the only time we all eat out together unless we are traveling. We knew this would be our most expensive outing (no kids menus even!!) to date so the kids were warned to drink water and have a dessert partner.

It was loud and crowded. They finally seated us in a nice secluded little alcove in the back after an hour wait. The kids liked the murals on the ceiling. Our waitress was a total doll who came from a family of 9 kids. She was excited to have us, or maybe she was only excited to have the guaranteed 18% gratuity the restaurant tacked on to our bill, who knows?

We gobbled down about 6 baskets of the bread while we were waiting for the food. I had totally forgotten about the bread. The kids could have all split meals too if I had remembered the bread.

Kevin, George, and Rachel shared 2 Old Fashioned Hamburgers with fries. Nathan got the gigantic Classic Burger. Rachel ate one bite of her burger and a handful of fries. Nathan ate about 1/2 of his burger and most of the fries. It was a bit pink in the middle which he was not used too.

Brooke had the Grilled Cheese served on egg bread with fries. The sandwich was about 8"x6". She ate one half and a handful of fries.

Jacob and Luke split the Pepperoni Pizza. Jacob did not care for it but Luke claimed it was "definitely worth waiting for!"

Emma and I both chose pasta dishes. Emma chose the Pasta Da Vinci without the Chicken(Mushrooms, Onions and Garlic in a Delicious Madeira Wine Sauce Tossed with Penne Pasta and Parmesan)

I got the Louisiana Chicken Pasta(Parmesan Crusted Chicken Cutlets Served Over Pasta Tossed with Mushrooms, Peppers and Onions in a Spicy New Orleans Style Sauce.) There went my purely vegetarian diet but it was out of this world. The portion was gigantic so the leftovers served as Sunday's lunch for me and Sunday's dinner for Emma.

Cheesecake all around for dessert. Kevin and Rachel, Me and George, and Nathan and Brooke all split the Original cheesecake. Emma (who didn't share because we have an uneven number and it was her birthday) opted for the Chocolate Raspberry Truffle(Layers of Chocolate Cake, Chocolate-Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake, Chocolate Mousse and Chocolate Ganache.) Jacob and Luke split the Oreo cheesecake. Jacob was the only one with any complaints.
The bill came to about $150 once Kevin added on an additional tip. $150 but priceless memories.