Cheesecake Factory trip....without the cheesecake

The cheesecake factory is one of those restaurants with a ginormous menu, and with food from every part of the world. Some restaurants dont do well with this, but the Cheesecake Factory does it well. Almost every dish they have is expertly executed, and seems like its the only thing they make.

One thing my friends and I love doing when going to restaurants like this, is all order different things and share them. W'll get small plates and take bits from all the different dishes.

For this trip, we started with the white mean hummus and bread. Their bread was wonderful, flaky and warm, and light.

The hummus was also lighter than what Im used to, probably because of using white beans instead of chickpeas. The garlic and lemon used to flavor the hummus were just right; many places use too much or too little of each and it throws the whole dish off.

The Cheesecake Factory complimentary bread and butter basket is also a favorite of many.

The chicken croquettes are filled with a warm and creamy fontina cheese filling, then breaded and fried until golden. I love the crisp outside and the soft inside. Its great dipped in some marinara sauce.

Pasta is usually a safe choice, but most retaurants have the same old same old. Usually its some sort of pasta with alfredo or marinara sauce, or a florentine sauce. There are a few different choices here, and my favorite is the Louisiana pasta with chicken.

Its bow ties pasta cooked al dente, and the sauce is a creamy concussion with Louisiana and cajun spices, as well as mushrooms and green onions. It has a nice spicy kick, and the cream just mellows it out.

The chicken made the dish though. Its seasoned perfecty and coated with panko bread crumbs and then flied. The skin is crisp and light, and the inside is nice and juicy.

Next was the Shepherds pie. Shepherds pie is a British dish, made with either ground lamb or beef. Vegetables and the meat are browned with spices, then a mashed potato mixture is added on top and baked off in the oven.

The cheesecake factory adds a creamy cheese sauce on top of the mashed potato, making it even more creamy and rich. Although I enjoyed their Shepherds pie, I feel like they could have seasoned it a bit more.

I saved the worst for last. One of my friends ordered the veggie burger, and although it was not the worst veggie burger I have had, it was definitely not what I would expect from the Cheesecake Factory.

The patty was bland, and lacked anything unique, unlike all their other dishes.

The thing I liked most about this dish was the presentation of the fries.

Overall the experience was very good, but we were so stuffed that we couldn't get any cheesecake.