Cheesecake Factory: more than a slice

The Cheescake Factory has opened its newest location in Virginia Beach’s Town Center. Park your car in the free parking garage and if you are willing to wait over an hour to be seated, this may be the place for you. Fortunately, they do offer several benches in the waiting area directly in front of the bakery counter.

The restaurant’s dim contemporary lighting reveals a beautiful Egyptian décor.

However, with the tables available, there are few that offer any privacy.

In the center of the restaurant, guests are forced to share a long booth-bench with other patrons. In front of the bar, tables are so close together that hair from the guests behind you ends up on your chair. However, there are large booths and tables in the back that present an excellent eating environment.

The 27-page menu leaves hungry visitors with many options. Accompanying the 50 different cheesecakes, the restaurant serves more than 200 selections of appetizers, specialties, pastas, fish and seafood, steaks and chops, salads, sandwiches, eggs and omelets, Sunday brunch (until 2), desserts and specialty bar beverages.

Recommendations?

The Buffalo wings aren’t too spicy. The fried calamari is good with the garlic dip or the cocktail sauce. The factory nachos were great—-with or without the spicy chicken. Pass on some of the appetizer salads; they’re available cheaper at The Cheesecake Factory Bakery Cafe in MacArthur Center at downtown Norfolk. And if soup of the day is Clam Chowder, get it. It’s good too.

The specialties offer variations of the classic burger, including the Factory Burger and the Double B.B.Q. Bacon Cheeseburger. The Jumbo Chicken Chop is really “jumbo,”so be prepared to take a doggie-bag home.The spicy tasso cream sauce is delicious, but should be used sparingly. Without it, the meal is plain.

Lunch-size portions of the pastas are available until 5 p.m.; after that expect a fairly larger bowl. Many of the pastas have an Asian feel (i.e. Pad Thai Noodles and Thai Chicken Pasta). One that doesn’t is the Louisiana Chicken Pasta, which is a little spicy. It is served with generous portions of Parmesan-crusted chicken cutlets, which taste surprisingly similar to the Jumbo Chicken Chops.

The Cheesecake Factory experiments with various cooking techniques under the steaks and chops and the fish and seafood sections. These include Asian, Latin, Cajun and Southern cooking styles. The dishes are combined with sides that range from French fries, mashed potatoes, fresh broccoli and asparagus, sautéed spinach or snow peas and vegetables.

The sandwiches experiment with traditional choices, like the Club. But for a more exotic choice, try the Incredible Grilled Eggplant Sandwich. Both are very good, not as good as the Crabcake Sandwich, made with fresh Louisiana crab cakes and served with tarter sauce on a brioche.

The best drink, if you’re over 21, is the Caribbean Cooler, which tastes like a milkshake.

If you’re too stuffed to fit in cheesecake order one to go. It’s definitely the best thing on the menu!

The Cheesecake Factory is located at the corner of Virginia Beach Boulevard and Central Park Avenue. The hours of operation are:
Monday - Thursday 11 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.
Friday- Saturday 11a.m - 12:30 p.m.
Sunday 10a.m. - 11p.m.
“To Go” orders are accepted.
Reservations are not.