Dazzlement at the Cheesecake Factory

Last Thursday, my husband and I went to the Cheesecake Factory because it was one of the few places we knew would be 1) open late and 2) near the Borders Bookstore, which is also open late. Plus we had heard the rumors about it and couldn't resist going.

The service was speedy and cheerful; it was a Thursday night, around 8:30, so we didn't have to wait at all. From what I have read online, though, be prepared for quite a wait on weekends. It wasn't packed, but there were plenty of full tables there, with people having lively conversations. Can I just say how lovely it is to be in a pleasantly buzzing place around here? Too many times, I've dined out and been the only diner in a spooky restaurant readying to close at this hour. It proves that there *is* a market out there, -- a *hungry* market!!-- for mid-to-upscale, late-night dining in the Capital Region. We are ready, restaurateurs!!!

The decor of the Cheesecake Factory is a cross between the movie set of "Cleopatra" with Miami Vice. There are palm plants, hugely lofty ceilings, and these faux columns with Egyptian-goddess-like heads on them. You forget you are in Colonie; which is mostly a good thing.

I don't usually like to promote chain restaurants, but I will consider returning to the Cheesecake Factory when I'm in the neighborhood of Wolf Road because the food was really good, the atmosphere is lively, and it's the kind of place you can take anyone: your mom, your colleague, kids, your internet date. It's convenient.

Their menu is intimidatingly huge: you can get just about anything from hamburgers of various stripes to pizzas, fish, steak, and pasta. The food is vaguely fusion style, heavy on American fare like "fried Macaroni and cheese" (appetizer), Nachos with cheese, and meatloaf. We shared the avocado eggrolls, which come with a tamarind dipping sauce that was truly addictive. Then, I got the fish tacos, which were also quite good; my husband got Evelyn's Favorite Pasta, which was essentially pasta with pesto and lots of fresh vegetables. It was much better than anything similar we've had down the street at the Macaroni Grill.

The cheesecakes were the least impressive part of the whole experience. Because of their name and the dozens of types of cheescake available (peanut butter, white chocolate, cookie dough... on and on) your expectations get pumped up. But I found both cheesecakes (a vanilla bean and a key lime pie) to be overly sweet and chemical tasting.

The other downer here is that the portions are HUGE!!! I mean they're really big. BUT they seem to know this, and they made it easy for both of us to go home with ample doggy bags. That one meal of fish tacos lasted me for two more days!

And it's hard to ignore the chirpy box-within-a-box feeling that is inevitable from a corporatized chain. Their menu is the first I've seen that actually has full-page advertisements (for things like jewelry) alongside the list of entrees.

But the things I do like outweigh my dislike of the chain restaurant phenomenon. The Miami Vice: Cleopatra vibe is fleeting; the interior of the restaurant is mostly airy, modern, and clean feeling. You can select from a good array of salads ("Weight Management TM" meals on their menu), like a cold salmon salad served on top of mixed greens; shrimp and crab salad; and a bunch of chicken salads. This is crucial!! Everyone that I know is weight conscious, and in this day and age, a restaurant has to have healthy options.

Emperor's gets another A: dim sum this time

Emperor's has a quiet but persistent way of making its excellence known. Its location and design are unassuming. It's in a small building on Wolf Road, and the decor is comfortable but not flashy. They don't have a huge dining room. But the food is quality and authentic, with fresh ingredients and an extensive menu. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's as good as Shun Lee in Manhattan-- it's not upscale or gourmet--but it does honor to traditional Chinese dishes and has enough variety to please everyone.

This weekend we had dim sum for three, and just about every dish we ordered was excellent: the sticky rice in lotus leaf was one of the best I've had; Chinese broccoli with garlic was good; and the sesame balls were awesome. We also had a variety of dumplings (shrimp, vegetable, etc). I had a hankering for mini-custards, but they were unfortunately out of them. The sesame balls were a deep-fried dough concoction with a bean paste inside that tasted chocolatey and smokey. I'm going to get cravings for those again soon! The spring rolls were filled with fresh vegetables. While we had to wait a while for our order (instead of the various dishes being paraded on carts as they are in big-city Chinatowns), everything was fresh and delicious, and the waiters were helpful and answered all our questions.

Let's be truthful: dim sum is all about heavy, greasy foods (unless you're really virtuous and order from the menu, which you can do here). Yet the food we had wasn't limp or soaked with fat as greasy food can sometimes be. It was crisp on the outside and light and heavenly on the inside. And what better way to start off a new week than with that repleteness that comes from the right combination of salty/savory/oily plus scads of hot tea?

It was slow at 1:30 pm on a Sunday, but the friend we were with said that he's been there at noon and it was more crowded.

Dim sum is such a wonderful ritual, and this afternoon felt like time off from the grind and the worries of life. I'll definitely be going to Emperor's more often.