Breathtaking Cheesecake Factory in Southlake TX is Bigger Than Life!

Cheesecake Factory

Southlake, Texas

Walking into the over-sized doors you are greeted by extravagance at it's best! Then we are walked to the table and seated in the corner booth, surrounded by breathtaking display architecture.

Rating (5 Being the Best)

3

It's Good. I'll come back from time to time.

Won't be my first choice, but it's not a bad choice either.

Food: 4.5
Experience Varies: 4.5 on one day to 1.5 on another.

*Full Disclosure I worked here for the last 6 months of 2013 and left just over one year before this writing 02/2014. My review would therefore be more than slightly biased! 

Overview

Cheesecake Factory is a story that inspires. I'll let them tell the story. This is an excerpt from their website:

In 1978, their son David founded The Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Beverly Hills, California. With little knowledge of how to run a full scale restaurant but lots of intuition into what makes a dining experience great, David set out to offer their guests an experience they wouldn't soon forget - generous portions with unlimited, inventive menu selections all made fresh with quality ingredients and served in a warm and casually comfortable setting. The restaurant was an immediate success! Just over 30 years later with close to 170 locations, the success of The Cheesecake Factory has even surpassed the Overtons' wildest dreams making The Cheesecake Factory a great American success story.

The story given to every server is that David Overton was so nervous on his first day that he didn't announce the opening and even changed the soft opening to 2 PM so he would miss the lunch crowd.

By the time they opened the doors at 2 PM there was a line down the side of the building and around the corner, "...and the line hasn't stopped since!"

If you are a business owner, especially a restaurant owner (or owner to be) this story should inspire you!

There are lessons to be learned from David Overton's story, both his successes and failures. But that's for another article.

Cheesecake Factory Southlake is a treasure of architecture and ambiance.

Food

The portions are over-sized, plan to take boxes home. One plate could serve two people in many cases. Then again, even though I shouldn't eat a whole bowl of pasta, I usually do!

They have hundreds of menu items. Pastas, Pizzas, Burgers, Sandwiches, Entre Items, Small Plates, Apps, Etc, Etc, Etc... The menu changes twice a year. Typically things are only added, rarely are things removed. So it just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

In fact bigger is the best way to describe this place. The Architecture, Menu, Environment, Price! LOL.

My all time favorite item on the menu:

The Fettuccine with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomato. 

Linked From: Yelp

My Wife's favorite Item is the:

Avocado Egg Rolls

Linked From: FoodSpotting

Cheesecake!

So I guess you can't talk about Cheesecake Factory without talking about the dessert! There are just as many to choose from here as their are menu items for Entre's. In case you are wondering, YES, as a former employee I had to try EVERY Cheesecake on the menu. And YES, I do have favorites.

Here are some of my personal Favs:

• Oreo Dream Extreme Cheesecake
• Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake
• 30th Anniversary Chocolate Cake Cheesecake
• Adam's Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple Cheesecake
• Chocolate Tuxedo Cream Cheesecake

Oreo Before Being Eaten:

Oreo Dream Extreme Cheesecake - Cheesecake Factory

Oreo After Bring Eaten:

Oreo Dream Extreme Cheesecake - Cheesecake Factory

Cost

The cost is medium to high. Can you get out cheap? Theoretically yes, but not likely. They do have smaller portions and apps. I've seen people pay $25 for two people. But this is not the norm.

The average party of two leaves having spent $40 - 50 before tip.

As a former server let me just say, that means you left a tip of AT LEAST $10 which means you left paying $60.

Never tip less than 20% at any restaurant... ever... See one of my articles: Tip Your Server

Kids

Yeah... kinda?

They have high chairs, it's a semi-loud place, so you can get away with it. In fact, we take our kids, and they enjoy it, especially the CHEESECAKE! So it's not that you must leave the kids at home or anything.

But I wouldn't call Cheesecake Factory kid friendly either... not by a long shot. No Kids Menus. No Crayons. No Coloring Books. No Kids Cups. Nothing that says anything other than, we made room for the kids too.

Honestly, if I had the choice between date night place leave the kids at home, and bring them along... I'd leave them with a babysitter. This place just makes me feel like I ought to be there either on:

• A Date
• Business
• Party-Group Celebration

So, as a family I'd prefer not to go with the kids, but I wouldn't feel bad taking them either... does that make sense?

Tips to enjoy it better...

KIDS

• If you bring Kids ask for a booth. You may have to wait longer, but it's CROWDED, isles are a dangerous place for them. 
• Bring a restaurant bag (toys, coloring books, crayons, etc. ). 
• Especially here, because they are not equipped with these things. 

TIMES

• Best and Worst Times
• Go Monday through Thursday
• Should be able to get in and out and enjoy your time. 
• Maybe avoid the lunch rush, come before 12 PM or after 2 PM
• AVOID: Fri, Sat, and Sun 5:00 PM to 9:30 PM
• Way too crowded, expect a 2-4 hour wait during these hours on these days. 

Insiders Perspective:

It's not often I get to place a little note having worked on the inside. Here's the thing. David Overton CEO-Founder has certain philosophies about running this restaurant that should ring true across all of them. 

I think their own website says it best:

...With little knowledge of how to run a full scale restaurant but lots of intuition into what makes a dining experience great...

Much of his decisions have been spot on because his decisions are based on his dining preferences. 

As a result he doesn't see things from a "This is how it's always been done" point of view. He is free to try things out, piece meal ideas together from his favorite dining experiences. 

So he is free to experiment. 

He tries something he likes somewhere else, he brings it back to his Chef and says "do that... but better!" It's paid off... most of the time. 

It's this desire to have the best experience possible that makes this bigger than life restaurant work as a concept! 

Several of his decisions have been off because his decisions are based on his dining preferences. 

Their own website says that he had little knowledge of how to run a restaurant. Having come from several major former restaurants... from the inside it shows. One example is in the seating style. There is no concept of pacing. 

Seating:

Seating is done ASAP style. Which means that the server you get may have just you, or they have just received four tables at the exact same time. 

Because of the corporate philosophy is to seat every customer as quick as possible wherever they want to be seated, without any consideration on the effect that will have on the server, your experience can vary wildly!  

You would think a server that just got four tables would have help. In fact, the server will have very little help from managers or fellow servers because everyone is too busy. The entire place is run within an environment that can and does fall apart when things get just a bit busier than people are prepared to handle. It's managed chaos, not a finely tuned machine. 

Still, little quirks like that aside, it's a nice place. I'll keep coming as a customer... but not likely to ever return as an employee! LOL. 

Final Thoughts

Without Kids: This is a place that is great for a night out. Best enjoyed at night when the kids are left at home with the babysitter.

With Kids:  If you are brining the kids, come between 2 PM and 4 PM Mon - Thu. That'll be a great, slow, time to enjoy without the chaos.

Great Place, on the expensive side, but worth the money if you avoid rush hours!





Life In Fort Worth By Darrell Wolfe

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How to make my favorite-easy comfort food: Glen Rolls!

Growing up with comfort food.

The oven opens and out comes the pan. The smell of toasted croissant, warm sauce, chicken and cheese… lot’s of cheese, wafts through the air. To a teenager who still doesn’t like most food that adults pretend to like (Cauliflower) this was a haven at family gatherings.

Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other family event there was one thing I could look forward to.

So, they may have some other name, but in my family’s house growing up we called them Glen Rolls. Uncle Glen loved these things. So we named them after him. I was also named after him, Darrell Glen Wolfe, so I had two reasons to enjoy these things.



Eventually time past and I learned to make them myself, and my tastes have expounded so I improved on the recipe. Sometimes I stick to the original because it’s just that good.

There is one big problem with these… I can’t not eat them. I make one batch and it rarely lasts the night. I make extra to take for lunch and rarely does that last the night either.
So without further ado, here is how to make my favorite comfort food!

Glen Rolls Prep

Ingredients:

• Shredded Chicken
• Cheese
• Croissant Rolls
• Salt and Pepper to taste.

The sauce

• Cream of Chicken (or whatever you want) soup.
  • One or two cans of sauce for every eight croissants.
• Milk (or soy/almond milk if you prefer, which we do), used to thin the sauce out.

Prep:

• Pre Heat Oven to 350
• Prepare a flat surface to do some rolling and stuffing. Laying down some plastic wrap, wax paper, or other non stickiness to the surface can be helpful!

These are the base, the canvass. I’ve learned to add and build on this over time. Things to consider.

The Protein

For the chicken, on a budget you could just get canned chicken meat near the tuna at the store. You could boil chicken breasts to shred. Or you could go all out, bake, broil, barbeque, etc your chicken with spices and rubs then shred it. You could substitute chicken for other meats.

Cheese and Stuffing

I typically use the packet of pre shredded Monterey Jack and Colby grocery store cheese. But you could use anything here.

I often cut into very fine pieces random extras. Maybe onion, garlic, bell pepper, or any other veggie or stuffing you like.

Mix your shredded chicken, cheese, salt, pepper, and any extras you are adding together in a large mixing bowl.

The sauce


In a separate bowl mix the cream of chicken (or cream of what you like) soup with milk.
Add Milk until you reach a texture you like.

You are going for a sauce here so add what you need to retain some thickness but have a saucy consistency.
I’ve never quite nailed down an exact amount, so go with what you want. Not too thin or thick. Maybe gravy like consistency?

Just a bit too thin could be better than too thick so it spreads well, and then pours on top when serving. 

Putting it together, the Glen Rolls recipe

Phase One

1. Lay down a thin layer of the sauce in a large rectangular baking pan.
   1. Just a thin layer for stickiness. Keep most of the sauce for later.
2. Lay out your croissant and either with a roller or you hand, flatten it out some.
3. Take a portion of the stuffing mixture, maybe a heaping tablespoon, and place it onto the thick end of the triangle.
4. Wrap and roll it all up. You may have some sticking out, but try to wrap it up fairly well.
5. Place these rolls into the baking pan. Feel free to stuff them together, but leave just a breath of room between them so the sides bake. They can be touching, but just barely.
6. Place these into the preheated over (350*F)
7. Bake for Aprx 10-15 minutes. The croissants should be browning, basically looking like a good roll would if you were just making rolls.
8. When these are basically cooked through you are going to pull them out and add the sauce.
9. Pour sauce all over these rolls, cover thoroughly.
10. Top with as much cheese as you like… I like a lot.
1. And yes, that’s cheese inside and on top… these are NOT healthy, their comfort food!

Phase Two

1. Put back into oven and bake another 20-30 minutes.
1. Cheese should be browned just a tad and sauce boiling.
2. Pull them out and let cool for 10 minutes.

 

Serve

Serve them two or three to a person along with any other sides you may want. I often just scoop them into a big bowl and devour them, but you could go for a prettier presentation. For me that two or three often becomes 5-10. If you make them with larger croissants they may be more filling.





I hope you try and enjoy these. If you aren’t totally satisfied with the base version. Improvise. Change the protein and cheese. Try Salmon and Gouda with a cream of mushroom? Explore and create your own canvas.

So here’s my question for you? What is YOUR favorite comfort food?
Leave a comment.

As Seen On:

Flickr: LIF Master Set

Urban Spoon: Life In Fort Worth

Yelp: LifeInFortWorth.Yelp.Com

Please comment below if you have anything to add, say, or correct.

Life In Fort Worth by Darrell G. Wolfe

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I may also have received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” A Big Thank You to Michael Hyatt for helping us Bloggers with these new legal disclosure requirements. 

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Half-Price Books Fort Worth, Texas Hwy 377

Half-Price Books

Fort Worth, Texas Hwy 377

Rating (5 Being the Best)

4.5!

Overview

So I went to Pei Wei on Hwy 377 just south of the Watauga Target. Not my usual Pei Wei, but just as good!

While I'm waiting for my ToGo order I take a walk next door, two doors down. There is a place called Half Price Books. Honestly I really enjoy a good book store, but didn't think much of the name or sign and I've past it up several times before. Today I have time so I walk in. This place is just what a good used book store should be. It's FULL of books.

I walk into the smell of old pages, shelves lined, and stuffed, with material from top to bottom. A cove for each section lines the walls with shelves through the middle of the store as well. I found everything from Mitt Romney's Autographed book, to all the For Dummies editions. Then I turn the corner and...

It's not just books!

They have Wii, PS3, and Xbox games, magazines, comic books. It was a pretty cool experience, and I'll most definitely be back!

Cost

Exactly what you'd expect. Some items were $50, some were $3. I picked up a For Dummies brand book that retails new for $20 they had it for $9.99.

Kids

They had a whole area just for kids, it was pretty cool. If you are looking for more kids books for your library at home, stop by Half Price Books.

Tips to enjoy it better...

They also have locations all over DFW, not just this one.

Check out their website: http://www.hpb.com

 They also buy and sell all of this. So if you have old books, comics, etc, that you'd like to sell to them, bring it by.

Final Thoughts

What a cool place. I'll be back for all my book hunting needs.

Flickr Photos

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

As Seen On:

Flickr: LIF Master Set

Urban Spoon: Life In Fort Worth

Yelp: LifeInFortWorth.Yelp.Com

Please comment below if you have anything to add, say, or correct.

Life In Fort Worth by Darrell G. Wolfe

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I may also have received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” A Big Thank You to Michael Hyatt for helping us Bloggers with these new legal disclosure requirements. 

Blog:

• www.LifeInFortWorth.com
• Facebook.Com/LifeInFortWorth
• Twitter.Com/DarrellWolfe

Connect:

      

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Lowes Build and Grow

Lowes Build and Grow

Throughout DFW and throughout the USA.

Rating (5 Being the Best)

3.5

Overview

Most people know what Lowe's is. But for those who don't, Click Here. Lowe's Hosts a "Build and Grow" session on select Saturdays' throughout the year. Usually at least once a month, depending on your Lowe's. They typically require registration before you come, or you will need to wait until the event is almost over and see if any no shows left supply for you and your kid. (Incidentally Home Depot does this type of thing too and there's might be more frequent... but that's another post. We usually do both!)

The kids get a free branded apron and goggles to keep. They are given a project to work on which includes wood and nails. This is theirs to take home as well.  They are given, to borrow not keep, a miniature hammer their own size! Projects could be anything from a wooden car for NASCAR week or a picture frame for mothers day or a bird feeder for spring. When the child (and accompanying parent) has completed the project they will go to the attendant and pick up a badge which can be stuck on, ironed on, or sewed on to the apron.

It's a great little event, something to do with the kids that is out of the house, but in doors (usually unless it's nice outside, then they might put it outside). One my favorite parts of the even is the cost...

Cost

FREE! You don't pay for the apron, googles, or even the craft.

It's all part of the corporate advertising in an attempt to start building brand loyalty in kids at a young age. Market research now says that if you can build brand recognition at a young age, it translates into brand loyalty in older (buying) years. Hence: Toy Chevy or Toy Ford cars or trucks. Interesting.

Kids

This event is specifically for kids. It's a wonderful free activity to give the kids something to look forward to and you a good reason to get out of the house.

Tips to enjoy it better...

Put it on your calendar. This way you won't forget.

If you use an electronic calendar, like outlook or Google calender, and your local Lowe's does it every "1st Saturday" of the month. You would always have reminders by scheduling these events as recurring reminders without having to plug each out in manually.

On that note, if you use an ECalendar put the Build and Grow website, and local phone number and address of your local Lowe's into the notes for that calendar event. This makes it easy to get to check what project is coming up, or call in bad whether to see if it's still open.

See what the project is before you go. The website, click here, usually gives you the project ahead of time. My kids whole heartedly reject Sponge Bob. He may as well have leprosy to see my kids react to him. So we look at what's being made ahead of time to see if the project includes themes, brands, or images that we'd rather avoid. We typically don't go in October for that reason.

Perfectionists... Calm down! This is especially true for Dad's with building, but could apply to a strong Type A Mom. This is your KIDS build and grow event. Don't take over. Don't be that parent building it for the kid, while the kid watches bored next to you, and you don't even notice because you took over. Help them, don't take over. Be patient.

Final Thoughts

This is a fun free event. These types of skills will help their hand eye coordination, ability to interpret and follow instructions, and complete a project or task. It will pay dividends into their developmental abilities for decades to come.

Flickr Photos

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

As Seen On:

Flickr: LIF Master Set

Urban Spoon: Life In Fort Worth

Yelp: LifeInFortWorth.Yelp.Com

Please comment below if you have anything to add, say, or correct.

Life In Fort Worth by Darrell G. Wolfe

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I may also have received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” A Big Thank You to Michael Hyatt for helping us Bloggers with these new legal disclosure requirements. 

Blog:

• www.LifeInFortWorth.com
• Facebook.Com/LifeInFortWorth
• Twitter.Com/DarrellWolfe

Connect:

      

What is YOUR favorite place to go? Comment Below!

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