Showing posts with label Cheesecake factory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cheesecake factory. Show all posts

February 18, 2011

Do You Take Cheese With Your Coffee?



I must admit, this week had a bit of a rough start. You may have read that I didn't have the best start to my V-Day, or you may have been too busy going out to dinner and eating chocolates and cuddling in front of a fire or whatever romantic foolishness you were participating in (but I forgive you). That day just kept going downhill- I was exhausted from not sleeping, the Spawn were high on a sugar rush all day, Not Blessed Daddy did not call or text (and when I finally briefly spoke to him, he suggested I go buy myself a valentine's present). Needless to say, I was pretty peeved by day's end. It was a bad note to start the week on.
I was making a conscious effort to cheer up and not mentally strangle the Spawn. It was working, somewhat- but the house was a mess, I was tired, and just down. So on Wednesday night when the Spawn called me to the table for a snack, I dragged myself over and plopped wearily down.
Spawn#2 told me that since I worked so hard every day she was going to do something nice for me. There were napkins, silverware, 2 plates of cheese and crackers and salami and strawberries (and some strawberry juice infused crackers- ick). It was very sweet. There were also two cups of coffee milk, which is a packet of sweetened instant coffee we mix with rice milk. Sadly, there were quite a few bits of shredded cheese floating in both glasses. Being the loving mother I am, I drank from the straw and attempted to not gag as I felt the cheese in my mouth. Coffee and cheese do not make a good combination. 
We were enjoying a lovely little snack time when Spawn#2 tried to take a sip from one cup as I was (attempting) to drink from the other. All of a sudden she blurted out, "There's CHEESE in this coffee milk!!!" and I lost it. I tried to laugh but I had a mouth full of cheesey coffee milk. I threw my hand over my mouth and attempted to stifle it, but I began choking. A huge TORRENT of liquid shot out of my mouth and nose, as I sputtered and coughed and laughed and gasped. I still couldn't quit laughing, even as I was choking and unable to catch my breath- and I could feel all three of the worried Spawn's stares upon me. 
I finally got all of the fluids removed from my nose, and continued to laugh hysterically with a napkin covering my face. It was like a damn broke. I felt the stress lifting from my body as the tears rolled down my face- all while the Spawn looked like they were about to call 911 because their mama had finally jumped off the deep end. I finally choked out a few words- "She.... said ... there's ch.. ch... ch.. chee.... cheese in the coffee!" and all of the kids joined in my laughter, finally relieved to know that I was still sane (or as sane as I ever was). 

June 24, 2010

The Cheesecake Factory

I can't stop day-dreaming about a recent visit some mama friends and I made to The Cheesecake Factory. For some reason, it was only recently that I fell under the spell of TCF- I'm always the last to join the trends. I had actually been once before, maybe to a free cheesecake day? It was good, but for some reason I have slowly been losing my taste for cheesecake- which is odd, given I have an insane sweet tooth. So I wasn't too thrilled about going to TCF, but it was conveniently located. The menu is like a spiral bound notebook- it's huge! They even had a separate binder for nutrition information, which I knew not to look at from those irritating Eat This, Not That Yahoo articles I click on out of boredom. There were so many menu options, I had no idea what to choose and was getting perturbed- who needs 200 varieties of cheesecake anyway? Cheesecake with peanut butter cups and fudge, cheesecake with caramel and macadamias, cheesecake with earthworms and a garden hose. I finally spotted the strawberry shortcake, which sounded good, and picked the fried zucchini as a "small plate" appetizer to share (at a reasonably priced $4). My friend got cheesecake with Snickers bars and fishnet stockings, or something like that.
Oh.My.God. That strawberry shortcake was possibly the best thing I have ever eaten in my life. It was huuuuuge. The bottom shortcake was swimming in a pool of sweet strawberry juices and sucking up all that gooey goodness like a sponge. Vanilla ice cream was sandwiched between the cakes, adding a cold and creamy contrast. There was probably a pound of strawberries swimming around, and a huge dollop of whipped cream on top of it all- and it's listed as having a figure-friendly 1,000+ calories. I kid you not. I didn't eat the whole thing- I would have, if I could have, but I didn't feel like passing out in the parking lot on the way to my car (I had a dress on). And let's not forget the fried zucchini- crispy, tasty small spears with a tangy, smooth ranch dipping sauce- they were excellent, and a fairly sized portion too.
So, in other words: Cheesecake Factory, I love you. I am thinking about applying for a bussing job there so I can eat all the leftover food. I can't wait to go back.
Disclaimer: I must tell you that TCF has NOT paid me for this review, nor provided me with any of their fattening, delicious food. And really, I think that's a shame, since I gave them such a glowing commendation. Cheescake Factory, are you reading this? I'm free Saturday.
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