A kosher style cheeseburger- for real! The NEW Impossible Burger and more behind the scenes at The Cheesecake Factory.
Thank you to The Cheesecake Factory for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.I’m back! The Cheesecake Factory, I just can’t quit you and would never want to. The food is delicious, the staff is the nicest (I may have campaigned to get hired as a samosa maker), and I love how they constantly update their comprehensive menu of over 250 (!) menu items with new dishes. And they stay on top of food trends with items like Tuna Poke and the Impossible Burger. Like their beef burgers, the all-plant but meat-esque Impossible ones are hand-formed and made to order. I formed a few myself using their fancy burger former contraption! (Probably not the real name.)
Everything gets prepped fresh. 160+ sauces and dressings! It’s mind-boggling, right? It’s because they are very passionate about getting the flavor profiles just right. You know how when a sauce has been sitting around for a day or two it just doesn’t taste as good? The Cheesecake Factory knows that too, so they make it fresh so it’s always perfect. Cool.
Check out the knife cuts on these hand-chopped veggies ready to be made into salads! Culinary school me was impressed.
I got a VIP tour of the super organized kitchen, and my favorite part may have been when I got to help make my beloved Chinese Chicken Salad! True story: when we used to visit Bubbe growing up we would always get The Cheesecake Factory to-go from the fancy mall in Newton, and it was always a few Chinese Chicken Salads with extra of their famous brown and white breads. (She’d always request “double/double”, a term I believe she coined.) The Cheesecake Factory has over 250 menu items (literally something for everyone) and I probably only tried one until I was in my 20’s! But I’m making up for it now.
Oh and P.S. check out my monogrammed chef coat! It’s official, baby. Never washing this coat again.Not only did I get a tour of how everything gets prepped fresh daily, and got to see their HUGE walk-ins and crazy organized kitchen, but I got to help prep! Chefs get there as early as 5am, but I got there at 10am. I tried.I got props for my hand-rolled samosa skills. I’m a natural! Must be all that kreplach and rugelach rolling.
Kvelling.I also prepped the Spicy Caesar Dressing for their new salad. Note: if you look close you can see that this is when I spilled dressing all over my coat, so turns out I will be washing it. They don’t call me Amy “Oops” Kritzer for nothing. But look how happy I am!!
At last, it was time to eat. And drink! I invited a few friends to help out. We tried nearly all of the 17 new menu items. Starting with the Pineapple Ginger Martini (yum), El Diablo (spic-y), and the Cucumber Martini (fresh). You can see my boyfriend couldn’t even wait a few moments for me to take a photo before sipping on his Cucumber Martini. And check out the San Francisco views!
Name a more classic duo than The Cheesecake Factory brown and white bread. I’ll wait.
This menu was basically designed with my boyfriend’s tastebuds in mind. Crispy Brussels Sprouts and Spicy Caesar Salad were both 100%. I would love to add a little chicken or salmon to the salad too!
Our favorite Chef Ricardo coming in hot (or cold, if we are being accurate) with the new Tuna Poke! Chef gave me the best tour. I can’t wait to hang out again!! This was one of my favorites. Check out all that gorgeous avocado and ahi tuna!! Underneath was a kale salad, but you could choose rice too. These Breakfast Tacos were seriously good. And as a former Austinite, I am VERY picky about my breakfast tacos. I would eat these often. Clean plates, full hearts. The Impossible Burger is at all 200+ Cheesecake Factory locations. Have you tried it? What did you think?? I thought it was surprisingly tasty! These Thai Lettuce Wraps are not new but aren’t they gorgeous??
We were full, but of course there was room for cheesecake. The new Very Cherry Ghirardelli Chocolate Cheesecake is one of my favorite cheesecakes I’ve tried. Love the flavor combo! Chocolate and cheesecake and cherries are born to be together.
The Cinnabon Cinnamon Swirl Cheesecake was also tasty. Tasted just like a Cinnabon!
Thank you to The Cheesecake Factory for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.
Deborah serna says
There’s cheese on that burger.
Amy Kritzer says
Correct, if you read the post you’ll see that it’s a plant-based (vegan) burger.
Iain says
If you get it at CF, it’s not even vegetarian. They marinate it in Worcestershire sauce. What a let down. My wife and I found out when we tried to order it in Walnut Creek, CA.
Jacquelyn says
Is the ahi tuna a larger serving of their small plate ahi? I love that dish, but if it’s a bigger serving with more of the ginger dressing stuff I’m all in! Pineapple martinis sound yum too!
Amy Kritzer says
Oh yeah it is huge! So delicious too.
Iain says
It’s not vegan at CF, not even vegetarian. I tried ordering one at the Walnut Creek location, and was informed Cheesecake Factory marinates it in Worcestershire sauce. To put a trademarked name in the menu and not state the in house changes made is negligent at best.
Amy Kritzer says
I watched them make it and they didn’t do this at my restaurant!