Throwing a cheesecake at chains

I’ve had it with chains. Done. Finished. If I have to eat bark and leaves in lieu of chains, so be it.

Everything started to slide a few months ago after I got sick eating at Claim Jumper and BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse for two different birthday celebrations. It may sound rude, yes, but I told my significant other that I won’t be attending any more occasions held at these kind of establishments. (And if I do, it’s drinks only.)

After a disastrous dining experience at Strings on Friday night, I found myself yet again at a chain for on Saturday night for dinner with my SO’s family. This time it was the Cheesecake Factory on Arden Way.

Honestly – I don’t know why people go here. It gets insanely busy. The food is OK – but certainly not worth the price. The portions are way too big (which is good for take-out, I know) but if you get cold fries the first time around you’re not going to want to take them home. The interior is nice enough but the whole experience is so chain-y…

I managed to keep my chain rage inside for the meal. But after that I made a pact with myself. No more chains!

This is my cry to Sacramento to help support local business. Please people, there is wonderful food out there – wonderful ethnic treasures and decadent desserts and I bet a lot of them serve big portions so you won’t miss your take out.

Chain restaurants also cause obesity and a slide in traditional family values. My ancestors would have never stood for this kind of eating. Do yourself a favor and hit up the farmer’s market and bring home some goodness to your table.

9 thoughts on “Throwing a cheesecake at chains”

  2. I think people go to chains for the same reason I stopped at McDonald’s when driving cross-country on I-10. (Santa Monica to Jacksonville in four days, whooo-hoo!)

    With chains, you can usually expect nothing less (or more) than mediocrity. And cleanish bathrooms. People don’t like to be surprised.

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  3. Wait, how are traditional family values harmed by eating at a chain restaurant as opposed to an independent restaurant?
    I strongly favor non-chains also, but I understand that for some people the predictability of a chain translates to immediate comfort, and I honestly don’t see anything wrong with that.

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  4. The family values part slides because children grow up never learning how to cook. The dinner table becomes more appealing to kids when they can order a cheeseburger and fries, as opposed to passing the peas.

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  5. I agree with the idea that people go to chains for their consistency. Having said that, what is the deal with the Cheesecake Factory’s appeal?

    What sort of pact did that place make with Satan that they have a two-and-a-half-hour wait time to be seated? Face it, the food ain’t that amazing. If there were more alternatives for the masses to go to, I think they probably would make other choices. I live in the Greenhaven-pocket area and they desperately need some restaraunt options out their (chain or otherwise); I’m sorry, but Shari’s is not my idea of a choice.

    On a related note, I think there is some sort of guideline in the pocket area, and throughout Sacramento, that there must be a Pizza place every ten square-feet (roughly five pizza joints for every two Sacramentans). Enough with the pizza places already, but I digress…

    Don’t get me started 🙂

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  6. Had to laugh about the pizza chain-madness as I, too live in Greenhaven-Pocket area. I can think of at least three, maybe four pizza places VERY close by.

    There are a few independent restaurants here though…have you tried New China or J. Barnhill’s? Granted, we went to Barnhill’s once and haven’t been back. We find ourselves all too often at Shari’s because it’s “family-friendly” and yes, it’s a chain. But you don’t have to wait.

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  8. …and I realize I mispelled “germane” but I was listening to the Jackson 5 while writing this comment. And yes, I realize “germaine” is not how Jermaine Jackson spells him name either. I’m just having an off day. Gosh, won’t you get off of my back!

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  9. Personally, I try not to eat anywhere with “Factory” in the name. Just a cardinal rule I have.

    Seriously though, people flock to ye olde Cheesecake Factory because they have those in the “Big City” – the glitz of a fancy, big time eatery from “away” is a draw for the humble townsfolk around here. It shows that we are aquiring culture.

    I remember when Krispy Kreme opened in the area circa 2000/2001. Nothing scarier than driving down Arden Way at four in the morning on a Tuesday night and seeing a 1/4 mile line of cars waiting to go through the KK drive-thru for their fried dough because during the day it was so packed that police had to direct the surrounding traffic for fear of gridlock shutting down the Arden/Watt intersection.

    Like I said – just getting us some culture.

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