Nomm Nomm

As soon as I walked through the intimidating double doors that lead to the enormous room of The Cheesecake Factory at the Danbury Fair Mall, I was immediately struck by the sheer size of the place. Even though there were so many tables in there, every single one was occupied, and there was even a thirty-five minute wait for a table of three. That should have been, my first indication of what was to come, but even when it did it still came as a shock.

            Once we sat down, I realized that the menu was a lot like the rest of the building; mammoth. It was novel sized, and it took me an eternity just to narrow down my possible options. It was difficult to read and really overwhelming. If you find it hard to make a decision on a regular basis, I would not recommend trying to file through that menu. After what seemed to hours of struggle, I decided on the Smokehouse BBQ Burger, which was listed under the “Glam Burgers”. It was a charbroiled burger with melted cheddar cheese, smoked bacon, crispy onion rings, and BBQ sauce on top.

            After splitting a basket of pretty standard fried calamari and another standard fresh Caesar salad, I felt overwhelmed once again when the burger arrived because the portion was humungous. But as soon as I took my first bite I was hooked. The combination of toppings was over the top, but all of the ingredients surprisingly worked together. The smokiness of the bacon, crunch from the onion rings, and sharpness of the cheddar sent your taste buds into overdrive.  After two bites I was stuffed, but I still fought through the rest of the first half so I could feel somewhat victorious with my meal. The rest I had to bring home. Even though it was hard for me to enjoy my burger because of that heavy feeling in my stomach growing deeper and deeper with every bite, the burger was delicious. With crispy sweet potato fries the whole meal was enough to send me over the edge.

            And then, just when I thought I couldn’t take any more, the dessert menu came out. The chocolate mouse cheesecake was decided upon at my table, and of course I could not resist stealing a few bites even in my overstuffed condition. Let this be known, I am not a big cheesecake person -in fact I hardly ever even taste it- but that cheesecake, man oh man I could eat a billion. It was so light and creamy, all in one deliciously delightful bite. If you are looking for a little Italian Trattoria, keep driving past exit three to the Danbury Fair Mall, they do not offer what you are looking for. But if you want a family-friendly restaurant with good food and relatively fair prices, try The Cheesecake Factory. But remember, if you go you have to try the cheesecake.