Wow.....so many new readers and replies! You guys ROCK!
I am so glad to have each and every one of you following along, and I will be back to address each of your comments personally....but first, an update so you're not bored to tears (but who am I kidding? With the 'regulars' that hang out here, its impossible to be bored
).
Saturday, April 23rd….continued:
So, the guys were way more excited about this meal than the above picture shows, LOL! I have no idea why they had their pouts on….maybe because Mom was taking pictures of them in the middle of the mall?
(Yeah, I know.....probably not cool!) At any rate, we were all pretty jazzed to be experimenting with a new-to-us restaurant....despite what their expressions suggest!
We were pretty relieved, when we walked up to the restaurant, that there wasn’t 200 people in a long line snaking out the door like there was on our previous attempt to dine there. There were people waiting, of course, but not hoards of them this time. We checked in at the podium and they told us we were looking at a 30 minute wait……very manageable (and what we expected….that is one of the reasons we opted to go a little earlier in the evening). They handed us a pager and we walked back outside to wait. Within about 15 minutes…..much sooner than the promised half hour
….our pager was vibrating and flashing and we were ushered to our table.
The interior of this restaurant was MUCH prettier than it is in the Big Bang Theory episodes……casual, yes, but rather elegant at the same time. The ceiling was particularly ornate (and nice and high), so while the room was full of hungry patrons, it didn’t seem crowded or unbearably noisy.
Since we were all pretty hungry after our long drive (the ritualistic box of Road Trip Timbits had long, LONG since worn off) we were happy to begin the arduous task of reviewing the bazillion entrée and appetizer options on the most extensive menu we have ever seen
.
Oh, that menu. OMG!
I have no idea how the cooks and servers keep that massive list of options straight
. It was going to take some time to figure out what we wanted to eat, so we opted to order some appetizers to share before picking our entrees. Our server was very patient, and I’m guessing we weren’t the first to be overwhelmed by the pages and pages of choices
.
Our appies were pretty quick to come out . We ordered three to share between our trio. First up were loaded potato tots and crispy fried cheese:
The parmesan-garlic cheese bread followed shortly thereafter:
Let me tell you…..first impressions were excellent
. The loaded potato tots were completely different than I expected, but sooooo tasty…..and HOT! So HOT! The fried cheese was equally pleasing, and Jake (our family's fried cheese connoisseur) gave them high marks. In fact, they disappeared fast enough that there wasn’t even any stretching prior to being eaten
.
The parmesan garlic cheese bread was also delish, and came with some very
incredible house made marinara for dipping…..it was really, REALLY good. I seriously could have dipped everything I ate that night in that sauce and been quite content to do so
.
My only complaint with the bread was that apparently the meal should have come….at the beginning….with a basket of bread on the table. Unfortunately for us, it was neither offered nor delivered until after our appetizers had bit the dust (and our initial hunger paints mostly satiated)….so our basket, when it did eventually get dropped off, went mostly untouched. Knowing what we know now, we probably wouldn’t have ordered the parmesan-garlic bread when the fresh bread basket was provided complimentary….however, it was no biggie. Who are we to complain about copious amounts of delicious food?
We had eventually given our entrée selections to our server, but I'm not going to lie......it was painful making those final choices (First World Problems, right?). Knowing that we wanted to have room enough for dessert….and that we had just indulged in a big selection of appetizers to start the meal…..we opted for sandwiches and their signature “glam”-burgers versus the heavier-sounding pasta dishes and meat & potatoes platters.
Well, we
thought we made lighter selections
. Apparently not!! LOL
Jake had decided to go with some sort of a cheeseburger (I can’t find my full receipt for this meal, so I’m not sure which specific burger he picked) but it was HUGE! The pictures really don’t do the size our meals fair justice. You’ll just have to go with me on this one, but even my burger-lovin’ boy was taken aback by the sheer circumference of the bun and patty.
Steve, not surprisingly, chose the “Bacon-Bacon Cheeseburger” …. because in my big guy’s book, everything tastes better with bacon on top. The more, the merrier.
Not the best picture, but there was a LOT of bacon on this burger. A LOT
. Steve was a happy boy.
My selection was the chicken parmesan sandwich, and I was happy to see it came with its own portion of their fabulous marinara (though it was slightly different in taste and texture than the sauce that came with the garlic bread):
Warning: objects in the photos are large than they appear
. Especially in the case of my entree, I could have easily shared it with a friend!!
My chicken parm sandwhich had to have weighted a pound and a half…..no lie. A pound of that weight was chicken alone. The fact that the portions were enormous did not result in any kind of compromise to the taste or quality, either……everything tasted amazing even though we came nowhere near finishing our plates. They guys managed to clean up every last crumb of their burgers but the fries were too much for either one of 'em. I barely….and I mean
JUST barely…..made it through half my chicken parm before my stomach started to protest at the quantity. Jake and Steve each took a bite to taste test the sandwich, but even they weren’t capable of helping me finish it off. Next time, no appetizers….just the bread basket!!
While there was no way we could have eaten dessert after that massive feast, it seemed almost sacrilegious to NOT enjoy something sweet from their signature line up of heavenly creations …. this was a restaurant famous for its cheesecake, after all. After some consideration, we opted to order a slice of cheesecake (for Steve) and a slice of chocolate cake (for Jake and I to share) in to-go boxes to enjoy back at the hotel later that night. Ya'll know that I have a cream cheese phobia....and oddity which my boy shares with his momma.....so Steve would be enjoying his snack all by his lonesome
. With a little luck, a soak in the hot tub….and an hour or two to let things “settle” …. would be just what our bloated bellies needed, and we could fully enjoy our desserts before we packed it in for the evening. After explaining our dilemma to our very understanding server (yep, I am sure she's heard that story more than once....
OMG, I'm too full for dessert!), she was back in a flash with a ridiculously large bag in tow (we are SUCH gluttons) and we began the arduous process of rolling ourselves out the door. Our bill, including the to-go desserts and tax, came to $85.70 plus tip.
We milled about the mall for a bit, figuring it would be a good way to mitigate the uncomfortable fullness in our bellies. I was thankful for the escalators in Dick’s Sporting Goods because I don’t think I was capable of navigating that amount of stairs for the next several hours
. Let’s just say that if we were trying to pace ourselves where our dietary indulgences were concerned, we failed miserably on night #1 !! By unanimous family vote, the Cheesecake Factory was declared a win……and we had yet to partake of the really, REALLY good stuff (the cake!).
Eventually, we meandered back to the parking lot and headed back to the Days.
The balance of our Saturday night….and the early morning that followed….is up next.
Glad to have caught up, Gina! Can't wait to read about the rest of the adventure!!!
Frances!! I am so glad you are here!
.
We definitely kicked things off on a high note!
.
)
Thank you, and 
.
What do you think? Would it work? Could you even get pre-boarding privilege?
So excited to read all about it ! So about just dropping some hints throughout about the dolphin. I don't think we can wait allllll the way till the end 
say it ain't so! I will cut Jake a break on this occasion though since I can only imagine how hungry you guys were by that hour! Looks delicious.
) but am so glad to see you starting another trip report! 
. I bet you are anxiously counting down the days!! (I know I would be, LOL!)
..... Steve was quite smitten indeed. I can't wait to share my photos from our day there.
