Eat_eat_eat

I agree. I know nothing about opening a restaurant so I was looking forward to the show. I like it very much so far. But I am not sure if I want to eat spaghetti and meatballs at Rocco's instead of a tried and true neighborhood joint.

I don't think Cheesecake Factory's entrees are that big. But they are big enough for me to skip the appertizer and the dessert. So some may consider that the portions are too big. I usually eat all of my food and I am not overweight either. Your metabolism rate may vary. I am a fan of leftovers. Sure they can charge me a little bit less. But I don't need to make anything for dinner or lunch the next day so that's great.

So basically, if you are not the "most serious" "connoisseur" about food, then you should shut up? I don't expect people to change their minds because of what I post. Most people have already made up their minds. You got it wrong. Of course there is a difference between the food at those two places. But I believe some "connoisseurs" with curious minds might be more receptive to Cheesecake Factory if it had a fancy schmancy name with smaller everything and were not a chain. Imagine it as a nice little trattoria. It is possible for a destination restaurant to be dumbed down if the chef spreads his interests to too many places. His/her personal touch may fade a little. Quality control can deteriorate as well. I am very excited to eat above average food and try new places. I am aware above average is subjective and is not good enough for everyone.

I checked out tighe and col klink's pictures and I decided I really like what tighe had. How can I request the exact courses when I eat there? Should I just tell the chef straight up? Do you think he'd mind?

I don't think I am as snobbi...uh, serious about food as some people here. But I love Cheesecake Factory. CF is definitely in the upper echelon of chain restaurant. The food is above average. I expect consistency when I go out to eat and CF manages that well. I always avoid dining out in the busiest hours so I never have to wait long. I can imagine the service at any restaurant can be bad when it is as busy as CF. I like pasta and I think CF has good ones. Imagine if you take away the CF name, make the restaurant a lot smaller, make the portions smaller, replace its clientele to an older opera crowd, how would you feel about this new restaurant with the same quality of food? How would you feel if French Laundry opens a few branches with the same name? I think the French Laundry name would be dumbed down and frankly, some people may not want to go there anymore because it has lost its prestige and mystique.

I speak from my experience. I won't say the same has happened to you since I don't know your experience. Le Pichet has very few violations.

Most Asian restaurants have a lot more violations than non-Asian joints. I don't understand why they just can't clean up! I ate in one in Chinatown recently and there were 6 flies overhead (I counted), although they were well-behaved enough not to dive for my food.

I don't know if Brasa has just enforced this recently but we will now have to order beverages to get the bar food for half price. I also want to say the steak frites was not good. It was hard and not juicy. I should have ordered something else because I rarely encounter good steak frites. Still, this is a very good deal for a meal.

I ate there a few years ago. I had the duck and my date had the chicken. Although the duck was extremely tasty with a good sauce, I was very disappointed with its size. My date's food was quite bland. It was the organic chicken? She didn't want to order something too expensive. The bill was still quite hefty in the end.

It is supposedly in the Eastside near Lake Sammamish. "The very best, greatest Thai food we've found is at a restaurant where the cook actually graduated from a cooking school in Thailand. She is absolutely amazing, and before starting on her own she was instrumental in helping other successful restaurants get a reputation. Other cooks we've talked to hold her in very high regard. Now, at her restaurant (open for a few years already), she has her daughter as the head waitress and she looks very "unique" to put it nicely. I don't know how many of you readers have been to Bangkok, but her style of dress is identical to what you might find in Patpong. She props up her breasts and they are nearly falling out of the low cut tops, from what I can see the bras are see-through, her pants are lower than anything Britney Spears wears, full shoulder view, complete with large insect tatoo emerging from the tiny bra. String bikini underwear in view on one day we were there."