Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake -- eh?
sbp | Jun 3, 200807:18 PM
I've only eaten there once, and was not a fan -- oversized portions of underseasoned food. But I had heard the cheesecake was great. Well, my wife had business meeting/dinner there, and brought back leftover strawberry cheesecake.
Unimpressive. Not awful, but no big deal. My reference for excellence is homemade and Junior's in Brooklyn - creamy, not too light, with a bit of tang. My reference for awful takes two paths; overbaked, grainy and tasteless, or moussey/chiffonney whipped cream cakes that forgot that cheesecake is cream CHEESE.
CF cheesecake is either of these, but leans to the latter. The overall flavor profile is too sweet, and with no acidity to cut the richness. There's a reason a classic cheesecake contains lemon. You need the bite. Even if you don't want the lemon flavor, you need to add some acid. It's just too one dimensional. And the texture is creamy, but somewhat whipped. Too light for a cheesecake. So, not terrible, but I'm not going out of my way for it, either.