Applebees...

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Anyone else find the food at Cheesecake factory very underwhelming?

I have gone to the one in Oak Brook with my family 3-4 times and went to the new one in Orland Square Mall 1 time and I always find their food to be just alright.

Maybe I am not getting the right stuff from their menu.... Cheesecake it usually pretty good.

I always go pasta there cause they have so much of it I figure some of their pasta must be good, but its always just average to me.

Anyone have that experience with Cheesecake Factory?
Perhaps I have lower standards than others, but I love Cheesecake Factory personally, and not just their cheesecake. I usually get their burgers and I haven't had one that hasn't satisfied me yet, both in portion size and taste. Again, maybe my standards of good are lower than others. :dunno:

The Applebees that I usually go to in Savoy is pretty good, but we only go for half-price appetizers, so perhaps that's why. The service there is usually pretty good though.
 

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I heard Peyton Manning will be endorsing Applebees. That will boost their image and improve their food
 

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I honor of you haters I just picked up their All Amercian grilled chesse and it's freaking awesome
 

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At yeah, the one near the Lewis mall. I forgot about that one. When I'm in that area, we usually go to Texas Roadhouse.

Crys,
Have you been to Clara's in Woodridge? They moved two blocks north remodeling and taking over the former Krispy Kreme. One fo the very best Italian places I have ever been to.

I've been there once. Food was very good, but I think I stopped because they do one of my major cooking pet peeves.

I don't like anyplace that cooks high temp dishes with extra virgin olive oil. All oils/fats break down and have some form of toxicity and become carcinogenic when heated past a breakdown point. Extra virgin olive oil breaks down at a significantly lower temperature than most common cooking oils, including standard olive oil. I think ev olive oil is 170 degrees for the start of breakdown, and carcinogenic at 220(and it gets even worse, the higher the temp and longer the breakdown), which then should indicate a bad choice for anything baked or cooked above 300(which is most food found in an Italian dive). Canola, basic olive oil, are superior choices, then use the ev and regular virgin olive oil for low temp dishes and dressings to take advantage of their health benefits and strong taste.

Someone like me that has nearly eliminated my psoriasis completely through diet, oil use is a huge deal. I can 100% confirm the effects of improperly used oil just by how my skin reacts after a few hours. Not everyone has the same issue, but improperly used extra virgin olive oil does provide a completely avoidable health defect for most people at varying levels.
 
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Ok, you guys made me feel better lol.... it just seemed like I was the only one missing something.

I frequently have business conferences in Chicago and several have been at the Westin Michigan Ave. I have eaten at the cheesecake factory across the street several times and it's really not very good.

I prefer our conferences at Wyndham Blake because there is Geno's East loop, potbelly, and a Amarit thai and Pan Asian down the street.
 

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At yeah, the one near the Lewis mall. I forgot about that one. When I'm in that area, we usually go to Texas Roadhouse.



I've been there once. Food was very good, but I think I stopped because they do one of my major cooking pet peeves.

I don't like anyplace that cooks high temp dishes with extra virgin olive oil. All oils/fats break down and have some form of toxicity and become carcinogenic when heated past a breakdown point. Extra virgin olive oil breaks down at a significantly lower temperature than most common cooking oils, including standard olive oil. I think ev olive oil is 170 degrees for the start of breakdown, and carcinogenic at 220(and it gets even worse, the higher the temp and longer the breakdown), which then should indicate a bad choice for anything baked or cooked above 300(which is most food found in an Italian dive). Canola, basic olive oil, are superior choices, then use the ev and regular virgin olive oil for low temp dishes and dressings to take advantage of their health benefits and strong taste.

Someone like me that has nearly eliminated my psoriasis completely through diet, oil use is a huge deal. I can 100% confirm the effects of improperly used oil just by how my skin reacts after a few hours. Not everyone has the same issue, but improperly used extra virgin olive oil does provide a completely avoidable health defect for most people at varying levels.

Pfffft.... what is this world coming to when you can't take a little carcinogenic olive oil, next your gonna complain when I make mustard gas at the table next to you Crys, man up! :lol:
 

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Pfffft.... what is this world coming to when you can't take a little carcinogenic olive oil, next your gonna complain when I make mustard gas at the table next to you Crys, man up! :lol:

No shit, LMAO. Does he live in a bubble or something? Out of all things he is worried about Olive Oil LMFAO
 

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Is it funny? yes. Is it working for Crys? Seems so. If it worked to get rid of my diabetes, I would encourage anyone to laugh at me all the way thru a bag of Oreo cookies.
 

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Is it funny? yes. Is it working for Crys? Seems so. If it worked to get rid of my diabetes, I would encourage anyone to laugh at me all the way thru a bag of Oreo cookies.

Yeah exactly, if it works for him that's awesome. I've just never heard of such a thing. His post sounds like cooking with Olive oil is equivalent to drinking motor oil.
 

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Yeah exactly, if it works for him that's awesome. I've just never heard of such a thing. His post sounds like cooking with Olive oil is equivalent to drinking motor oil.

True which is part of the funny, but then again, if it works like you said...:)
 

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Yeah exactly, if it works for him that's awesome. I've just never heard of such a thing. His post sounds like cooking with Olive oil is equivalent to drinking motor oil.

No, I make the clear distinction. You don't cook high temps with extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil is fine. Is it my fault that people aren't aware of it, and the very basics such as smoke points? It's not like I expect people to professional chefs to have a list of oils and the temps that they lose nutritional value(extra virgin olive oil loses nearly all of those benefits when cooked well before smoke point). EV Olive oil is awesome when used correctly, and I understand when I say these things, it makes longtime users offended a bit, when I basically tell them they are doing it wrong in a far more serious manner, than your standard, 'but everything is unhealthy in some decree' argument. To be clear, that is not my argument to claim everything is unhealthy, but actually point out something far more serious in perspective to all of the other unhealthy things.

Nobody knows where psoriasis comes from(over 120mil people worldwide have it, not some small fluke). It's aggravated by from neglecting a big part of a diet, like ignoring the facts behind cooking oils, hydrogenation, ect. The correlation between awareness as well as the practice that comes from knowing cooking oils and fats reduces(or virtually eliminates) psoriasis. Not only does this work for me, this kind of information would go a long way to reduce that 120+ million. I do take this matter dead seriously because psoriasis isn't cosmetic, it's painful as hell to live with. I have been at the point for the last 2 years where it doesn't alter my life because of easy changes I made to my life. Like actually learning HOW to cook with EV olive oil, and not acting like an archaic cook that regards grandma's methods to always be correct.
 
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Ares

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No, I make the clear distinction. You don't cook high temps with extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil is fine. Is it my fault that people aren't aware of it, and the very basics such as smoke points? It's not like I expect people to professional chefs to have a list of oils and the temps that they lose nutritional value(extra virgin olive oil loses nearly all of those benefits when cooked well before smoke point). EV Olive oil is awesome when used correctly, and I understand when I say these things, it makes longtime users offended a bit, when I basically tell them they are doing it wrong in a far more serious manner, than your standard, 'but everything is unhealthy in some decree' argument. To be clear, that is not my argument to claim everything is unhealthy, but actually point out something far more serious in perspective to all of the other unhealthy things.

Nobody knows where psoriasis comes from(over 120mil people worldwide have it, not some small fluke). It's aggravated by from neglecting a big part of a diet, like ignoring the facts behind cooking oils, hydrogenation, ect. The correlation between awareness as well as the practice that comes from knowing cooking oils and fats reduces(or virtually eliminates) psoriasis. Not only does this work for me, this kind of information would go a long way to reduce that 120+ million. I do take this matter dead seriously because psoriasis isn't cosmetic, it's painful as hell to live with. I have been at the point for the last 2 years where it doesn't alter my life because of easy changes I made to my life. Like actually learning HOW to cook with EV olive oil, and not acting like an archaic cook that regards grandma's methods to always be correct.

Just so we're clear, I was just messing.... I actually did not know that about Extra Virgin Olive Oil, I learn shit from you every day Crys :D
 

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Just so we're clear, I was just messing.... I actually did not know that about Extra Virgin Olive Oil, I learn shit from you every day Crys :D

:beer:

I know, but here with mah CCS family, this isn't a subject I have talked about before.

It's not just EV Olive oil. But when talking about an Italian or Greek dive, it becomes commonplace. There's three major health correction trends that have been slowly reaching mass adoption in food service, like MSG was just 20 years ago. Trans fats are well known. Gluten-free(or better yet, organic flour sources) options is one people are pretty familiar with now. And slowly, but surely, turning good food carcinogenic through food prep(this is why you see a lot of places switching to refined peanut oil, because it is outstanding for the purpose of cooking at high-temps, but that means people with peanut allergies need to be aware if peanut oil is an issue, because 99% of people with peanut allergies have zero issues with the oil due to it not being an allergen... *breathes*). The thing about the third, is it relates to places wanting to be conscious of the trans fats, so they replace oils and don't realize other issues come about. Thus why we saw this huge jump in the use of EV Olive oil for cooking, so more places can put it in their menu. AKA: Marketing(because if they used standard refined olive oil, people read that in the menu and think the place doesn't use the finest ingredients, ect).
 
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brett05

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Just to be clear, Clara's is no dive
 

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Just to be clear, Clara's is no dive

I heard carcinogenic and headed straight there.... btw Brett, I am a type 1 diabetic, have been since I was 10, how bout you?
 

Crystallas

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Just to be clear, Clara's is no dive

Fair enough. Trading your semantics for mine. LOL

Clara's is a fine fancy family restaurant with solid environment and the perfect mood.
 

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Crystallas I just want to say I didn't mean to minimize your medical condition or make fun of it. I just initially thought EV olive oil thing was kind of an odd and funny thing to be worried about. I didn't mean to be an ass, sry.
 

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I just bumped into a kid at the car wash who works at Applebees...He said everyone spits on the All American grilled cheese sandwiches

You will now be sued for leaking a patented recipe!
 

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