Cheesecake Factory - Dunwoody at Perimeter Mall - Atlanta Georgia

You can find this location of the Cheesecake Factory at 4400 Ashford Dunwoody Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30346 towards the northeastern corner of Perimeter Mall (far right when facing the main entrance from Ashford Dunwoody Rd). Parking is easiest from the lot to the right in front of Dillards department store and walking across, unless you want to pay the valet but you'll still end up walking a bit so I'd advise you to forego that inconvenience.

I have a feeling that most of you have had the experience of the Cheesecake Factory - the first built (and now closed and replaced by a different location) in Buckhead at one time was the highest-grossing restaurant in the US. I believe this location was the second or third built in Atlanta and it's a really fantastic location. The interior has a fantasy array of Byzantine columns, wonderful fantasy-like wall sconces and very feminine fresco-like murals on a warm tan stucco adorning the ceilings - quite nice and it will make you feel a bit like you've entered a Disney theme park restaurant, however much like said-park the experience hardly meets the promise. I've worked in this area of Dunwoody for 15 or so years off-and-on so I've had many occasion to eat at this Cheesecake Factory. It's not a bad place to meet for special occasions as they can accommodate large parties - for my most recent visit I met with many coworkers for a bittersweet occasion - a member of our team was leaving for another work opportunity.

When you are seated you'll be presented with a booklet of many, many items and now I'll voice my biggest gripe. The menu is much too large - I mean it's so big that there's advertising on some of the pages - is it a menu, or a catalog? I really don't see how any restaurant can offer so many dishes and hope to do all of them well. The last thing I want to see is a binder full of pages - where do you start? What's good? What's not? Too many choices.

The food here, and I've tried dozens of items, is passable - no real standouts from the many appetizer or entree sections. I honestly can't recommend any one item as something that's your missing or something you can't get elsewhere and I think this is where the restaurant's identity takes a hit. You're sitting in this fantastic setting yet with one exception, the food is pretty humdrum. We'll get to that exception shortly. I do like the basket of bread that they bring out - something about that wheat bread I really like. But then again, don't come here for the bread. When I think about the food here it reminds me a bit of TGI Fridays. Not that they are all that similar, but the food is very formulaic which is both a good and bad thing. It's good in that there's usually some semblance of food balance - starch to fat to acid ratios are good. It's bad in that the combinations are a bit tired - not much magic here. For mall food it's good and certainly better than the food court - of course you're paying more for it as well. Back to the Fridays comparison - I think the food here is better than Friday's as it's less snacky and more of a meal. Satisfying but not awesome.

The exception of course are the desserts. I am not a big fan of cheesecake - it tends to sit very heavy with me, but I'll concede that the cheesecakes here are exceptional. I also like the Sunday and the ice cream in general. And maybe that's the point - I mean it is called "The Cheesecake Factory" so perhaps everything leading up to the dessert is just the build up to the big finish? But if so, why the phone-book menu?

My final point is about the service. I find it very hit-or-miss. I've received both exceptional service and horrible service and it doesn't seem to matter what size the party is - sometimes the service is amazing on a group of 20 and terrible on just two. No rhyme or reason for it. I've had so many orders get screwed up here and it's really unclear if it was the server or the kitchen. I've had tables where everything showed up together except one lost plate and it took 20 minutes for it to appear with everyone either finished or sitting in front of cold plates, to wrong items showing up, to meals with food restrictive (bacon) items showing up with extra (bacon), etc. When service is good the server is usually very attentive and fixes any mistakes quickly. When service is bad you can't find the server and the attitude is really crappy. Like I said, hit-or-miss.

So what's my final overall opinion? I think The Cheesecake Factory is exceptional for their desserts. The appetizer and entrees are mediocre but palatable and certainly better than mall food. The service hit-or-miss. Would I eat there again? Sure as it's close and useful for certain situations. Do I find myself wanting to go here? No. On a scale of 1-5, it's a fairly solid 3 due to the desserts.

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)
 

Nuevo Laredo Cantina - Westside - Atlanta Georgia

You can find the Nuevo Laredo Cantina at 1495 Chattahoochee Avenue NW, Atlanta, GA 30318 right across the street from a small parking lot provided by the Atlanta Pepsi Beverages Company (yes even Pepsi has a small stronghold in this city dominated by Coca Cola). Nuevo Laredo is in the short section between Collier Rd and Marietta Blvd. There's some small amount of parking around the restaurant but most people use the lot across the street.

Long before there was a "Westside" as a destination there was Nuevo Laredo. I remember visiting this place in the early 90's for the first time - it coincided with my retiring from the restaurant biz and I remember getting quite drunk off the fine margaritas and Diablo chicken. Over the years I've visited quite a few times - mostly to drink and enjoy the patio but it had been a few years. I was visiting the nearby Monday Night Brewing with friends and after running out of tickets we decided to get a bite - since there were a few who hadn't been to this venerable Tex-Mex establishment, we ended up here with about a 45 minute wait. I know that sounds horrible, but one of the very smart things the management of this restaurant did was to provide a very efficient bar near the entrance - you can order drinks (in our case, pitchers!) and some snacks. We enjoyed chips with a great salsa and guacamole while we waited for our table.

The restaurant is small - they could easily expand to double the current size and do well, based on the crowds (of course they would also need to expand the kitchen which could be why they haven't gone that route). The upstairs has the bar to the right of the entry and a dining room to the left. There's a downstairs that isn't apparent when you walk in and the deck-patio with entry from the bar. Average wait times during the week is in the 30-45 minute range and an hour on weekends. Try to get there earlier if you can and you'll get the best food and service. The food here is Tex-Mex in general, but there's a bit more emphasis on the Mex side of the equation that makes it interesting. You'll find a good mole here and a level of spiciness that you won't find in the schwag Mexican restaurants in the burbs. The salsa is fresh with plenty of cilantro - don't bother coming here if you don't like cilantro as it's in pretty much everything or used as a garnish.

The margaritas here are quite good - love the sour-mix they use as a base and they tend to be stronger that what you're used to getting. Do yourself a favor and buy them by the pitcher - easier for everyone and you won't be fighting against the crowds of people for singles. My preference is to sit on the patio if possible but it's usually just too damn hot with Atlanta's extended summer and short fall/winter/spring. Service is quite good at Nuevo Laredo with a very knowledgeable staff however as you may have already surmised, it gets very busy here so expect to wait. The food and drink will be well worth it but be prepared to wait and order that replacement pitcher before you hit bottom. If you don't like margaritas they also have sangria - I haven't tried it but have heard that it's good. They also usually have a selection of local craft beer as well as you're typical Mexican and American favorites.

Try the cheese sauce (chile con caso) here with chorizo - simply fantastic. For the entree I gravitate towards the mole and diablo as already indicated. I haven't tried it but the tamales looked and smelled wonderful (well, maybe I had a taste and from what I remember it's quite good). By the time I had a bit this last visit I was rocking pretty hard on those pitchers. Look for the specials in the upper right corner of the menu - you can't go wrong with any of them. The rice here is much better than your typical "red" rice that you find elsewhere (can't stand that stuff) and the black beans are fantastic. Also make sure you have plenty of salsa on hand. For something a bit lighter the carne asada here is quite good - I'd recommend the tacos.

In all my last visit was everything that I remember from my first and subsequent visits. I'll be coming back.

-- John 

(also posted to Yelp)
 

Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe - Alpharetta Georgia

You can find this location of Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe at 5306-B Windward Parkway, Alpharetta, GA 30004 - this is the center space along a shopping center near the Windward Home Depot. Parking is along the front and in the lot between buildings - there are several choices for food in the same shopping center including Nahm Thai and the very good Paradise Biryani Pointe. The exterior and interior are a bit modernist with classic European-Mediterranean hints. There's a row representing the beer selection on the counter where you order.

I had little expectation regarding this restaurant chain - it was offered up as a choice by extended family and i had basically heard nothing about it previously. From what I could gather online, it sounded much like Zoe's Kitchen and in fact is very similar, with more of a Greek slant to the food, and perhaps a bit less stress on the healthiness of the cuisine (but this is Mediterranean so it's a bit of a non sequitur). This is a fast-casual restaurant where you order at the counter and you're presented with your choices once prepared. One standout is the beer selection, which includes some craft that you don't usually see in places like this including several from Monday Night Brewing and the exceptional locally produced Hop Dang Diggity by Alpharetta's own Jekyll Brewing.

The menu is fairly basic with your typical Greek favorites - for appetizers we ordered the Hummus and the Mezedes Platter (which included Hummus and Dips with Dolmades and pita).

For dinner the two standouts were the Chargrilled Lamb Feast (which had beautiful chunks of seasoned lamb at the bargain price of $12.49) and the vegetarian Grilled Veggie Plate - I could easily have felt vary satisfied with the latter but was very glad to order the former.

In all the entire experience was exceptional - from the ambiance to the service, top notch. If you get a chance to experience Taziki's make sure you do.

-- John

 (also posted to Yelp)