by Nick Coons

The first thing I thought when I heard of the Cheesecake Factory was that it was some large plant where cheesecakes were manufactured by the thousands and shipped all over the world. The first thing I thought when I saw the Cheesecake Factory was that only 1% of the state's population could afford to dine at a place like this. So at this point, I was batting zero.

When we first received the menu from our server, complete with glossy color photos, it seemed that it'd take me hours to go through this book that they called a menu. The prices seemed only slightly higher than usual, and I do mean slightly. This was until my food arrived at the table. I don't recall the actual color of the plate, because I never made it that far. There was so much food that I had to get a box, and that's a heck of a lot of food.

And at the Cheesecake Factory, you always leave room for dessert. That is, afterall, why you went there in the first place. With several dozen varieties of cheesecake available, and only a limited amount of space remaining in my stomach, the ideal situation would have been a sort of cheesecake sample, with paper thin slices of each type of cheesecake sitting next to each other to form one regular-sized slice.

A true cheesecake fanatic will want to try each available variety.

The Cheesecake Factory is located at 3111 W. Chandler Blvd. in Chandler.

If you would like a particular restaurant reviewed, please contact us to let us know -- Get Reviewed.