When the Monitor conducted a poll on its Forum page last month asking readers what restaurants they wanted to see appear on Loudon Road, one of the initial suggestions from a Monitor staff member was the Cheesecake Factory. And why not? We think the factory industry could have enjoyed a much longer heyday in this country if nothing but cheesecake was consistently churned out. Although that’s probably true of most industries. It’s simple supply and demand, people.
Apparently it didn’t take long for the company to take notice of Concord’s interest, either, building a Cheesecake Factory on Loudon Road – the chain’s first New Hampshire location! – almost on demand. Thankfully they tossed up the new restaurant just in time for the Food Snob to stop by with a faithful dining companion.
We were immediately struck by the ambiance of the place, which faintly reminded us of a couple hundred other restaurants we had been to but somehow still felt homey. Maybe it was the rustic looking skis hanging on the wall, or the scratched and faded license plates hanging on the overhead beams – how authentically local!
After discovering that a Cliff’s Notes version of the menu was not available, the Snob and his companion dove into the task at hand – ordering some dinner. Thankfully the Snob found just what he was looking for on page 103 of the menu, in a chapter 14 that was playfully dubbed Pasta La Vista, Baby. He went with the admittedly clunkily-named eight-pounds-of-pasta-with-four-chicken-breasts-smothered-in-cheese-on-top, which came with a side of three loaves of garlic bread. The meal lived up to the Cheesecake Factory’s reputation for solid portion size for the money, and left the Snob in a food-induced coma for a good two hours.
The Snob’s companion opted for the Slammin’ Jammin’ Salmon, a piece of previously – and possibly still – frozen fish slathered in strawberry jam. It was surprisingly fruity and all-together super weird, the blend of seafood and liquidized fruit not meshing as smoothly as one would think.
Of course, dinner is merely the appetizer here – the Cheesecake Factory experience is all about dessert. So we did the obvious and went with the creme brulee. Kidding! We had cheesecake, of course.
After flipping through the menu’s cheesecake addendum (and associated bylaws), the Snob tried the Chocolate Mocha Fudge Cocoa Chocolate Chip Cheesecake, while his companion opted for the Abragraham Lincoln, a graham cracker-infused cheesecake on a graham cracker crust in the shape of a sweet top hat.
Both were delightful and decadent, and served the purpose of completing the meal in such a way that it took the Snob and his companion until the following morning to muster the muscle memory required to walk to the car.
That time wasn’t all lost, though – the Snob mentioned his visit to the manager, who was so excited to be featured in the Insider that he pledged to create a Food Snob Insider Cheesecake, which is cheesecake inside of cheesecake. The best part is, you can’t tell where one ends and one begins because they are both the same thing!
It was a worthwhile venture, and one we’re sure we’ll be making again soon. Especially if we complete our business venture to build the Nap Factory, to be constructed within 25 feet of all Cheesecake Factory locations. It’s a match made in heaven!
April Fools!!!!!!!!!!!
