Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Restaurant Review - The Cheesecake Factory - Crabtree Valley Mall

On 8-27-08, I visited the Raleigh Cheesecake Factory located at Crabtree Valley Mall for lunch. They did NOT have an exclusive GF Menu.

As I previously mentioned in an earlier post, I had already emailed the folks at their corporate office to prepare for the visit. As I entered, I spoke with our server and she recommended that I talk to the Chef. I spoke for several minutes to a Chef named Douglas about my options. I showed him the email response from Guest Relations and he quickly had a plan of attack for me. He said he had other GF requests before and knew just how to handle my issue.

I was able to order the following...
-Broiled Mahi Mahi seasoned with butter, garlic, salt & pepper
-Steamed Broccoli, Asparagas & Green Beens (all fresh veggies o' the day)
-Water
-Desert included a massive scoop of Edy's Chocolate Ice Cream (none of their cheesecakes are gluten free).

I was a bit worried that when you took away all the marinades and other flavorings that are not GF that the food would be boring but this was not the case. The natural flavor of the fish and veggies was very tasty.

Other items of note
  • I had the option of picking any protein for my main dish (steak, chicken or other types of fish). None of it is marinated ahead of time and can be cooked plain with the flavorings I mentioned above.
  • The chef recommended that I made sure to let my waitress know about my issue and for her to alert the kitchen staff so they could use clean utensils and follow my food more closely through the preparation and cooking process.
  • The cooking method (as to avoid cross-contamination) recommended by the Chef was to oven broil the fish on it's own clean separate pan. The veggies were steamed in fresh water/pan as well.
  • The Chef made sure that I understood that this oven broiling method would take approximately 25-30 minutes to prepare. He suggested I mention this to my waitress and have her put in my order just before all the other members in my party were ready to order. This way it would come out at the same time as the rest of my group.

All in all, a great experience at the Cheesecake Factory. Their staff was excellent and took the time to make me feel comfortable that my food would be safe.

I would recommend this place to any other Celiacs.

Information
The Cheesecake Factory
Crabtree Valley Mall
4325 Glenwood Avenue
Phone 781-0050
Web - http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/

View Larger Map

---------------------------
Mr. Silly approves

0 comments:

Post a Comment