At Long Last!!!

I have been waiting for this moment since I became a self-proclaimed food critic!!! Stupid Utah does not have have The Cheesecake Factory yet. My question is how does Boise, Idaho get one before Salt Lake City??? RUDE!!! Even my waiter, Gustoffer (that was REALLY his name) thought that was bogus!

Last weekend (plus a couple of extra days), I decided I better take my long overdue vacation and go see my friend Mjillie up in Boise. I had a frequent flyer ticket that had to be used up before May, so I figured now was as good a time as any to go. The only stipulation I had with her about coming was that we HAD to go to The Cheesecake Factory at some point. Last time I was up there visiting, which was November I think, we happened to be in the mall and noticed a sign that advertised that The Cheesecake Factory was coming in the Fall of '06. Now that is was winter, we set out to go look for it. We couldn't find it, and figured that it was part of the construction/remodel mess they had going on. I was so sad!!!

I knew that both she and her husband didn't care about this restaurant as much as I did (who really ever does). They were good sports and came along with me anyway. As usual, I apologized ahead of time, telling them there is no way to know what service they might encounter. Believe it or not, we had an EXCELLENT waiter. I gave him a 20% tip!

One of the main reasons I had to eat here (besides the fact it is freaking good) is that I had to try out their Chicken Madeira. Last summer I ate at the one just outside of Denver, Colorado, and decided to be daring and order something new. It paid off! Shameonyou21 found a copykat recipe and she and I have attempted to make it a few times. Ours turns out fabulous, of course, but neither of us could remember exactly how the original was, so this was a good way for me to compare the two. According to my self-proclaimed expertise, I think we do a fantabulous job of imitating, if not exceeding it in our version of the dish. (That means that ours is better)!

If you have not had this made by me yet, when are you going to throw a dinner party and hire me to cook it??? Get with the program already!

The only criticism I had with this particular location, is that the dining room is very small. For how popular of a place this is, and it is unlikely that you have less than a 30 minute wait no matter when you go, it seems odd to me that such a small dining room is really going to last--even with the soon-to-be patio seating.

Our service was prompt, they kept up on our drinks, they refilled our bread, the food was what we ordered and the right temperature and it was freaking good, they had a blender so I was able to order me a virgin strawberry daiquiri, and they have cheesecake! What more do you need in a food establishment???