The Cheesecake Factory: A Great Place to Gather

Yesterday evening, we were invited to dinner with about thirty members of Ghost Hounds, a paranormal investigation group. We gathered at the Cheesecake Factory in Alpharetta, Georgia. Though the restaurant does not accept reservations for specific times, they did have a long table prepared for us outside on the patio. (They had been forewarned that our group might get a bit "rowdy.)

Although we could not order our main courses until the majority of our people arrived, those of us who arrived earliest did not go hungry, since there were copious baskets of various breads on the table, all fresh and delicious, with pleanty of butter. The first two members of our waitstaff took our drink orders right away, and we happily started greating acquaintances and meeting new friends. Within fifteen minutes, enough people had arrived for us to begin on appetizers. My daughter ordered guacamole, which came on a huge platter with sour cream and pico de gallo; she shared it with everyone in reach and we still had to stop eating before it was finished in order to leave room for any other food. It was, without doubt, the best guacamole I have ever tasted, and the calamari that our neighbors across the table shared with us was also very good.

By the time we finished all that, almost the whole party had arrived, and things were, indeed, getting a bit loud and happy. Our hosts were the Ghost Chicks, two paranormal investigators out of Mississippi who also happen to be gracious, attractive, outgoing and hilarious. We were having so much fun, and our waitstaff handled us beautifully, with great skill and good humor. They kept the drinks flowing, took our orders and delivered our food, while stepping around huggers, people posing for multitudes of pictures (ghost-hunters have lots of cameras,) and people in motion, and never missed a step or lost a smile.

The food was amazing. Portions were enormous! My daughter, Rozi, and I ordered sandwiches in order to save room for dessert, and my husband ordered a burrito that was almost too big for the plate. She loved her chicken salad and my blackened chicken sandwich was perfect. It came with mounds of fries. I'm supposed to be avoiding potatoes, but I did sample them, and they were everything you could want a fry to be. Our neighbor to the left of us got meatloaf, and I never saw a larger serving in my life. He seemed to savor it.

Even though we thought we had ordered farily light meals, we were so full that we still had to bring some of it home with us. But it's the cheesecake factory and we wanted cheesecake! So after we talked and ate and played and laughted with our wonderful group for three hours, we finally mustered the strength to split one piece between my husband and myself. We were still trying to at least be reasonable, so we got the 6 Carb cheesecake and resisted the temptation of chocolate, cherry, pineapple upside down, and a multitude of other flavors. The sin-free or nearly sin-free 6 Carb cake was light, but very tasty. I still stared enviously at the giant mounds of whip-creamed covered cake being enjoyed by those around me, all of whom wore various expressions of extreme pleasure as they ate. My daughter gave up the fight and got her pineapple upside down cheesecake to go, and some of our friends also gave up and took theirs home.

We had a wonderful time at the Cheesecake Factory and I cannot stress enough the patience, skill, and extreme good humor displayed by everyone who served us during the evening. This is a wonderful place to gather; I highly recommend it. Be forewarned, however, that it is not the place to go on a budget. The prices are reasonable enough and you certainly get what you pay for but you can easily be tempted into buying more and trying more than you intended, especially when you're having such a good time.