Gluttony: Cheesecake Factory

This week's Gluttony--the award for promoting or contributing to obesity in America--goes to a fairly obvious choice: The Cheesecake Factory.

We have a Cheesecake Factory just two blocks from my house. Having never been to one of these restaurants before, I was excited when a learned there'd be a new one so close. I knew people waited in lines of an hour or more to eat there, so I figured "what the hey, it must be good."

My first trip to the Factory was my last. What a disappointment! Apart from an appealing decor and the most extensive menu I've ever seen, the food was hardly worth the wait, UNLESS you just happened to want mass quantity. Good lord, the portions were enormous. We could easily feed my whole family on one dinner order at the Factory (I've thought about it). The food itself, however, is bland--tasted like a whole lot of frozen food put into a microwave.

One thing I did notice while waiting to be seated at the Factory, however: most of the other waiting patrons ranged from fat to super-fat. I watched as a big Ford Expedition pulled up to the door (blocking traffic) and discharged two chubby pre-teens, two enormous obese women, a man with a huge gut, and an unhappy-looking older man (gramps?) who had somehow managed to stay thin with this bunch. As the Expedition drove away, in a spew of exhaust, I was not surprised to spy a "Re-Elect W" bumper sticker.

Unfortunately, Cheesecake Factory has gone one step further than simply catering to fatties. It has also funded a fake "public service" organization that ran ads a couple years ago disputing findings that obesity is a bad thing. Sort of like the tobacco companies when they funded "smokers rights" groups.

Cheesecake Factory CEO David Overton defends the company's enormous portions. "We find that when people dine out, they want every calorie they pay for." That's the spirit David--give your customers "value."

Here's my modest suggestion to upgrade Cheesecake Factory restaurants: install a moving sidewalk from curb to the check-in counter so your customers don't have to walk all that way in from their gas-hogging SUV's.