The Cheesecake Factory050

The Cheesecake Factory is an astonishingly popular chain restaurant featuring a huge menu, huge portions, and often a huge wait to be seated. Reservations are not accepted. It's a comfortable place to dine with kids, if only because the place is cavernous, noisy, and predictable, with affable (and typically super-fast) service.

Don't look for a kid's menu, although booster seats and high chairs are available. You can easily order something for children from the large selection of appetizers. Roadside Sliders are billed as "bite-sized burgers," but each Slider actually approaches the size of something from McDonald's. Add fries, and you have a meal for two - or three - smaller kids. Other offerings include Chicken Potstickers, Tex Mex Eggrolls, and Popcorn Shrimp.

Adults who successfully slog through the voluminous menu (annoyingly peppered with full-page ads) can order just about anything from pasta to steak to eggs. Did we mention the huge portions? Ridiculously huge is more like it - consider sharing a meal or plan on taking some leftovers home. Most menu items are quite good, but we weren't very impressed with our fish or chicken tacos - both the chicken and the fish were marinated in an overly sweet marinade, lending a very sweet flavor to a dish that one expects to be anything but. Sunday Brunch is served until 2pm. The kid's brunch includes French toast, bacon, and strawberries.

As the restaurant name implies, the variety of cheesecakes (and other desserts) is quite amazing. While the doorstop-sized slabs are pleasing for kids, adults might find a little goes a long way. Plan to share.

Place a to-go order by phone, and waitstaff will bring it right to your car when you arrive. Call 208.377.8646 to place the order. The downside: styrofoam - from leftovers to take-out, everything seems to be packed in this non-recyclable, environmentally unfriendly material.