Cheesecake Factory, Pittsford, NY

Vegetarian Restaurant Review by Jennifer Kumar.


Meet and Greet
As we entered, a perfect afternoon pick me-up sample of pumpkin cheesecake was waiting to be devoured by us. As we each picked up a piece, we were greeted by the hostess who took us to our table.


Mise en Scène
The five o’clock happy hour period is slow compared to traditional dinner hours, though the crowd did pick up as our time passed here. Interiors are nicely decorated, though the lighting is a challenge. The lighting was just enough to see each other, but not so good for clearly seeing the menu or the scrumptious details of the food.

**We did not have to use restrooms, so no comment on that ambiance!


Choosing a Veggie Treat
We decided to come here for ‘happy hour’ appetizers. There are a few vegetarian appetizers on the menu: fire-roasted fresh artichoke, fried macaroni and cheese, avocado eggrolls, hot spinach and cheese dip, guacamole, quesadilla, edamame, sweet corn tamale cakes. We decided to come specifically for appetizers for two reasons, the first being that it was not yet dinner and we were hungry, and two, with all the choices noted above, we as vegetarians could not go wrong.


Critique the avocado eggrolls:
This is a very unique menu item. The avocado and other veggies are wrapped up in the crispy, crunchy deep fried egg roll cover. The tamarind- cashew sauce that comes to dip it in is the most amazing taste combination I have tried in along time. It kind of reminds me of the puliinji (ginger tamarind paste made in India), but without the spice.


Critique the sweet corn tamale cakes (photo):
This is like a tostada but replacing the hard tortilla base with a soft, warm corn cake. This minor change makes a major difference and keeps us coming back to Cheesecake Factory, for the third time, in fact.

I should note that even if we wanted to come for a meal time, these appetizers could easily substitute for a traditional meal item. Within our order today of the avocado egg rolls and sweet corn tamale cakes, we had left overs and were stuffed as a Thanksgiving turkey!

See the Cheesecake Factory menu here.


Checking In
When taking our order, I asked for water without ice. The waitress clarified this thrice, but did bring me water with ice. She immediately returned, after seeing Krishna taking the ice out of my cup putting it into his, bringing me water without ice. She did forget the sugar for our coffee. Also, in between bringing our food and our bill, we did not get any further service.


See you later
Once we got the bill, it was paid swiftly and we were on our way with a doggie bag of three of the avocado rolls.
Pay Scale
$11-15 per person
Tips - 10% is sufficient
Star System 3/5
In comparing this eatery to others in terms of vegetarian options, there are many vegetarian appetizers, but as for main meal items, there are pastas, pizzas, sandwiches and other items. However, when comparing this eatery to others in terms of service, ambiance and value for money, we have seen and experienced better. The hot tamale corn cakes would bring us back here again as it is a very unique item that we have not seen in any other eatery.


To find/Contact
Cheesecake Factory
3349 Monroe Ave
Rochester, NY 14618
(585) 381-8681
www.cheesecakefactory.com
Directions to Cheesecake Factory, Rochester, NY


Review based on November 2008 visit.

Have you eaten at Cheesecake Factory (any location)? If so, please share your thoughts below.

Thank you for reading!


Related Posts: Cheesecake Factory Review January 2008
Burritos with Ginger/Tamarind Sauce: A Mexican Indian Delight (my recipe)


tags: pittsford-ny, second review, 3 stars, appetizers, happy hour, eat outside, restaurant review, unique menu items

Chat-a-Whyle Family Restaurant, Bath, NY

Vegetarian Restaurant Review by Jennifer Kumar.

Meet and Greet
We came to Bath to visit Mossey Bank Park, but before we travelled up the hill to the park, we wanted to get something to eat. We attempted the two Mexican eateries, but both were closed on Sundays, and then attempted to find other open eateries. This location, Chat-a-Whyle, seemed to be the only eatery open in Bath at this time (beside maybe pizzerias). Because of that, this place was fully crowded. Though it was fully crowded, we were immediately greeted and sat in a prime location, near the window.

Mise en Scène
This is set up like most other diners. When you enter, there is a bar patrons can sit at bar stools, and tables lined up along the window. We were not sat in this area. When entering, we were led around the entry to the right to a larger seating area. They had many tables to sit us at, all covered with their restaurant logo and local business advertisements. A nice way to keep us occupied, no doubt!

**We did not have to use restrooms, so no comment on that ambiance!

Choosing a Veggie Treat
Upon reviewing the menu, the only ‘vegetarian’ options we located were breakfast items, all egg based. This is a good place for non-vegetarians to visit, especially on Sundays. They have a grand listing of dinners on the back of the menu titled “Complete Sunday Dinners” that are amazing amounts of food for a relatively low price.

I wish to have seen a pasta dish or eggplant parmesan (as there was veal parmesan) listed on the menu, but since we were not so lucky, we finally opted for a breakfast option.

Appetizer: Loaded potato skins and thick cut fresh potato chips. We both agreed these were very tasty. Though I have made the fresh cut potato chips at home, this is the first restaurant I have seen them on the menu. It is a welcome change from the regular run-of-the-mill French fries. The cheese on the potato skins was nice as it did not loose heat or become hard after sitting for sometime. Not sure what that means about the kind of cheese it is, but it was a good thing for us in relation to taking photos for this blog. We often realize the food is cold by the time we start eating if we take photos for this blog! So, this was not the case for this dish. (Note: Loaded potato skins usually come with bacon, which we declined.)

What I ordered: Scrambled eggs with mushrooms, toast and home fries. Overall, it was good, but I have to remember to ask for the eggs well done, as in browned.

What Krishna ordered: Spanish omelet, toast, home fries. He liked the omelet, but was a little surprised to see black olives in the Spanish omelet, as this was a first. We both agreed we also need to remember to ask at every location to have the home fries well done. Though they were fully cooked, they come to us with a white look, they are not crispy and crunchy as we prefer. This is only a personal preference.

Checking In
Everything was absolutely perfect in this aspect. Though it was a full house, we were not neglected. We were checked on in regular intervals and even at the end of our meal when I asked to see the menu again (mostly so I could take the photo in this post); our wish was quickly fulfilled and immediately followed up on. There were no problems with our orders; everything was given as we ordered.

See you later
The bill was left on our table and we went up to the register to pay.
Pay Scale
$6-10 per person
Tips
10-15% is sufficient
Star System 3/5
I am sure most locals would scoff at my rating. This rating is based on the following factors- value for money 4/5, ambiance 4/5, service 4/5 and range of veggie options 1/5. Since this blog review focuses on vegetarian restaurant reviews, it is only in this category there is a request for improvements. There were vegetarian options for egg eaters within breakfast items, which are available after regular business hours. However, far as special dinners and other vegetarian options on the menu, I did not see anything of much interest. If I was in Bath again on a Sunday, I would not mind coming here, but if I was on the way to Corning, I may go the extra distance for a Bob Evan’s Breakfast or any other options in Corning.

Notes: If you are local, this restaurant seems to make deliveries. Call to inquire further details.

To find/Contact
Chat-A-Whyle Restaurant
www.chatawhyle.com
28 Liberty St
Bath, NY 14810
(607) 776-8040
Get directions

Review based on October 2008 visit.

Have you eaten at Chat-a-Whyle, Bath, NY? If so, please share your thoughts below.

Thank you for reading!

Photos in this post by Jennifer Kumar. More photos of Chat-a-Whyle on flickr.

Lovin’ Cup: RIT Park Point, Rochester, NY

Vegetarian Restaurant Review by Jennifer Kumar.

Meet and Greet
Lovin’ Cup is a café bistro, guests are welcome to approach the bar or food counter to order. Once the order is placed at the register, drinks are given at the bar and food is left on the bar for guests to pick up. At the register guests are given a pager. This will light up, buzz and bounce once your order is ready to be picked up.

Mise en Scène
I enjoyed the décor and flow of the interior. Though you can choose to sit outside if it’s warm out, there is plenty of indoor seating at high café tables, large comfortable booths and shorter tables in addition to the bar. Art by local artists hang on the wall, many pieces for sale with a tag of about $400 each. There is also some ambiance music playing on speakers throughout the establishment. Besides being a little loud, the music, which to us did not promote a relaxing atmosphere, ran on repeat. We could have done without the music, for sure.
**We did not have to use restrooms, so no comment on that ambiance!

Choosing a Veggie Treat
We were taken off guard when we first glanced at the menu as we strolled around Park Point because of the creative names given to each menu item. Each menu item had been given a title that we have never encountered at any other eatery. After carefully reading the descriptions of each menu item, we were both pleased to see a café serving a wide variety of vegetarian options. There are actually about 20 vegetarian entries on the menu (no meat, no eggs), including four varieties of meatless grilled cheeses! (I am tempted to go back to try that, though at $5.99 a plate, I am not running over anytime soon…) There are also about five breakfast entries with eggs for vegetarians who eat eggs. Though some meat options (sandwiches) may loose its signature made vegetarian, I am sure sandwiches of any variety along with any other item on the menu could be ‘made vegetarian.’ After debating over what to get, and realizing we were coming during ‘happy hour’ and not meal time, we chose two appetizers- fingerpoppin’ (bruschetta) and burnin’ down the house (nachos).

It must be said, that though the items were freshly made and had a descent taste we are apprehensive to try the nachos again. Firstly, for bruschetta and nachos, a fifteen minute wait is not acceptable. Secondly, when you get food after waiting 15 minutes, you hope it would be toasty hot and look natural. It was lukewarm and the cheese on the nachos almost appeared to like some melted Velveeta ** (not natural cheese). I really want to believe that is not true.

In ordering drinks, we did have a little better luck. I ordered a hot apple cider. The medium size seemed to be a large. Also, since this size was not yet programmed in their register, they decided to charge me for a small size! So far I have had hot apple cider at about five places, and conclude it’s really hard to mess this up! My husband ordered the chocolate jerk, their mocha drink. Hubby likes the bitter chocolate more than the sweet, so continues to prefer Starbucks mocha drink much better!

Checking In
This is not a restaurant where you needed to be waited on, so no comments are required.

See you later
We ordered and paid directly at the register. Upon completing the tray of food, guests return the tray to the waste basket, throwing the garbage away and placing the trays and dirty dishes on top.

Pay Scale
$6-10 per person (This is for two drinks and two appetizers)

Tips
Not required. Nice addition, possibly more so at the bar.

Star System 1-5? 3/5
(I believe this establishment is only a few months old, and staffed by all newbies. I think some kinks still need to be worked out (not all menu items able to be rung up, food preparation time is too long, etc.). Overall it was a good experience.)

To find/Contact
Lovin’ Cup
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Park Point
300 Park Point Drive, Suite #101
Rochester, NY 14623
Phone: 585.292.9940
Lovin’ Cup’s website –lovincup.com
Directions (This place is not yet on Google maps! It is near the corner of John St. and Jefferson Road -252. Entrance is on John Street.)

Review based on October 2008 visit.

** I did a search for Velveeta and ingredients. There was no direct links from Google and the Velveeta links through Kraft’s site doesn’t work! I did find on a few sites however that it’s debatable if Velveeta is a ‘cheese food’ (containing 51% cheese or more) or a ‘cheese product’ (containing less than 50% cheese).

Have you eaten at Lovin' Cup? If so, please share your thoughts below.

This Review is linked at outside.in.

Thank you for reading!

Sugar and Spice, Horseheads, NY

Vegetarian Restaurant Review by Jennifer Kumar.

Meet and Greet
We arrived about 11am on a Saturday morning. Walking in, guests are expected to seat themselves. Guests are then greeted by waitresses once they have sat down and made themselves ‘at home’. Though the seats were about 80% occupied, we were able to sit in the corner booth, which was spacious and comfortable.

Mise en Scène
It is like most country diners, with some booth seating and some table seating. I remember the décor to be spacious, light and open. The tables and booth seating were nice and clean.

The one interesting thing I remember of the décor was the paper placemats they have created. On the placemat, each side of the rectangle has a town name on it. I said out loud “Fairport” as that made me think of Fairport, NY (outside Rochester). I was curious why it said Fairport on it. When I asked the waitress, she said Horseheads used to be called Fairport until [they dug up Horsehead skulls in the area] the town near Rochester decided to take it for themselves. Though that is true, I am curious where is the ‘port’ in Horseheads?

**As another interesting side note, there could have been two Fairports in New York. There are two Rochesters in NY. The metro being in Monroe County, the rural one in Ulster County.

Restrooms were clean and spacious.

Choosing a Veggie Treat
We came here for breakfast. There were plenty of breakfast options for us as we eat eggs. We choose the same dish, scrambled eggs, toast and mini potato pancakes. The mini potato pancakes were a little different than expected, but they were tasty, especially dipped in the side of sour cream. The portion size was perfect, it was not too overwhelming. We felt full after eating, not stuffed.

Checking In
Though our waitress checked on us a few times, our coffee was not refilled promptly as compared to other similar diners we have visited.

See you later
Waiting to get and pay for the bill was no issue.

Pay Scale
$6-10 per person
Tips 10-15% depending on your interest
Star System 3/5
(Good value for money, tasty food, but would have expected better service in a small town diner.)

To find/Contact
Sugar & Spice Restaurant
300 Watkins Rd
Horseheads, NY
Phone: (607) 739-5303
Directions

Reviews at Yahoo!

Have you eaten at Sugar and Spice in Horseheads, NY? If so, please share your thoughts below.

Thank you for reading!

‎

Bob Evans, Erie, PA

Restaurant Review by Jennifer Kumar.

Meet and Greet
We were greeted at the door instantaneously by a hostess and whisked off to a nice table. Within a few minutes of being seated, coffee was served. The waitress did not take much time to take our order. But, waiting for it to arrive to our table, seemed to take about 15 minutes, which seemed a bit longer than what we are used to. (Photo left: Krishna Kumar- big size click here.)

Mise en Scène
Right off the interstate 90 highway on exit 24, you will find Bob Evans right next to the highway. This location is quite a bit bigger than the ones I have gone to in the past. It was big and spacious and at the time we showed up, about 7:30pm on a Sunday night, was not very busy.

Though the place was quite empty, I was surprised to find that many tables had not been cleared. I originally thought possibly they were to be cleared very soon; maybe the people had left just before we arrived. The tables had not been cleared throughout our stay there. Though hubby did not mind it because customers would not be seated near us (and the staff allowed him to charge his cell phone at a nearby table yet to be cleared), I thought it did not add to the cleanest environment that I usually find at Bob Evans.

** I did use the restrooms at this location. The restrooms were spacious, had a different kind of layout, and were very clean.

Choosing a Veggie Treat
It seems Bob Evans changes their menu on a yearly or sometimes a seasonal basis. Possibly menus are targeted to certain regions also. In my favorite location (Corning, NY), they had some veggie Chinese stir fry on the menu along with some pasta choices with non-meat based sauces. This was not the case at this location. There were no vegetarian dinner meals (though plenty of vegetarian side dishes), so I opted for a breakfast menu item. Again, with Bob Evans one can not go wrong in wanting Breakfast, as there are a multitude of choices. At my preferred Bob Evans location, they used to offer (saying used to as I have not been there in a long time) the ‘sausage gravy’ breakfast without sausage. That means the flour gravy is cooked separate from the sausage and the sausage is added on the top. But, it seems most locations (and restaurants that I have visited that have this menu item) do not make it this way anymore. If you want this menu item, it will have the sausage mixed into the gravy. It’s a shame as besides vegetarians, Muslims and some Hindus also do not eat sausage (as it is pork). I went for my second choice, eggs Florentine (without ham).

Overall, my suggestion is to add more vegetarian dinner items and to take the sausage out of the gravy!

Checking In
Once our food was served, our waitress did not come back to check on us until she bought the bill. Luckily we did not need anything. I also admit during the whole time we were eating, I was bothered they had not worked on clearing the surrounding tables. It actually is not appetising to see all those dirty place settings all around you.

See you later
After the bill was handed to us, we waited about 10 minutes for her to return and collect our payment. She did not come, so we went up and paid at the register. This may not have been the waitress’ fault as what I have noticed is that the habit of collecting the payment depends on the location. (Photo to right: Jennifer Kumar)

**Interestingly enough, the lady who took our payment at the register was very knowledgeable about Rodeos and seems to travel to many different places to see them.

**While sitting at the table, I read about Bob Evans. Till this visit, I did not realize Bob Evans was a real person. But, I was happy to find out he was and the restaurant is based on a business he used to run on his farm. In fact, there is a Bob Evans farmstead where they do events throughout the year.

Pay Scale
$6-10 per person
Tips
We left $3.00
Star System: 3/5
(Could be improved by adding more vegetarian options and clearing off the tables. We love the Bob Evans coffee that is what keeps us coming back in addition to knowing something can be had from the breakfast menu.)

To find/Contact
Bob Evans Restaurant
8041 Peach St
Erie, PA 16509
(814) 864-5444‎
bobevans.com
Other reviews at Google

tags: 3 stars, breakfast, diner, pennsylvania, restaurant review,