Is The Cheesecake Factory Good Value? (Part 2) entrees and appetizers.

A final deep dive to find the optimal meal on the country's biggest food menu

Things are heating up, folks. For our second, and hopefully final installment of the Cheesecake Factory value analysis, we’re looking to reach beyond the “lowercase c” cheesecake dessert menu, and venture into the belly of the beast: entrees, sides, and appetizers. Below is an excerpt from the full calorie-to-dollar spreadsheet menu. View the entire thing here. 

Rewards

Before getting into the menu, it would be irresponsible not to mention the free yet slightly dubious Cheesecake Factory Rewards Program, which promises a complimentary slice of cheesecake the day after you sign up and on your birthday. 

Along with “access to reservations” (uhhh…) and “Surprise & Delight Rewards”, which seems cryptic at best, and is left undefined on the website with this sentence: “We can’t reveal everything just yet, but let’s just say you’ll get the exclusives!” This is what we tell our wives when we forget their birthdays, and are scrambling to find some sort of gift.  

The Highest Value Item

The peak value item on the Cheesecake Factory menu is a side of french fries, which is $5.95 for 1060 calories, just over 178 calories per dollar. Sure, french fries are a little bit underwhelming as the highest value item, but get a couple orders and you’ll drop dead next year and never have to worry about paying another hospital bill.

For comparison, fries at McDonald’s are $3.99 for 480 calories, which is about 120 cals per dollar. Wendy’s fries are slightly better value: 135 cals per dollar – 470 calories for $3.49. 

Your nutritionist may not agree with this definition of value. Read on to learn about more well-rounded menu items. 

Appetizers

Our pick for the best value appetizer is the Factory Nachos, which is $15.95 for a whopping 2670 calories, 167.40 cals per dollar, thanks largely to the cheese, guac, and sour cream. 

When you add spicy chicken to the Factory Nachos for an extra $2.00, the value drops only slightly, but now you’ve got yourself the highest calorie item on the menu at 2950 cals, perhaps capped only by a Cheesecake executive who determined that surpassing 3000 calories for a single menu item might look kinda gross. 

The tossed green salad is the worst appetizer you can order from a value perspective. You only get 200 calories for $10.95, a measly 18.26 calories per dollar. 

Mastering Entree Value

Our wallets love the calorie per dollar metric, but our physicians demand more than french fries and nachos. The top value entree is the chicken parmesan sandwich with a side of fries for $17.95 (2490 calories, 138.72 calories per dollar). A few “Glamburgers” are also high value contenders, but don’t take the brass.

The filet mignon is the worst value entree: $37.95 for 870 calories, or just under 23 cals per dollar. 

Healthy Entree

Healthy and good value are often at odds with each other, but we found a compromise with this pick: the barbecue ranch chicken salad at $17.95 for 1910 calories, 106.41 calories per dollar. 

Sheila’s Chicken and Avocado Salad is a close 2nd challenger: $17.95 for 1780 calories, 99.16 cals per dollar. 

Grilled Salmon: Main Menu vs. Lunch Menu vs. Kids’ Menu

Although not a contender for our calorie per dollar metric, we are believers in the grilled salmon with mashed potatoes and broccoli meal: $24.50 on the main menu and 1230 calories, just over 50 calories per dollar. 

This means it’s in the bottom quartile of value, but here at the OJM Value Desk we recognize qualitative value…and this is some tasty fish.

For the lunch menu, the salmon is a poor choice at $18.95 for 840 calories, only 44 calories per dollar. Skip it. 

The kids’ menu version is about the same -- $12.50 for 540 calories, 43 cals per dollar. 

Conclusion: While some restaurants might provide outsized value on the lunch or kids’ menu, there are no loopholes at the Cheesecake Factory, at least when it comes to salmon.

Kids’ Menu

The kids’ menu has a few 100+ calorie per dollar items: 

1. Mac and cheese (130)

2. Grilled cheese with fries (115)

3. Mini corn dog with fries (112)

4. Pasta with alfredo sauce (112)

5. Chicken strips with fries (101)

6. Cheese flatbread (101)

We are partial to a good grilled cheese, but the mac and cheese stands alone on the kids’ menu.

The Full OJM Value Meal

Here is the optimal value meal at The Cheesecake Factory:

Start with free bread. Eat a quarter of a loaf for a quick 100 calories (don’t fill up, there’s more calories to come!)

Running total: 100 calories, $0

Order the Factory Nachos appetizer for $15.95 for 2670 calories

Running total: 2770 calories, $15.95

For the entree order the Chicken Parmesan Sandwich for $17.95 for 2490 calories

Running total: 5260 calories, $33.90

The sandwich comes with fries, but add a supplemental side of fries for $5.95 for 1060 calories

Running total: 6320 calories, $39.85

For dessert get the Chocolate Tower Truffle Cake for $10.50 for 1770 calories

Final total: 8090 calories, $50.35

Impressive, right? This equals 160.68 calories per dollar. If you’re still hungry, you can always add another order of french fries or perhaps two if you’d like to achieve the 10k calorie mark.

If you are on a date or dining with a friend, split the appetizer, cake, and side of fries to get the cost down. Dining with a friend will bring the calories per dollar to 156.37 and the meal to $34.15 per person. 

More Value

The OJM Value Desk is always looking for new opportunities. What makes a restaurant worth eating at? Why is it that Katz’s is objectively bad value but always packed to the gills? What constitutes hard value? What are the variables? If you have a restaurant or another place for us to investigate, please let us know in the comments or on Instagram @oldjewishmen.