30 responses so far ↓

• 1 Nan // Mar 18, 2004 at 11:34 am

  We have a PF Chang’s here and I love it! Been there many, many times. The lettuce wraps and the banana spring rolls are to die for! I’ll go with you!

• 2 janelle // Mar 18, 2004 at 11:37 am

  i used to eat at chipotle occasionally in houston [i know, even with real tex-mex to choose from]… not bad!

• 3 dy // Mar 18, 2004 at 12:36 pm

  I’ve been to California Pizza Kitchen (when I lived in Dallas) - they also sell them frozen in our grocery store. They’re yummy.

• 4 Mike Slone // Mar 18, 2004 at 12:45 pm

  I’ve eaten at PF Chang’s probably a 100 times. The lettuce wraps and chang’s spicey chicken are my favorites.

  The Cheesecake factory is overated, but they have the largest menu I have ever seen. I would also recommend sharing a entree unless you want to waste half the food on your plate or you want take home.

  Chipotle is good, but I have eaten there so many times that I can’t stand it any longer. My wife loves it. Fresh, really good burritos.

  My pick out of everything on your list is definitely PF Chang’s.

• 5 callalillie // Mar 18, 2004 at 12:54 pm

  CPK- eh.

  Chipotle - was pretty yummy when I tried it here in NY. I think need to go again and expand my palate, though…

• 6 scott // Mar 18, 2004 at 1:01 pm

  Hey Rachelle - Those are all great. Cheesecake Factory in Hancock Bldg is great! The diversity of their menu is incredible. PF Changs is good too - but not the best. Very “Americanized” Chinese food - but good. If you want some GOOD Chinese, email me - I’ll shoot you some names of places in China Town.

  Scott
  From Chicago

• 7 rion // Mar 18, 2004 at 1:25 pm

  little known fact: when i was around 20, i was a waitress, then a server trainer, for CPKs in DC, northern Virginia, and So Cal. — I got so much comp’d food on my shifts that today, at 29, i love it as if it was my grandmother’s home-cookin’… sad, isn’t it?

• 8 Mike // Mar 18, 2004 at 1:33 pm

  I love the design of the outside of Cheesecake Factory in the Hancock building. I try to describe it to people, but its pretty unique and not that easy to grasp what it really looks like. I’m sure you’ll take a few photos of it when you go there. Their brunch was pretty decent too, if my memory serves me…

• 9 Heather // Mar 18, 2004 at 1:42 pm

  I love California Pizza Kitchen. My favorite is the bbq chicken pizza! I definitely reccommend going there sometime.

• 10 tien // Mar 18, 2004 at 1:44 pm

  why eat at any of those places if you can find the food elsewhere, that is better and probably cheaper.

• 11 Richard // Mar 18, 2004 at 1:44 pm

  I’ve never eaten at any of those. I think someone I work with designed the PF Chang’s at Mayfair Mall.

• 12 matt // Mar 18, 2004 at 2:41 pm

  I love Chipotle. So does Ozzy. Put me on a chicken fajita burrito I.V. drip and I’m all good!

  I think their burritos are only around 1,200 calories or so. Not bad, not bad.

• 13 mike // Mar 18, 2004 at 2:53 pm

  I’ve only eaten at the Cheesecake Factory, and it was pretty bad. I don’t really see the point in eating at chain stores when the food is worse, more expensive, and puts the small, indie stores out of business.

• 14 dahl // Mar 18, 2004 at 3:20 pm

  I’ve never eaten at PF Changs (though it does look yummy), but I lurv the salads and appetizers at the Cheesecake Factory (yummy drinks too), CPK rocks my world - Thai Chicken pizza is awesome - I used to eat there in Boston all the time - and Chipolte is quite good, and quite reasonable in price.

  The Cheesecake Factory kind of disgusts me though in the size of the portions. An amazing deal for the amount of food you get, but you don’t have to look any further to wonder why obesity is such a problem in the US.

• 15 rappy // Mar 18, 2004 at 4:18 pm

  California Pizza is awesome.

  Cheesecake Factory is meh at best. We don’t have it here in Toronto (although I’ve eaten it elsewhere), but we have something slightly smaller-scaled (Pickle Barrel), and I was mortified when I looked at their “light” menu, and found the “lightest” dish to contain 600 calories and 24 grams of fat.

• 16 joel // Mar 18, 2004 at 8:51 pm

  I’ve heard some good stuff about Chipotle, but for my money nothing, *NOTHING*, is better than an Anna’s Taqueria burrito.

• 17 rachelleb // Mar 18, 2004 at 9:26 pm

  yeh.. anna’s is gooooood. that’s the place you took me, right? cheap and yummy!

• 18 joel // Mar 18, 2004 at 11:14 pm

  that’s the place! I was just there last night. So, so good.

• 19 joe // Mar 19, 2004 at 8:58 am

  Just ate at CPK the other night for the first time. It was alright, but no Bertucci’s. I’m not personally into all the crazy pizza combinations that don’t even have tomatoe sauce on them.

  PF Changs is one of the better chinese places I’ve been to where I live now. There seems to be a derth of buffet places that aren’t really any good. The portions are huge, but then you get to take some home, which is great. Personally, I’ll almost always choose a Thai place over chinese, but then again Thai is usually more money.

  The Cheesecake Factory is ok, but I don’t think anything really stood out to me other than the desserts. The food could have been exactly the same as you would get at Applebees or someplace similar (I ate at the one in Baltimore by the harbor just for reference). The desserts, though, I thought were pretty damn good.

  Sorry, no experience/never even heard of Chipoltes.

  Good luck and definitely post your reviews of the Chicago places.

• 20 sassylittlepunkin // Mar 19, 2004 at 1:22 pm

  i find cpk to be totally overrated. i love cheesecake factory’s food, but hate the atmosphere and that you always have to wait an hour to be seated then to get lousy service. chipotle is great, though i’ve only had it once and it was brought to me by someone. pf chang’s is ok. i think i’m spoiled being in l.a. and being around these spots and knowing the much better alternatives. happy eating! hope you get your chain-gang fix!

• 21 rachelle // Mar 19, 2004 at 1:25 pm

  i have been way spoiled from the great food in nyc.. but chicago has been pretty good so far too. i dont want to give anyone the wrong impression.. these chains are places i feel the need to try once just because.. because i dont know why.

• 22 Linus // Mar 20, 2004 at 4:31 pm

  There’s a P.F. Chang’s right across from the hotel I’m staying at here in Austin (as SXSW Music winds down), and we ate there the other night. It was my first time, and the meal was really good. I had enough fun that I even ordered a drink that came with a little umbrella, which is rare indeed.

• 23 Amy // Mar 21, 2004 at 1:26 pm

  Chilpotle rocks! It is a must stop when I visit Denver. I was thrilled to see it is so close to Ann Arbor, MI too!

• 24 rachelleb // Mar 22, 2004 at 10:38 pm

  i might add to this list chris ruth’s steak.. is that what it’s called? ive never been there.

• 25 Mike // Mar 22, 2004 at 11:05 pm

  It’s Ruth’s Chris Steak House, I’ve never been there but saw something on the food network about its history and how it got that somewhat strange name. Turns out that it was a restaurant called “Chris Steak House” and the founder Ruth Fertel bought the restaurant and re-named it, Ruth’s Chris Steak House. The website isn’t bad, http://www.ruthschris.com some info on their different cuts of meat too.

• 26 willo // Mar 23, 2004 at 7:49 pm

  I used to eat at CPK, but haven’t been there in awhile, but I religiously have gotten the Tequila Chicken Pasta (i think that’s what it’s called) every single time. SOOOO GOOD!!!

  And I just went to PFChangs in Austin! But didn’t get the lettuce wraps darnit.

  Cheesecake factory is an experience. I second that sharing - otherwise expect hefty leftovers. The cheesecake selection is the best part save room!

  Ruth Chris is just plain great for a serious steak & potato dinner. They usually have pretty 5 star service too.

• 27 Pepper of the Earth - The Home Office Record & Mostly Daily Gazette // Mar 24, 2004 at 1:46 pm

  Wrapped Up in Chains

  If it weren’t for Rachelleb’s recent entry on chain restaurants she likes or wants to try, I wouldn’t have known that P.F. Chang’s was a chain at all. We don’t have any here in the City, and of course you can imagine how much attention …

• 28 Verda // Jan 11, 2005 at 12:37 pm

  Does anyone have an email address for pfchang?
  They are supposedly coming to Boise. Thanks

• 29 rachelle // Mar 18, 2005 at 7:02 am

  i ate at PF Chang’s on Wednesday… so almost a year to the day passed since I posted this and I’ve now eaten at all of these places.

• 30 J. // Dec 3, 2006 at 7:53 pm

  My uncle designs the cheesecake factories-I’ve only been to one in CA where he lives and the one in Seattle, but that was enough to show me how talented he truly is. The food is great, but I recommend sharing an entree. There is SO much food!!! Make SURE you save room for a piece of their delicious cheesecake! I love the Chocolate Coconut Cream Cheesecake-it’s to-die-for.

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