Cheesecake Factory Added 12 New Items To Their Already Massive Menu, And We Tried Them All So We Could Report Back

    This month, the Cheesecake Factory rolled out 12 new menu items — which include a variety of appetizers, salads, pizzas, and main courses. We tried each one, from street corn to a Cacio e Pepe flatbread, and here are our favorites...

    by
    Christopher Hudspeth
    by Christopher Hudspeth

    BuzzFeed Staff

    ,
    Krista Torres
    by Krista Torres

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Earlier this month, The Cheesecake Factory announced that their menu (known for its remarkable variety) was getting even larger. Big news for avid fans of this illustrious chain.

    The Cheesecake Factory 🍰 @Cheesecake

    The world's biggest menu just got bigger! From drinks to desserts, we've made more room for your new favorites. 🍰🌎

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    @Cheesecake

    We felt we had no choice but to journey to The Cheesecake Factory to try every new item so we could report back on which ones are top-tier.

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    The new menu's additions also include three cocktails and a Bacon Avocado Benedict that sounds bomb, but is only served on weekends during brunch hours. Since we went on a Tuesday at 11 a.m. we opted to skip the booze, but we tried EVERY single other option...

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    EVERY. SINGLE. OTHER. OPTION. Here's how they were...

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    If you wanna watch the video of us trying everything — here it is!!!

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    Harvest Chicken Salad

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    CHRIS: Salads are being reviewed first because, with love and respect, I originally wanted to get them out of the way because I generally find them unexciting. That said, when I ate the Harvest Chicken Salad, I also ate my words because it's delicious. Crunchy is one of my favorite food textures and this has lots of that — fresh lettuce, walnuts, apples, and almonds. I liked it a lot and on the salad scale, I give it a 7.5/10.

    KRISTA: I am a shameless lover of salads, so I had high expectations after seeing the presentation of this beautiful plate of healthy eats. The lettuce to toppings ratio was exquisite, making every bite delicious. It has a nice light Vinegarette dressing that complimented the apples and grapes really well. In the picture, it doesn't look like much, but this salad is massive. Definitely worth the $17.95 and I definitely would order it for a meal if I was in the mood. It's refreshing! On this "salad scale" rating, it gets an 8/10.

    California Chopped Salad

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    CHRIS: Very filling for a salad, and like the other, it has a hefty serving size. There's also bacon, so how can I be mad at that? 7.1/10.

    KRISTA: No lie, I was 100% sure I was going to like the other salad better for the simple fact that I don't like bacon and I am allergic to avocado (I know, a true tragedy). That being said, something about this salad sent me over the moon. I think it was the eggs — they weren't just hard-boiled, they had like a deviled eggs taste to them, and the green beans paired nicely with the shrimp that was also in the salad. Again, in the picture, you can't tell but this salad is really big as well. It surpassed my expectations and for that, I will rate it a 9/10.

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    Cacio e Pepe Pasta

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    CHRIS: I was surprised to find that I was more into the chicken than the pasta, but I also prefer sauce-heavy dishes and this was on the lighter side, if that's your cup of tea! 6.5/10.

    KRISTA: I'm one of those people who saw the Cacio e Pepe woman on TikTok and ran straight to Trader Joe's with excitement to taste the sauce. However, my excitement quickly faded when I realized the sauce was just a glorified jarred alfredo sauce with lots of pepper. It's not BAD, it's just worth the hype in my opinion. And that's how I felt about this dish. It's not bad, but it didn't have that "wow" factor to me. I feel like I could have made this at home with the jarred Trader Joe's stuff. And, I agree with Chris, it was on the drier side. 6/10.



    Spicy Rigatoni Vodka

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    CHRIS: This is a flavorful, creamy dish and if my tolerance for spicy foods wasn't so pathetic, I would've enjoyed this even more. Whatever though, I'm a glutton for punishment and good grub, so 7.4/10.

    KRISTA: This dish was taken to the next level with its spicy, velvety sauce. I am a huge marinara person and this sauce was perfection. It wasn't too hot and it wasn't too creamy. I also loved the thick Rigatoni noodles. I do, however, think this dish could have benefitted from a protein like shrimp or chicken. But, it is still an A+ meal I would order. 8/10.


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    Seared Ahi Tuna

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    CHRIS: INCREDIBLE, AMAZING, FANTASTIC. My usual go-to at The Cheesecake Factory is their Orange Chicken, and this meat + rice combo reminded me of that, but the seared tuna is much lighter (still filling), and packed with flavor. I could see this giving Cheesecake's Orange Chicken some competition as my regular order.  Bravo! 9.5/10.

    KRISTA: I love sushi, but I struggle with the texture of sashimi and other raw fish, so this one wasn't as appetizing as the others. I will say it did have really great flavor and the rice paired nicely with the dish. You can take Chris's word on this one if you're into seared tuna! 5/10.



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    Lemon-Herb Parmesan Chicken

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    CHRIS: Tasty, tasty stuff here. I liked this chicken even better than the one that came with the Cacio e Pepe pasta, and grilled asparagus is always an elite vegetable option 7.6/10.

    KRISTA: I was really loving all the flavors in this dish and the fact that the chicken wasn't dry at all! The sauce was great, the chicken was cooked perfectly, and the asparagus was a nice touch. 8.5/10.



    Spicy Shrimp Pasta

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    CHRIS: Once again, being unable to handle spicy meets being unable to resist appetizing meals. This was good, and the shrimp didn't seem fitting to me at first, but it certainly paired well with the pasta. 7.6/10.

    KRISTA: I agree with Chris here that the shrimp in this dish initially threw me for a loop. But, I was pleasantly surprised when my tastebuds said, "NOPE THIS COMBO TOTALLY WORKS! To me, it's mildly spicy (like really not at all for someone who can handle the heat) and the marinara isn't anything out-of-this-world amazing but it is really, really good. 7/10.


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    Bee Sting Flatbread

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    CHRIS: I was so excited for this, and I actually anticipated it being my favorite option out of everything we tried. While it wasn't my number one, there's a ton of potential here. I'm not a fan of sausage, so next time I'd order it without that and I might request a little extra honey so that the sweet and savory connection is more prominent in each bite. Regardless, it's good stuff. 7.9/10.

    KRISTA: The presentation of this pizza was ON POINT but the execution of the honey drizzle was not. I was really excited to have honey on my pizza but I just couldn't taste anything but meat, specifically sausage as Chris said. There were even huge chunks of garlic on top of this pizza but I didn't even taste them because the meat overpowered everything. But, hey, this was still pizza so it gets a 7/10.



    Cacio e Pepe Flatbread

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    CHRIS: Wow. This is a winner! I love cheese pizzas, so I shouldn't be surprised that this one really did it for me, but yeah, I was in awe. I actually had to resist the urge to inhale this for the sake of saving room for the rest of the items. GREAT WORK. 9.25/10.

    KRISTA: Well, for someone who just talked crap on the Cacio e Pepe sauce, I am going to say PLEASE FORGIVE ME. This pizza is pretty dang delicious. The cheese and sauce just complement each other so nicely. It works. 8/10.

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    Street Corn

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    CHRIS: Offensively delicious. How dare you, Cheesecake. No longer will I just look forward to the brown bread before my meal, because this Street Corn will find itself as a mainstay whenever I order appetizers before my main course. There's butter and cheese and spices and it's just a really spectacular time for your mouth. 9.2/10

    KRISTA: I don't think I've met an elote I didn't like and this is definitely not one of them. Tangy with all the right flavors. I stan some good corn. And now I have that dang corn song stuck in my head...it's CORN, I can't imagine a more beautiful thing. 8/10.



    Asparagus Fries

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    CHRIS: Asparagus? Very good. Asparagus in fried crumble with some sort of magical, savory dipping sauce? Very, very good. Yet another home run. 9/10.

    KRISTA: The dip for this is a HELL YEAH. The breading on this asparagus was perfectly fried and coated and not soggy at all. The parmesan on top added a yummy touch and I really just loved this appetizer a lot. 9/10.



    Spicy Tuna

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    CHRIS: ONCE AGAIN, AN ABSOLUTE BANGER. All of the new appetizers should be very proud of themselves because they're incredible. This is a more filling option because it's got a little crispy square of rice in addition to the tuna and veggies. I've had a lot of crispy rice from sushi restaurants and this was on that level, and better than some of 'em. 9.1/10

    KRISTA: And once again for me, it was just OK. I mean, don't get me wrong I LOVED the crispy rice, but the raw tuna on top wasn't my fave. The flavor was good and the sauce it was sitting on was really, really good. 6/10.



    Ahi Poke Nachos

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    CHRIS: Here's a magnificent, light option ("light" by nacho standards). If you're a fast eater like me, this is your time to shine because these are best consumed quickly, before they have time to cool off and lose the crisp warmness of the wonton chips and the freshness of the fish. Cram 'em into your mouth and don't feel bad about manners or any of that nonsense. 7.5/10

    KRISTA: Even though the ahi wouldn't be my first choice for topping, it worked on this because the chips were fried wontons. It has the same sauce as the spicy tuna appetizer and that made it even better. I agree with Chris that it needs to be consumed right away while it's hot!!! 7.5/10



    FINAL THOUGHTS:

    CHRIS: The Cheesecake Factory rules. Appetizers and small plates rule. Seared Ahi Tuna might have been my overall favorite, but Cacio e Pepe Flatbread, you haven't seen the last of me!

    KRISTA: Honestly, I could just eat the free table bread at Cheesecake so it's no surprise everything really surpassed my expectations! I can say with total confidence that if you order any of these dishes, you won't be disappointed. It's hard to pick a favorite because it would depend on my mood that day, haha. Today I feel like the Lemon-Herb Parmesan Chicken would be my favorite but tomorrow I might be feeling the Cacio e Pepe Flatbread with some of that fried asparagus...and who knows the next day I will probably want one of those salads! Thank you, Cheesecake Factory, for the gift of another page of delight in the novel that you refer to as your menu.




    Wanna watch our reactions to the food LIVE as they happened??! Watch our lil' vid here: