The Classic Burger

Kobe Burger With Egg

San Diego Burger Club went to Cheesecake Factory for lunch today.  With 11 burgers on the menu plus more burgers on the “Skinnylicious” menu, we decided we should give Cheesecake Factory a try.  As one member commented, there is a reason they call it the Cheesecake Factory and not the Burger Factory.  Cheesecake Factory gets a B-/C+.

The burgers looked great.  Look at those pictures — very appetizing.  But then we bit into them and, well, they were pretty bland.  There was not a lot of flavor, no noticeable char, and seemingly no spices in the ground beef (if there was salt and/or pepper, it was not noticeable).  The bun and toppings were good, but the burgers themselves were just okay.  One member noted that he would give the bun and toppings an A, but the burger brought it down.  There also were some issues with the cooking.  I ordered my burger medium well and there was a fair amount of pink in the middle, while another member ordered his burger medium rare and there was no pink in his (we ordered different burgers, so they didn’t just hand us the wrong plates).

The fries didn’t win any awards either.  They were not crispy and tasted kind of like oven baked fries.  One member commented that they seemed like mashed potatoes formed into fries.

Adding insult to injury, the check came out to a little over $20 each — $24 with tip.  Then there is the parking.  Often Fashion Valley Mall is extremely crowded, making it impossible to find a parking space and necessitating paid parking.  We were able to find a free parking space today, but even ignoring the parking $24 is expensive for a mediocre burger.

Bottom line:  Go to Cheesecake Factory for their cheesecake and for the wide variety of delicious dishes on the menu; don’t go there for the burgers.  If you are going to Fashion Valley Mall and want a burger, Stacked is directly across from Cheesecake Factory and Stacked makes an excellent burger.