"CheesecakeFactory" news and stories

One of the best gastronomic experiences is the gooey rich creaminess of caramel slowly melting on one's palate. Over the past few years, we have seen an increasing number of products, such as Poco Dolce's burnt caramel toffee, adding salt into the caramel equation. A recent New York Times article explains how this extraordinarily sweet and savory combo went from elite chichi Parisian pastry shops to the American mass-market (stores such as Wal-Mart) and the soon-to-be Obama White House.

The article suggests that the financial success of this exquisite pair is due to a fortunate profitable trend cycle. Parisian pastry chefs initiated American chefs' obsession with the caramel-sea salt blend. Then, it ended up in specialty food magazines and food shows. Soon enough, chain restaurants, like the Cheesecake Factory, began selling them. Finally, Wal-Mart picked up on the trend. Of course, it would not have caught on so quickly if it were not for Americans' long-established taste for salty mixed with sweet, a flavor picked up gracias to dulce de luche from South America and Mexico.

As fellow blog Salt News states, the NY Times focuses on the financial and cultural success of the caramel-salt mix without ever delving into the gastronomic sensations it elicits. The title of the article, "How Caramel Developed a Taste for Salt," is misleading since there is never any substantial information explaining how this caramel concoction developed in small villages in the region of Brittany in France. I'm left wondering whether or not caramel indeed activates a desire for salt. Instead, the article gets carried away with Obama's love for salty caramel delights as though it would be hard to imagine. Could you blame him?

The Cheesecake Factory is known for their enormous portion sizes and high-calorie cheesecakes. The large sizes seem to add value to the meals for diners, while the cheesecakes, depending on who you ask, are a big slice of heaven on a plate. Both of these things, however, are a source of irritation to nutritionists and consumer watchdog groups.

Since fans of the Factory wouldn't tolerate a decrease in the portion size, but the company wanted to offer something a little lighter for those who are watching what they eat (and possibly to placate the groups watching them), they introduced several "weight management" salads. The lower calorie offerings have less than 590 calories each. The Weight Management choices include: Asian Chicken Salad, Spicy Chicken Salad, Pear and Endive Salad (pictured), California Salad and Seafood Salad. Each is slimmed by using low-calorie dressings and cutting back on the amount of cheese, nuts, hard0boiled eggs, avocado and other high-calorie components, although it doesn't seem like they're entirely eliminated in any of the dishes, which is probably why they're just called "weight management" and not "light" or "diet,"

Source