Ahi Tartare
Once you have kids, your life changes, things you took for granted, fancy restaurants, late nights, movies at the theater, traveling, all become more difficult if not impossible. I'm not saying that my kid has ruined my life because he hasn't. I love my little one. I love my life and I am excited about his partner in crime who should be joining us any day now; but it is a fact that the world my wife and I used to live in, has been forever altered.
My wife and I have always enjoyed nice restaurants with good food and better wine. We'd sometimes spend hours at a romantic restaurant, drinking, eating, and even occasionally talking. I know, it is hard to believe that after a nearly ten-year relationship, we still have something to talk about—but it was true. Once we had a kid, our focus changed, instead of looking for the quiet restaurant, with the nice ambiance, that carried our favorite bottle of pinot noir, we look for places that are kid friendly, have fast service, and have a lot of activity, so the kid has something to look at it to keep him entertained during the meal. Since our boy was born, I’ve found myself eating at restaurants like the Cheese Cake Factory, places my wife and I would never have selected in our past life.
Cheese Cake Factory is the perfect restaurant to take your little one. There are a million distractions, waterfalls, fire pits, outside seating, lots of people, the service is typically fast, and the bread is soft, perfect for our 20-month-old. Over the past year we’ve gone there probably four or five times and each time I’ve ordered the Ahi Tartare, and each time it has gotten smaller. The price has remained the same, but the serving plate keeps shrinking and the tartare went from a size the could be shared to a size fit for a toddler. Yesterday when the tartare was brought to the table, I nearly burst out laughing. $8.95 for a thimble full of tartare presented on a petite base of avocado, with wontons the size of small tortilla chips. I think they need to rename the dish and move it out of the appetizer section of the menu and into the single bite or thimble sized menu section. Sadly, I probably still order it; but I’d feel less cheated because my expectations would have been met and shouldn’t that be the goal of restaurant like Cheese Cake Factory? I don’t need excellence, I just don’t want to be cheated. Cheese Cake, step your game up.
My wife and I have always enjoyed nice restaurants with good food and better wine. We'd sometimes spend hours at a romantic restaurant, drinking, eating, and even occasionally talking. I know, it is hard to believe that after a nearly ten-year relationship, we still have something to talk about—but it was true. Once we had a kid, our focus changed, instead of looking for the quiet restaurant, with the nice ambiance, that carried our favorite bottle of pinot noir, we look for places that are kid friendly, have fast service, and have a lot of activity, so the kid has something to look at it to keep him entertained during the meal. Since our boy was born, I’ve found myself eating at restaurants like the Cheese Cake Factory, places my wife and I would never have selected in our past life.
Cheese Cake Factory is the perfect restaurant to take your little one. There are a million distractions, waterfalls, fire pits, outside seating, lots of people, the service is typically fast, and the bread is soft, perfect for our 20-month-old. Over the past year we’ve gone there probably four or five times and each time I’ve ordered the Ahi Tartare, and each time it has gotten smaller. The price has remained the same, but the serving plate keeps shrinking and the tartare went from a size the could be shared to a size fit for a toddler. Yesterday when the tartare was brought to the table, I nearly burst out laughing. $8.95 for a thimble full of tartare presented on a petite base of avocado, with wontons the size of small tortilla chips. I think they need to rename the dish and move it out of the appetizer section of the menu and into the single bite or thimble sized menu section. Sadly, I probably still order it; but I’d feel less cheated because my expectations would have been met and shouldn’t that be the goal of restaurant like Cheese Cake Factory? I don’t need excellence, I just don’t want to be cheated. Cheese Cake, step your game up.
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