Cheesecake Factory - Back Bay (Prudential Center)

Hey don't criticize me. Yeah, I went to Cheesecake Factory, so what? Sure, it's a super corporate, over-bloated, cafeteria-esque restaurant with no originality or authenticity--but they make up for all of that with large portions of any type of food you'd ever want. Pizza, hamburgers, burritos, pasta, seafood, rhino, durian, duck confit, lembas. And that's what matters most in a consumer mind--atleast according to the marketing plan that they follow.

Although I can't help but feel a bit guilty for contributing to such an emotionless and imperial chain, I have to admit that everyone has their guilty pleasures and their indulgences in instant gratification--after all, it's the zeitgeist of our generation.

Here, we have the spicy chicken cashew dish. It's a simple dish: large chunks of chicken in a mild Thai sauce, heaps of roasted cashews, green onions and white rice. No, it's not "very spicy" as the menu describes it, but it's still good, filling and worth the $12 for the generous amount you get. The chicken is cripsy with tender boneless white meat and the blend of cashews with the chicken and rice makes a great crunchy texture that mixes well with the soft white rice.

So please, go right ahead and conform. Go to the Cheesecake Factory, eat a ton of food, then feel obligated to eat extremely overpriced cheesecake for dessert simply because of the restaurant's namesake. Go ahead, you'll love it.

15 Huntington Ave. Suite 181, Boston, MA 02199, 617 399 7777, www.cheesecakefactory.com