Big eats

The Cheesecake Factory in the blogosphere

By Culinate staff

July 15, 2009

First, blogger Michael Ruhlman made fun of writer Kelly Alexander for her NPR opinion piece entitled "Love Story: A Gourmet And The Cheesecake Factory."

Then, convinced that if Ruhlman tried the miso salmon at the nationwide chain restaurant, he would like it, Alexander laid down down a challenge, which Ruhlman accepted (and recorded on video):

Next, blogger Ezra Klein riffed on the story with his own post over at The Internet Food Association: "Is The Cheesecake Factory Gross?" Klein approached it from a health angle, looking at calorie counts for all the dishes Ruhlman ordered — and finding they are cheesecake-comparable (1,673 calories for that salmon — or as many calories as some of us eat in a day).

Finally, Tom Philpott weighed in over at Grist with his own sustainable-ag take on Ruhlman’s dinner: "Why the Cheesecake Factory really is gross." His conclusion: That miso salmon that tasted pretty good was probably factory-farmed. And if you’re not sure what’s wrong with factory-farmed salmon, Philpott uses several paragraphs and links to lay it out for you.

Which gets back around to what Ruhlman says at the end of his video: “It kind of makes me sad.”