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New York City: It’s not quite the seismic “October surprise”, but the final week of the US midterm election has been partially consumed by a debate about a restaurant chain – The Cheesecake Factory.
It all began when Barack Obama, stumping for the Democrats at a rally in Cleveland, Ohio, mocked President Donald Trump’s extensive renovation and redecoration of the White House.
“There’s gold everywhere,” Obama observed. “What’s up with the gold? He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”
Trump was triggered. “The White House … is a symbol of America,” he told reporters during a lengthy rant. “It has to be clean. The columns can’t be broken. The bricks can’t be falling off from under the plaster. And for you [Obama] to say it’s a Cheesecake Factory, that just shows why you were a lousy president.”
Moreover, though, Obama’s jibe led Republicans to proclaim that he and the Democrats were elitist and out of touch. Here he was, they argued, mocking a restaurant chain that is enormously popular with middle America – and at the pointy end of an election campaign.
The Cheesecake Factory is a market-leading operation, with some 370 restaurants across the US (not all under the same brand). It’s renowned for its vast menu: you can order pretty much anything – pastas, steaks, burgers, salads and breakfast items – and, of course, multiple varieties of cheesecake.
It’s also a family favourite – not a cheap night out for Mum, Dad and the kids, but affordable for a regular treat or special occasion. Most mains are under $US30 ($42.50) – a sandwich with fries and a side salad is $US21 or so.
The Trump administration has responded to Obama’s joke with full force. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had lunch there on Tuesday, with Fox News cameras in tow. He ordered the French dip cheeseburger – his usual, he claimed.
“I had a great meal, always have a great meal, and I would tell the Martha’s Vineyard set to give it a try,” Bessent added, referring to the island synonymous with celebrity retreats.
I felt compelled to see what all the fuss was about, so I headed to the only Cheesecake Factory in New York City, in Queens, about 25 minutes by subway from Manhattan.
The restaurant is on the ground floor of a shopping mall, and at lunchtime on a Wednesday, the cavernous room is scattered with friends catching up over burgers and shakes, two solo diners at the bar, and four men near me speaking German. Black, white, Latino – it’s a kaleidoscope of Queens.
The menu – sometimes called “the Bible” – runs to 22 pages, including drinks, plus a separate “skinnylicious” menu with lower-calorie choices, from which I select the grilled steak medallions ($US28.95, 440 calories) and a little house salad ($US9.50, 260 calories).
My server says the restaurant has been busy, but not because of the ruckus between Obama and Trump. Indeed, he hasn’t heard of the kerfuffle, and neither have any patrons. Rather, people are here to try the Cajun salmon, which recently had a viral moment on social media.
“What Obama said was funny and accurate,” says patron Dakota Rylander. She doesn’t buy Trump’s indignation. “That’s just what he does – he tries to distract from what he’s doing by pointing the finger at other people.”
Her friend Faith is more interested in how the restaurant apparently short-changed her on a slice of cheesecake that was meant to be half price for rewards members.
I receive my free bread, with a slab of butter and an unknown number of calories, and the salad, which is fresh (a rarity in the US) and plentiful. The beef medallions come with lots of asparagus, mushrooms, mash and a delicious Madeira wine sauce. Honestly, I can’t fault the meal.
The service is also friendly without being over-the-top in that American way that can sometimes get annoying.
As for the decor, I don’t find it tacky. The lighting, wood panelling and furniture blend orange, red and sandy yellow hues, rather than the overt gold of Trump’s Oval Office trinkets.
I don’t think Obama was really dissing The Cheesecake Factory, and I think Trump quite famously can’t take a joke at his own expense. It’s likely neither of them has been to a Cheesecake Factory in some time. I couldn’t recommend it to them highly enough.
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