A Week of Treats and Eats - Perly's and The Cheesecake Factory

An explanation is needed for why I haven't posted in - a week. I know, I know, I'm a bad blogger. I just haven't - a) made anything I haven't posted on and b) been eating leftovers from when Weston came to visit me this weekend :) Yes, my wonderful boyfriend woke up last Friday at 4am, drove 13 hours, and took me to the Dental Ball. We had one of the best weekend ever - full of yummy food and great experiences.

We went to Perly's with Sharon, my roommate and had an amazing brunch - Perly's never disappointments. I trust them with my life...or at least, my omelettes. Weston had a sandwich and onion rings which I mention because the onion rings had 2 layer of onion so they weren't completely batter. Kind of ingenious, right?

We also revisited Bev's for some pumpkin ice cream (I was having a very specific craving that day because we had just visited a pumpkin patch with friends).

A trip to Short Pump was also on the "menu." Now, Cheesecake Factory isn't a Richmond locale, but I haven't been there in 3 years and I was craving a certain item - you'll see it pictured below in all its glory. I have to say, the food was yummy. I'd hold off the on the appetizers, though, because they do give you a lot of food AND most of the apps are high in fat. We didn't get cheesecake, but I think we'll be back for that on a later date.

Maybe I'll get critiqued for giving a review of what we ate here, but I think it's a good idea. I mean, not everybody visiting Richmond is looking for RVA local restaurants...especially if you're at Short Pump and dining options are limited.

First off, skip the bread. It's not to-die-for and your main meal comes out pretty quickly.

The appetizer we got was the crab and artichoke dip. It was good, but I just felt way to guilty eating it. I couldn't really distinguish the crab from the artichoke even though the combination tasted good. We were starving and that's why we ordered it, but if my stomach wasn't doing to ordering, I think I'd have skipped this and gone straight to the entrees. Then we wouldn't have been too full for cheesecake - which we were so we opted out of getting some.

I'd also say the Skinny menu shouldn't be tossed aside because you think you'll look like a fool ordering out of it. There were some yummy options there - including butter lettuce wraps which you could get done 3 ways. I didn't order them, but they looked good. Pastas I try to avoid at restaurants, unless they are made in house and I know the portions are a little smaller. Cheesecake Factory portions are enormous and I'd rather spend $13 on an entree I know I won't get at home...like this GIANT burrito!!!

The flavor was actually really good but if I order it again, I'll ask for it without the cilantro cream sauce...that's just unnecessary fat. Lucky for me, Weston used it as a dipping sauce for his pizza crust. The black beans were GREAT - really flavorful. I asked the waiter if I could order it as a soup and he said, "Sure..." like I was a crazy person. I'd do it, though, because the beans were thin enough to be eaten as a soup. FYI: this fed me for 3 meals.

Weston got a pepperoni and sausage pizza with olives which sounds pretty tame, but I was surprised with the care the restaurant put into this pizza: the pepperoni was super flavorful, the sausage with spicy, and the olives were kalamata so they had great flavor.

I had a great time here, but maybe I'm biased because I was with a very special diner - and we went to Nordstrom right after and he treated me to a very pretty gift :)