The Cheesecake Factory

I like food... I like food a lot. I'm picky, but usually won't complain about much. However, today I went out to eat at The Cheesecake Factory and I was thoroughly unimpressed. I have never been a huge fan of The Cheesecake Factory, primarily because I thought of it as just an over-priced restaurant that had cheesecake that didn't live up to the expectations of someone who had lived in NYC and understood paying $8 for a piece of good cheesecake. I'd also been unimpressed with the timeliness that I had experiences at other locations. I guess you can sum up my opinion of the place as highly overrated.
Arriving at the restaurant at about 7:45pm on a Sunday, I was surprised to see people standing and waiting everywhere in the lobby and outside. I was pleased when the hostess told us the wait would only be 5 to 10 minutes, however, extremely irritated at her attitude towards us when we inquired after about 10 minutes how much longer the wait was going to be. With the luck of the gods, we also were given a waiter trainee to serve us. The introductions were rough and we felt sorry for the kid, but when the bread arrived without appetizer or bread plates, the cuteness factor wore off. After about 15 minutes of waiting for his beer, my companion also had to request it again. We believe this is when the order was actually put in to the kitchen because the food didn't come for about another 30 minutes.
The management was extremely apologetic and actually waved the whole food and desert bill. The food was not anything impressive, but free is always a good price. The cheesecake was something that the restaurant has the right to brag about, it was good... NYC good! I liked it a lot. We all left the place stuffed and none of us finished the cheesecake we had ordered. All over, it wasn't a horrible experience, but I definitely do not think that the food is worth the prices they charge. The cheesecake, however, is worth every penny.