The operative word in the name "The Cheesecake Factory" is Factory! If you're stuck in Palo Alto staring at the line at their store there, walk out the door, turn left, and go 100' up to Taxi's for a hamburger, fries, and milkshake. Show your "Albertson's Preferred Customer" card (!) for a 15% discount, even. This is a micro-chain in the Bay area, as are nearby Pasta ?, Zao Noodle House, and Taqueria Andale, and any of these would be a better choice.

Never tried the Taqueria Andale at the international terminal at SFO, but I have looked at their menu and it is way more limited than the other stores. Can they even have a slicing knife when they are inside security? I would imagine most of the stuff at that branch is pre-prepared and wouldn't judge the others by this one.

But if the Cheesecake Factory customer-base is cult-like, what would you call the fans of "In-N-Out" or "Krispy Kreme" (some of whom have posted on this thread)? Like Stimpy notes about Legal Sea Foods, when there was only one "In-N-Out" it was pretty good. Now it's nothing special.