Cheesecake News

Cheesecake Factory will build more cheesecake at new Dallas-area location

Mmm cheesecake.

Photo courtesy of Cheesecake Factory

It's cheesecake for the win at The Shops at Highland Village, the shopping center in Highland Village west of Lewisville Lake, where a new location of The Cheesecake Factory will open in late 2023.

The restaurant will go into a 9,700-square-foot space at 4100 Deer Creek, # 110 previously occupied by a Barnes & Noble, which closed in June and will re-open in a former Pier 1 in Flower Mound in late fall.

A release calls the Cheesecake Factory "the chain famous for its wide-ranging menu, generous portions, and desserts, "especially its signature cheesecakes."

Any right-thinking person might list cheesecakes first, but let's cut the Cheesecake Factory some slack. With a name like the Cheesecake Factory, they're in a struggle to not be typecast as just cheesecake.

The chain was founded in Beverly Hills in 1978 by David Overton, whose mother owned a bakery selling cheesecakes. It's easy to take for granted now, but if you lived in Los Angeles during that time, The Cheesecake Factory was kind of a marvel.

Now, there are more than 200 restaurants around the world, including three in the Dallas area: Allen, Frisco, and the original Dallas location which opened across the street from NorthPark Center in 1998. There are also three in Tarrant County: Fort Worth, Southlake, and Arlington, for a total of seven in DFW.

The restaurant has a diverse array of dishes, including American classics such as burgers, pasta, and seafood, as well as international flavors, salads and appetizers. Not just cheesecake.

Overton says that The Cheesecake Factory is pleased to be opening a location in The Shops at Highland Village.

"The Cheesecake Factory has enjoyed being part of the greater Dallas area since first opening there in 1998, and we look forward to being part of the Highland Village community," he says.

The center also has plans to renovate the Southern courtyard near the new location into a drive-thru parking lot.

“The Shops at Highland Village is thrilled to welcome The Cheesecake Factory as the newest addition to our center,” said Ravi Wadhwa, senior general manager at The Shops at Highland Village. “Having this national powerhouse brand join our portfolio is significant win that will purposefully complement our unique tenant mix. Like many of our guests, we are counting down the days until this fan favorite opens its doors to our community.”

desserts openings

Omakase News

Downtown Dallas restaurant Sauvage expands with new dining twist

Sauvage

A downtown Dallas restaurant famous for its multi-course tasting experience is letting its hair down: Sauvage, the high-end mom-and-pop restaurant near the Statler Dallas hotel, has a new dining option that gives a smaller, more casual taste.

The restaurant opened in September with a set menu featuring 16 to 18 courses — wild game, seafood, vegetables, and dessert — all cooked via grill and smoker.

While 16 courses might sound like a lot, the courses are mostly small bites. However, owners Casey and Amy LaRue received feedback from diners wanting a smaller option.

"We were getting a ton of messages from guests who want to stop by just to try one dish, a bite, or a specific pairing without committing to the full tasting — so we built something for exactly that," Casey says.

They've introduced a new three-course "Cocktails & Bites hour" featuring three dishes, each paired with its own cocktail, served from 5–6 pm on weekdays.

Last week’s menu consisted of:

dry-aged red snapper crudo with La Chinola Way, a cocktail featuring passionfruit, mezcal, lime, and ginger
foie gras & truffle on house-baked croissant with Pendennis Club, a gin sour with apricot liqueur bitters
jerk-spiced shrimp with Clarified Paper Plane, a bourbon cocktail with Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice

The new offering continues their pattern of pairing courses with cocktails rather than wine — an approach they've embraced since opening. "Limiting pairings to wine can get boring — it so often ends up being one expensive red after another," Casey says.

You can make a reservation on Tock, or just walk in and grab a seat.

Caviar
They've also added a new version of their classic menu: no caviar.

"Some love having caviar integrated into the menu, but others prefer to skip it, whether for taste or dietary reasons, but still want the full value of the experience," Casey says. "With such a small counter, this put us in a strange position: do we give everyone caviar whether they want it or not, or do we remove it entirely and lose a core part of our menu?"

Thus, a new menu without caviar, priced at $195, with an optional caviar course available for those who want it for $245.

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