Cheesecake Factory - Southpark

American fare
$18 - pasta with marinara & water

Cheesecake Factory has some great good, but the options are a little over the top. My favorite thing on the menu is the Mexican Grilled Chicken Salad. It's made with avocado, grilled chicken, corn, black beans, pico plus other stuff served with bbq ranch and it is so good. (I recommend getting the dressing on the side as it can get a little soggy). With 50 pages in the menu, if you don't know what you want, it can be a difficult thing to figure out. The Chicken Marsala is one of the "favorites" and I hear it's pretty good. The pasta was good but I only ordered it because I was looking for something bland. If you're looking for good Italian, try someplace else. Otherwise, the main reason to come here is the cheesecake. With 50 different options, that can be overwhelming too. Somoe of my favorites include the Toblerone, Kahlua and Dulce de leche. I don't even like cheesecake but these desserts are awesome. It's actually more about the whipped cream which is worth ordering anything!! If you're with a group or with someone who is indecisive, CF can be a great place as they can please just about any taste. While you'll have to wait no matter what time you go, it's worth it. It's also a great place to put your name in, do some shopping (if you can afford it), and end up with a great meal. It's definitely a fun treat for birthdays too. They have a little dessert thing for the birthday person served in a shotglass-sized dish that is the perfect size. If you want to go somewhere for dessert, you can't lose here. It's definitely a good place!

Mert's - Uptown

Southern Comfort food
$12 @ lunch for honey glazed chicken breast with 2 sides and sweet tea

How can you not love Mert's?? It's all southern and great. The chicken was a special but they have great bbq, fried chicken, burgers, shrimp & grits and other southern specialties. The sides are fantastic and you can make a meal of three or four. I think I had sweet potatoes and collards but they have squash casserole, black eyed peas, okra, etc. The service is great and the atmosphere is a little plain but the food makes it all worthwhile. Parking is probably a pain so I'd go for lunch uptown or dinner after everyone is gone. Always a good choice.