On Thursday, Shiaw-Ling and Candace did us the great favor of babysitting Neil and Kelly so that Peter and I could check out the new Morton’s in San Jose. As we were discussing the menu, I told the waitress that I was skipping dessert at Morton’s in favor of a slice of the Charlie’s Cheesecake Works cheesecake I’d bought earlier. She told me that she wasn’t familiar with Charlie’s Cheesecake, but that the cheesecake at Morton’s came from a bakery in the Bronx called S&S Cheesecake. It was the best cheesecake she’d ever had, hands down, and coming from Chicago, she knew from cheesecake.
I didn’t try the cheesecake at Morton’s because her assertion had put another idea in my head. I’ve had chocolate taste-offs, so I can confidently tell you which local chocolates are the best. But I’ve never done the same with cheesecake, so I may say Charlie’s Cheesecake is the best cheesecake in the world, but I can’t say that with the confidence of someone who’s put the cake to a taste test. So Peter and I plotted to have a cheesecake taste-off. All the cheesecakes will be plain, to make it a fair playing field. The competition will consist of:
Charlie’s Cheesecake Works Silicon Valley Classic
S&S Cheesecake’s New York Cheesecake
Sara Lee, for old time’s sake
The Cheesecake Factory, to put the hype to the test
& Carolyn’s “Lumpy” (Homemade) Cheesecake
Who knows, we may find a philosophical difference between West Coast and East Coast cheesecake recipes, or that Sara Lee is as good as we thought it was before we knew better! It’ll be a blind test, so prejudices (or a desire to flatter the hostess) won’t be a factor.
So (among local friends & acquaintances only, sorry) who’s in? And if you are in, is there any brand of cheesecake you think needs to be added to the choices?
No suggestions, but I’ll happily come be a judge. Mmm! :Þ