When we want to be up to our ears in Alfredo sauce and cheesecake batter, we mosey on down to The Cheesecake Factory to get our fill. We love having a gazillion options on the menu. We adore the sometimes strange Italian/American/whatever fusion food they’re serving us. So, with all this being said — we’re a bit confused about Cheesecake’s newest venture: a fast-casual Asian restaurant.
Called The Social Monk, the new Cheesecake Factory spinoff just opened its first location in Los Angeles’s Westlake Village.
“We are Social Monk Asian Kitchen,” the Monk’s website reads.
“Welcome to an elevated yet approachable dining experience in an upscale and fast casual setting.”
The Social Monk’s Southeastern Asian-inspired menu has been put together by Singaporean award-winning Chef Mohan Ismail. Most dishes, which are ordered at the counter and then served to your table when ready, revolve around rice and noodles.
Add-on ingredients and other featured dishes are “fresh and authentic,” according to the Monk’s site.
“Overall, the menu and vibe of the place definitely feels like a ‘Cheesecake Factory of Asian restaurants,'” FoodBeast’s Constantine Spyrou writes.
“It’s a grouping together of a bunch of different items folks in the U.S. are more familiar with, and sticking them all under one roof.”
Meet The Cheesecake Factory's newest restaurant: The Social Monk. https://t.co/Iv0TLr3N72 pic.twitter.com/z6KoZIPQIu
— foodbeast (@foodbeast) February 26, 2019
Hmm. A valid question.
can we get cheesecake after our chow mein?😉
— Catherine Lydon (@rocknrollElder) February 28, 2019
The menu itself is a fraction of the OG Cheesecake Factory’s.
With six starters, four salads, and one dessert to choose from, the goal is to get customers in and out as quickly as possible.
The Social Monk is saving us a lot of flipping-back-and-forth stress.
Because let’s be honest — figuring out what to get is a large burden. Pasta? Salad? Egg rolls?
Um. We need help.
Me when I get the menu at The Cheesecake Factory. https://t.co/bkJUWYrUQK
— Sarah McLellan (@sarah__mclellan) February 16, 2019
Avocado egg rolls. Okay, we’re ready to order. Or are we…?
Although the idea of an Asian version of the Cheesecake Factory is a bit disconcerting, if the food quality is anywhere near as good as the Cheesecake’s, we’re good to go. Give us all the food, and STAT.
necesito ir a the cheesecake factory asap
— jajajagustin (@agustinch21) February 28, 2019
We have to wonder, though, if The Social Monk has their own version of the iconic brown bread? That’s what pulls the people in.
when they bring you the brown bread at Cheesecake Factory https://t.co/yBn8tMsp3S
— Christina Grace (@C_GraceT) February 25, 2019
Nor do we. Answer wisely.
while we’re on the topic of food/drink discourse, if you don’t like the brown bread from cheesecake factory i don’t trust you at all
— nile (@nileandah) February 19, 2019
And the cheesecake makes the people stay. We dream about that cheesecake.
Same. Like all day every, day.
Sometimes I think about the Oreo cookie cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. A lot actually.
— Amanda ♡ (@mandamania_) February 26, 2019
And the Eye of Sauron makes the people leave. It’s the cycle. Cheesecake Factory knows what they’re doing.
Plus, The Cheesecake Factory simply looks out for their customers. They care!
First dates at The Cheesecake Factory are the only kind of first dates we go on. Sorry.
If you’re ever in doubt, just get everything. Get it all.
The Social Monk has a lot to live up to, but in the name of The Cheesecake Factory, we’ll give it a shot.
We really will.
