The Cheesecake Factory is cooking up a buzz

Restaurant, bakery or cultural phenomenon? You decide. Seattle restaurants haven't seen lines like the ones forming at The Cheesecake Factory since Planet Hollywood's star-studded opening in '96. What are they lining up for? Lots more than cheesecake. With 200 food items on the menu — in addition to 50 desserts — there's something for everyone at the corner of Seventh and Pike (700 Pike St., Seattle; 206-652-5400).

If the volume of people dining — and working! — at The Cheesecake Factory fails to overwhelm, the choices and the portions certainly will. The spiral-bound menu, a replica of those found at 43 other Cheesecake Factory locations nationwide, features an array of full-page local ads including a come-on for World Gym Fitness Center. Believe me: a Baja fish-taco platter and half a slice of whipped-cream-slathered cheesecake later, and I was chugging across the street to the gym yelling, "Sign me up!"

Listed among two pages of starters ($3.50-$9.95) is everything from Roadside Sliders ("Bite-sized Burgers on mini-buns" — and a meal suitable for four small children when coupled with a side of fries) to Tex-Mex eggrolls, Buffalo wings and sweet corn tamale cakes. Main courses include shrimp and chicken options, each prepared at least a dozen different ways. There's pasta, pizza, chops, ribs and steaks — from a simple grilled skirt steak ($15.95) to a high-end-of-the-menu filet mignon ($24.95).

Umpteen entrée-sized salads (median price $10.95) and as many sandwiches ($6.50-$10.95) — from grilled eggplant to seared pork tenderloin to a classic burger — round out the menu. And if you're looking for an omelet or a "Super Creamy" booze-laced drink, they've got that, too. Come prepared to eat big, and don't expect much intimacy in this Italianate setting. Its marble floors, decorative columns, hand-blown glass lighting fixtures and no-reservations-policy will soon have 'em lining up at Bellevue Square where The Cheesecake Factory is scheduled to open in December. The Seattle location is open daily serving lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch.

Another new neighbor

The Cheesecake Factory isn't the only newcomer attracting attention downtown. After months of delays, the welcome mat is finally out at 727 Pine — the signature restaurant in the grand new Elliott Grand Hyatt (727 Pine St., Seattle; 206-774-6400). Soothing and elegant, but far from stuffy, this deep, mirrored, dual-level dining room and bar opened two weeks ago to join Seattle's classy coterie of hotel restaurants.

With proximity to the Washington State Convention Center, 727 should appeal to hotel guests and conventioneers hungry for a fancy-pants breakfast (lavender-hazelnut French toast, $8; baked heirloom apple Dutch baby, $10). And I'm looking forward to reviewing the global riffs and local inspirations found on executive chef Danielle Custer's lunch and dinner menus.

I wonder: How does her Israeli-inspired watermelon salad with Texas feta, cucumbers and sumac ($7) compare with that of chef Monique Barbeau — whom she worked under as sous-chef at Fullers before heading to Texas to win raves as chef-exec at Laurels in Dallas' Sheraton Park Central? I'm dying to know which thousand spices coat the 1,000-spiced fried quail with black-eyed-pea relish and roasted-garlic hushpuppies (lunch entrée, $12, dinner appetizer, $14). And I'm intrigued by the $55, three-course "steak menu" featuring a Maine lobster and shrimp enchilada, a Caesar salad and a choice of New York strip, veal porterhouse or "Pilare mignon" (OK, what is that?). Film at 11.

Cooking for books

Tickets are still available for tomorrow's Northwest Grillfest 2001 — a benefit for Northwest Bookfest, the region's largest literary-arts celebration. Hosted by Seattle's own Queen of Grill and Giggle, Kathy Casey, catered by Ravishing Radish and introducing a bevy of local and nationally known chefs and cookbook authors, Grillfest kicks off at 6 p.m. on the roof park at Rainier Square (1301 Fifth Ave., Seattle).

Enjoy the downtown view and dine "grill-side" as Sara Deseran ("Asian Vegetables"), Evie Hansen ("Seafood Grilling Twice a Week"), Nanci Main ("The Best of the Ark and More"), Jamie Purviance, ("Weber's Big Book of Grilling"), Steven Raichlen ("How to Grill"), Rick Rodgers ("Barbecues 101"), John Stage ("Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: An American Roadhouse), Tom Douglas' right-hand man, Eric Tanaka ("Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen") and Marianne Zdobysz (representing the Madison Park Café and "Best Places Seattle Cookbook") get sizzling, demonstrating their techniques as you eat, meet, greet and listen to live jazz. Cookbooks may be purchased and inscribed at the event. For Grillfest tickets ($70 each), call Northwest Bookfest at 206-378-1883.

Nancy Leson can be reached at 206-464-8838 or nleson@seattletimes.com.