The Cheesecake Factory Dish That's Actually A Nobu Copycat

The Cheesecake Factory isn't called The Cheesecake Factory for nothing. It has some pretty good cheesecakes, there's no doubt about that. But fancy cheesecakes alone don't make a restaurant and The Cheesecake Factory has some notable non-cheesecake items on the menu. The restaurant has gone so far as to colorfully boast that it serves an "extensive and voluminous menu that features American and other classics" (via Nation's Restaurant News).

You may be familiar with the restaurant's famous brown bread that's served before every meal — a soft, sweet dark brown bread that's filled with oats and made with molasses and rye. You may also be familiar with the sliders, those tiny bite-sized hamburgers, that are served with thinly-sliced pickles. While these may not sound too outrageous, The Cheesecake Factory has actually been credited with helping to "preserve" the place of these miniature burgers in American cuisine (via First We Feast). You might also know about the extensive selection of egg roll-esque appetizers stuffed with everything from avocados to cheeseburgers (via MEL Magazine). True to its word, The Cheesecake Factory does seem to offer a wide selection of American and fusion classics to its customers.

But does it mention that one of its dishes is something of an ode to a famous Japanese restaurant? That's what some believe the chain's miso salmon to be. Is such a claim true or is the likeness a total coincidence?

If you've been inside a Nobu restaurant before, chances are you're either a big-name celebrity or you're exploring the rich fusion of Japanese and Peruvian cuisine. The mystique of Nobu is so great that Forbes even has a guide for first-timers visiting the restaurant so they know what to expect. In fact, famed actor Roberto De Niro has deep roots connecting him to Nobu, considering he convinced founder Nobu Matsuhisa to open a restaurant in New York City back in the 1990s (via Eater).

But what does The Cheesecake Factory have to do with any of this? According to Nation's Restaurant News food editor Pamela Parseghian (per NPR), it seems that the miso salmon is strikingly similar to a dish served at Nobu. Parseghian reported that the salmon dish was cooked "Nobu-style," without elaborating on what that meant. NPR's Kelly Alexander decided to investigate this claim for herself and went on to describe the miso salmon from The Cheesecake Factory in particularly glowing terms: "What I got was a translucent pink production in a silken sake-butter sauce that slid down my throat in such a way that it called to mind what the singer Howlin' Wolf once said about some particularly good barbecue–it was "like Baby Jesus in satin pants," she said.

It would appear that the dish pays homage to Matsuhisa's miso black cod (per Food & Wine). But what exactly is "Nobu-style" anyway?

According to Jet Linx, Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa was born in Saitama, Japan, in 1949. Having lost his father in a motorcycle accident at a young age, Matsuhisa found himself alone with his grandmother working in the kitchen while his family worked. His time spent with his grandmother, and a visit to a sushi restaurant at the age of 11, inspired him to become a sushi chef. Despite being expelled from high school at 18 and long hours working as a dishwasher and apprentice at a sushi restaurant, Matsuhisa became a sous chef at age 24. While working as a chef, Matsuhisa met a Japanese-Peruvian customer, who encouraged him to go to Peru and feed the Japanese immigrants setting up shop there.

It was there in Peru that Matsuhisa developed his trademark "Nobu style," which Vogue tells us is a combination of Japanese and Peruvian culinary influences. One example of this is fish caught in the waters of Peru and South America being prepared using traditional Japanese cooking methods. Peruvian ingredients and recipes are also used as well, such as jalapeño peppers, cilantro, and ceviche. Today, thanks to this unique blend of culinary traditions, Nobu remains a popular place for the wealthy and famous to visit, with locations dotting the globe from New York to Hawaii to London (via Eater).

The Cheesecake Factory's salmon, like Nobu's cod, is marinated and glazed with miso. Perhaps a taste test is in order.