The Cheesecake Factory Sandwich Trick That's Ideal For Brown Bread Lovers

If you're craving Fried Macaroni and Cheese, Pasta Carbonara, or a Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake, you're probably heading to The Cheesecake Factory. And if you're walking around the mall, waiting for the host to let you know your table is ready, you may have more than dessert on your mind. If you're like many Cheesecake Factory customers, you could be envisioning a free restaurant favorite that is often considered just as notorious as the cheesecake: Brown bread.

The Cheesecake Factory was born, thanks to baker Evelyn Overton, who sold her popular cheesecakes to California restaurants in the 1970s, reports Thrillist. In 1978, her son, David Overton, opened the first Cheesecake Factory in Beverly Hills, California. The Cheesecake Factory's chief marketing officer, Donald Evans, says that brown bread was a staple on the restaurant's initial one-page menu. The menu expanded in the 1980s.

Thanks to the bread's performance, The Cheesecake Factory included its brown bread as a select menu item customers can purchase in stores. Now, you can enjoy brown bread varieties like Mini Baguettes, Dinner Rolls, and Sandwich Bread from the comfort of your couch. 
             
"We were thinking about what product would make sense to bring to grocery that would look, feel, and taste like the product in restaurants," Evans says, adding "The bread is exactly the same as what you get in the restaurant," (via Thrillist). Brown bread lovers rejoice! If you're visiting The Cheesecake Factory, there is a valuable tip you can use to score more brown bread.

If you're craving additional brown bread during your dinner, try this trick. At most Cheesecake Factory locations, you can request that your sandwich is made with brown bread, rather than what's listed on the menu (per Cheapism). If you'd like to go against the grain, so to speak, you can try swapping the bread that traditionally comes with menu items like The Club, essentially a turkey BLT with mayo, for brown bread. Alternatively, try exchanging the grilled brioche bread on the Chicken Salad Sandwich or the french roll that comes with the Chicken Parmesan Sandwich for some brown bread.       

At first glance, you may be unsure of how brown bread gets its custom appearance. Some say that cocoa creates the bread's brown color, per Thrillist, and Taste of Home shares a "copycat recipe" that includes molasses to give the bread a dark coloring, honey for sweetness, and cocoa. But the official brown bread package's ingredients include wheat, brown sugar, and caramel food coloring, which is more than likely the color's culprit.

Seth Byrum suggests that while working at The Cheesecake Factory, he often overheard discussions about its health content. "People think it's healthy because it's brown and has oats on top," he says (via Thrillist). In a post on its official Instagram page, The Cheesecake Factory jokes, "Is Brown Bread a superfood? Some say yes." The comment section of this post agrees, donning lots of "yes" exclamations and thumbs-up posts. While opinions on how healthy brown bread is may vary, most customers appear ready for more.

NBA players also seem to love The Cheesecake Factory and the chain's famous bread. Sean Kilpatrick, who played for the Brooklyn Nets, says, "They probably have the best bread in America," (per FIRST WE FEAST). Jeremy Koegler, a previous employee at a Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Tampa, says that many customers who got to-go orders would realize the brown bread wasn't in the bag and drive back to the restaurant just so that they didn't miss out.