I'm a Brit who went to the Cheesecake Factory for the 1st time. The portion sizes blew me away, but I couldn't decide if the decor was opulent or tacky.

• I visited the Cheesecake Factory for the first time on a recent trip to Chicago.
• I had an excessively large salad and a slice of cheesecake served with a mountain of cream.
• The decor unnerved me. It felt like a bizarre cross between an art deco café, a Disney attraction, and Atlantis.

I visited the Cheesecake Factory for the first time on a recent business trip to Chicago. Here's what I thought.