A few random thoughts from the weekend in Kelly’s Kitchen; it always pays to compare, whether it’s shopping for a decent deal on a car, or a good meal. You know I love the veggie burger at J Alexanders. So when I had the chance to join my friend Simone for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory Saturday afternoon and noticed they also had one on the menu I did the Kelly Comparison Test. It was a pretty good burger, and definitely more "burger like" than J Alexanders. But I believe when it comes to ingredients, there is a big difference. The Cheesecake veggie burger did not have the same texture as the J Alexander, and that was due in great part to what the J Alexander’s veggie burger is big on - the whole grains and more veggies and those mouth watering slices of Beefsteak tomato. So between the two I’d have to say J Alexander’s wins. Oh, and delivering cold sweet potato fries to the table? Not too appetizing, but they were quick to bring a fresh, much warmer batch upon request. And I know many of my friends won’t buy this, but no, I did not have cheesecake for dessert. Heresy, of course. But Simone pointed out another tremendous Gelato place also on Bay Street at International Plaza - Gelatorio del Duomo. I had a mix of the Chocolate Sorbet and (okay, I had to...) Cheesecake Gelato that was a decadently delicious combination. You would never had guessed how low fat it was, and a small serving was more than enough. According to their web site, the cream based Gelati has only six per cent fat, and the fruit has none at all. An extremely satisfying experience. I will give The Cheesecake Factory points for how relatively quickly we were seated on a busy Saturday, and good service. The noise level was, as always, a little on the high side but considering we had the whole serving staff singing Happy Birthday right across from us, not bad at all.

A good afternoon, topped off with a little shopping. Not a bad way to spend the day. Doesn’t happen often enough!

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM KELLY’S KITCHEN

"One of the delights of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends." - Laurie Colwin 'Home Cooking'