Theatre aside, the movie was fantastic, possibly my favorite of all-time. (Shannon ranked it in his top 5, tied with the other Knives Out, Into the Spider-verse, Turning Red, and Memento and/or Tenet.) I think I liked it better than the first Knives Out because it felt lighter to me and because I always think that the most recent movie I saw is my favorite. Both movies are hilarious, feature many twists and turns, and offer a satirical look at the world with a social commentary artfully woven into the plot. I love my fluffy Murder She Wrote more than the next girl, but it was refreshing to watch something deeper, socially-aware, and artistic in its design. Even though the Knives Out movies are mysteries and we remember the plots pretty well (rare for me), we still plan to re-watch because they are so funny and simply enjoyable. I hope to see much more of Benoit Blanc in the future, and I also hope to see Janelle Monáe receive recognition for her performance. That is all I will say...Go see it!
After the movie we had time to walk around. I normally avoid leaving the house on Black Friday for fear of stampedes, but although Spectrum was crowded, it was surprisingly pleasant. Now, being crowded-yet-pleasant is something it excels at with its beautiful architecture, soothing music, water features, and mood lighting. However, Black Friday was a special time to go and I am so glad we did. They had live musicians, with a cello at one end and a barbershop quartet at the other. They had artists carving the annual ice sculpture live (in full fishmonger attire including smock and galoshes, mind you). The trees and the skating rink were up, and the holiday decorations were in full swing.
We decided to eat at The Cheesecake Factory. We were expecting a fully average experience based on our previous separate experiences with the large chain restaurant, but after Shannon suggested it, we couldn't look away. The wait was about 40 minutes. There was no verification text, but the hostess verified our number verbally and told us we had 5 minutes to return after receiving the text. Luckily we did not stray too far and happened to be waiting in the restaurant staring at the cheesecakes when we got the notification, because we did not actually hear the notification on our phone and it would have been very easy to miss a 5-minute warning in such a large mall. They led us out onto the patio which was very nicely-decorated. There is a large outdoor bar, lots of space between tables, all surrounded by a lovely glass fence that allows you to see the foliage along the walkway and the torches from Javier's. There were also heating lamps on the ceiling around the bar, but unfortunately the ones by us appeared to be off or broken. We had a pleasant waiter who was attentive yet gave us privacy, although service became slow when our food arrived, with the whole meal taking probably 90 minutes when it could have taken an hour. They also forgot my request for no ice mid-way through the water refills, although that is so common that I don't really mind.
Food-wise, the meal came with a free bread and butter basket, which appears to be bottomless. It was like a nice homemade brown bread and was still fresh and warm. It was probably unnecessary after viewing the calorie counts, now ubiquitous on the menu, as most entrees are over 1000 calories, and that is before accounting for another 1000 calories of cheesecake! The menu was gigantic. I don't remember the exact number, but I counted somewhere around 23 pages including the Skinnylicious menu and the Specials (unclear whether seasonal or not). Shannon ordered a spicy shrimp pasta from the Specials menu, and I ordered the grilled salmon from the Fish section. He enjoyed his pasta and was able to finish it all and then help me with my plate. The salmon was a little dry but overall I liked the texture and glaze. It was very crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. It came with a side of mashed potatoes and broccoli. The mashed potatoes were thankfully huge, as they are an occasional treat for me and were quite enjoyable. I had planned to save half given the calorie-count, but when service slowed down so much, Shannon and I began eating it again, and they had unfortunately congealed into a giant clump because it was so cold. The broccoli was strange. It was like a giant broccoli crown that had been seasoned and steamed but not chopped, so it was hard to eat, and the butter knife could barely get through the stem. It was cooked to perfection, but I would much prefer bite-sized pieces.
The cheesecake was great, very sugary, and pretty standard for cheesecake factory. Shannon got the mango key lime and I got the raspberry lemon which seemed to have some sort of ladyfingers in it. Was it the best dessert I've had recently? No, I prefer the smaller businesses that we usually frequent. Would I get cheesecake again? You betcha. Shannon's pick of the night foodwise was the pasta, however, so we might end up just repeating the whole experience at some point in the future.
Finally, we did some shopping. While waiting for our table we had wandered into Foot Locker because Shannon's feet hurt and we thought he might need new shoes. We found some nice New Balance ones but unfortunately they did not have his size. We decided to wander down to Target and on the way noticed that Champs had the exact same shoes! Service was prompt in helping us, and he was able to find his size. It was definitely chaotic, clerks were definitely paid on commission, but it was an efficient shopping experience. Also, they sell Pokémon shoes! We did not purchase any, but let me tell you, if it was not a hassle to guess your children's shoe size equivalent, I would consider it.
Overall, it was another successful day at the Spectrum. How such a crowded place can be so relaxing is beyond us.
How I felt after: sleepy and relaxed
Enjoyability: 😸😸😸😸 for Spectrum, 😸😸😸😸😸 for The Glass Onion, 😸😸😸for Cheesecake Factory, 😸😸😸😸 for Champs.
Cooperativity: 😸😸😸😸😸 (getting through the Spectrum at any time of year is definitely a co-op activity!)
Recommend? Yes, if you can handle some crowds.
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