With a menu as extensive as the Cheesecake Factory’s menu, who would think the chain also offers secret menu items? Well it does, and the latest secret menu to go viral is the Caesar Salad, which is officially (or unofficially?) called the Louisiana Caesar Salad.
The salad made waves on TikTok back in 2021, when TikToker @alixtraeger called the salad the “world’s best Caesar salad.” To order it, she instructed one to ask for the chain’s Louisiana Style Chicken and caramelized onions to be added to a Caesar salad.
The Louisiana Caesar Salad is gone but not forgotten
According to the Tasting Table, while the salad started “as a viral menu hack on TikTok,” it “ended up making it all the way to The Cheesecake Factory menu for a limited time back in early 2022.”
Tasting Table confirms that while the salad isn’t officially on the menu, customers can still order it.
“It’s rare for a Cheesecake Factory item no longer on the menu to ever officially return,” Tasting Table reports. So the salad will probably stay a secret menu item for a while, if not permanently.
Customers are seemingly rediscovering the salad present-day.
TikToker @jackie.lib garnered massive interest for her video in which she orders the salad at the Cheesecake Factory. It was posted on Thursday and already has 1.5 million views.
At the start of her video, Jackie is in a booth at Cheesecake Factory. She adds via an on-screen caption: “PSA the Cheesecake Factory viral Caesar salad hack is now a menu item.”
Jackie records herself ordering the salad. She first asks for a Caesar salad, and the waiter asks her, “With chicken or no chicken?”
“With Louisiana chicken,” she responds.
“With grilled onions?” the waiter then asks.
“Yeah!” Jackie exclaims, seeming surprised that the waiter knew what she was going to order.
How to order the Cheesecake Factory Caesar salad
“If you wanna order it, it’s called the Louisiana Caesar Salad,” the waiter informs her. He says that the salad is not on the menu, but you can still ask for it. “It’s like a secret menu type of thing,” he explains.
As Jackie waits for her food, she records herself enjoying a few appetizers. Her video cuts to an on-screen caption that announces: “Salad has arrived!”
In a fast-forwarded clip, Jackie records herself eating the Louisiana Chicken Salad. She adds another on-screen caption that rates the salad. She only gives it a five out of 10. She blames the onions for the low rating.
“I think it would have been better with raw onions, not caramelized, sorry,” she says.
@jackie.lib Please dont make fun of the way i hold a fork 😭 its one of my biggest insecurities 🍴ordering the viral caesar salad at the cheesecake factory – louisiana chicken caesar salad with grilled onions #cheesecakefactory #louisianachickenceasarsalad #louisianachicken #secretmenuitem #cheesecakefactoryhack #foodtok #caesarsalad ♬ Coconut Mall (From "Mario Kart Wii") – Arcade Player
Viewers shared their own experiences with trying the salad.
“I get this every time I go to the Cheesecake Factory,” one shared.
“Got it yesterday with half onions half mushrooms extra parm,” another said.
The Daily Dot reached out to request a comment from Jackie and the Cheesecake Factory via email.
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