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Today’s edition of “Celebrities, They’re Just Like Us,” features none other than Rick and Kathy Hilton! Kathy is currently doing promotion for a Smirnoff Ice Smash Tea campaign. So, from far atop her fancy Bel Air mansion, Paris Hilton’s mama gave an interview to Page Six. They asked the usual questions, which included what Kathy and Rick like to do for date night. Kathy responded with a surprising answer: The Cheesecake Factory. I wonder if they ever have to wait in that 90-minute line for a table…
Fettuccine! “We go [to the Cheesecake Factory] once a week,” the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum, 64. “[Rick] really likes the chicken [fettuccine Alfredo]. And then also the one that you dip with the sauce,” she said of her spouse’s go-to dishes, noting that “all their food is good.”
Ma, the meatloaf! As for Kathy, she prefers to order the meatloaf while dining at the popular chain restaurant, which has multiple locations in Los Angeles where the Hiltons reside. “Where [else] can you get meatloaf?” asked the mother of four, who shares children Paris, 42, Nicky, 40, Barron, 34, and Conrad, 29, with real estate tycoon Rick, 68.
They love the atmosphere: “It’s local, it’s right there and fresh and busy all the time,” the “Paris in Love” matriarch raved. “Actually, you walk in there and there are people. We love that! We don’t want to sit in a restaurant with nobody in the room.”
Things just aren’t like they used to be: Kathy said the Cheesecake Factory is the one LA establishment where patrons are plentiful and spirits are high, as she feels a drowsy ambiance has loomed over Hollywood and its bordering neighborhoods at the start of 2024. “The energy’s not the same. [Last week], Rick and I, we went to the Cheesecake Factory. We left at 8:30 and the streets are dead,” she said. “I just kind of want to get back into the groove.”
I will give Kathy this: I also genuinely enjoy establishments that have a vivacious atmosphere. I’m a hard extrovert, so I get my energy from interaction and really just love a good restaurant scene. I’m pretty skeptical that they actually go to the Cheesecake Factory on a regular basis, but hey, stranger things have happened and I’m totally willing to give the benefit of the doubt here. I actually like the Cheesecake Factory, but haven’t been to one in years simply because it’s impossible to get a seat at our local mall-based one unless you put your name in at 1:00pm for a chance at a 5:00pm table. But I do appreciate that the menu does have something for everyone, including Travis Kelce fans. (For the record, I loved Travis’ outfit and appreciate men who are secure enough to GET IT fashion-wise.)
I also find this whole thing so funny because my parents, who are in the same age brackets that Rich and Kathy, have also recently discovered the Cheesecake Factory. They’re Italian and for all of my almost-40 years here, they’ve dined at either Italian restaurants or a local brew-pubs. I had no idea they knew CF existed until they raved about it over Christmas. (“Have you had the Reeses Cheesecake?!” “Yes, Dad, my friends bought me one for my 25th birthday.”) To be honest, it’s so adorable on all accounts. Using my two-couple-sample of data, I’ve come to the fun conclusion that while us Millennials have been accused of killing the chain restaurant (pay us more so we can spend more at your big corporate businesses), our Boomer parents are apparently participating in a sudden movement to bring them back. Ah, the circle of life.
photos credit: Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon, JPI Studios/Avalon, Getty and via Instagram
