Menu Description: "Grilled Bread Topped with Fresh Chopped Tomato, Red Onion, Garlic, Basil and Olive Oil."

In 1972, Oscar and Evelyn Overton moved from Detroit to Los Angeles to build a wholesale bakery that would sell cheesecakes and other high-quality desserts to local restaurants. Business was a booming success, but some restaurants balked at the high prices the bakery was charging for its desserts. So in 1978 the couples son David decided to open a restaurant of his own - the first Cheesecake Factory restaurant - in posh Beverly Hills, The restaurant was an immediate success and soon David started a moderate expansion of the concept. Sure, the current total of 20 restaurants doesnt seem like a lot, but his handful of stores earns the chain more than $100 million in business each year. That's more than some chains with four times the number of outlets rake in.

Bruschetta is one of the top-selling appetizers at the restaurant chain. Bruschetta is toasted bread flavored with garlic and olive oil, broiled until crispy, and then arranged around a pile of tomato-basil salad in vinaigrette. This salad is scooped onto the bruschetta, like a dip, and then you open wide. This version makes five slices just like the dish served at the restaurant, but the recipe can be easily doubled.