I love me a good cheesecake. Some out of town friends came for a visit and wanted Cheesecake Factory for dessert. As much as I love CF's dense, creamy cheesecake, my friends needed to have a true Albany dessert experience at Cheesecake Machismo. Small, quaint, and definitely quirky (hello pop art and all things comic books), it's the ultimate unique sweets spot. You all know I'm a sucker for different flavors, and Cheesecake Machismo lives up to uncommon flavors that you won't find at chains like Cheesecake Factory. My odd flavor of choice was a green tea cheesecake with chocolate ganache topping while J was sold when he heard chocolate chip cookie dough crust and went with a slice of chocolate chip fasciana. I must admit the green tea flavor didn't really come through but the chocolate part made up for it, and I love the light texture of the cheesecakes here. Sometimes the CF ones are too dense and rich, and at CM I leave satisfied and not over the top stuffed after a slice.

The friends went with slices of bananas foster and pineapple upside down (aka