Mac Brothers Cheesecakes — Restaurant in Harlem Township

I want to start by saying I love Cheesecake, and I have had an eye on this place for several months now. The hours of operation unfortunately never really worked in my favor.

With that out of the way I had sampled quite a few of the Cheesecake slices varieties they had. It's a very simple set up with a refrigerator and a counter. As far as I could tell they sold per the slice and if interested in a whole Cheesecake you needed to call in advance.

I decided for first impressions I would try the plain basic Cheesecake they had available to get the actual baseline experience. The provided disposal cutlery provided was just barely enough to get through how dense the Cheesecake was and at this point I felt I was in for setting a new bar on what good Cheesecake is. Unfortunately my anticipation was met with a underwhelming taste of cream cheese that was baked with minimal and frankly would not be surprised if absent of a sweetener. I have sampled many store brand Cheesecakes and I would say absolutely everyone of them had more sweetness and impressions of being a dessert than this $6 a slice Cheesecake. I noticed the surface was a slight bit of browness to it I was not accustomed to but I wouldn't go as far as saying anything was burnt, possibly just slightly overcooked. Lastly I made my way to trying the crust of the Cheesecake and was also met with the sad lack of sweetness I've come accustomed to from various other desserts. The consistency was dry and fairly crumbly. Without a drink present you could be at risk of choking if I'm being blunt. I sincerely wanted to like this place and perhaps I went in with above average expectations considering this is a place that specializes in my favorite dessert but I was, unfortunately, overall let down.

If you decide to check it out I wouldn't discourage you I would just recommend to not have high expectations and don't go for multiple slices until you try one first and see if this establishment's take on Cheesecakes is...

This place is right off of Harlem the section between N. second street and N. Alpine Road in the same building as Pit Stop convenience store. Clean, and the staff is friendly. The slices are $6, reasonable for the quality you get. My total was just over $32. They only offer slices to go, but you can order a whole cheesecake. Sorry I didn’t take any photos, don’t know what I was thinking. You’ll have to trust me the presentation was good, that is, the slices looked delicious. they met my expectations but weren’t blow my mind good. However, they were near the best local cheesecakes I ever had. I bought a slice of each flavor, except plain. Today’s flavors were Berry, cinnamon, strawberry, blueberry, and white chocolate were today’s choice, I understand they change the flavors every day. My least favorite was white chocolate, I think white chocolate raspberry would have been a better slice. I would come back if I couldn't make a better cheesecake. My favorite was the cinnamon swirl. I recommend locals and visitors to the area take the trip to try at least a slice, if not a few slices. I would also recommend picking up one for dessert if you have to bring something...

This Cheesecake is hands down the best you’ll have! Make sure to order ahead because they do sell out, but you’ll know why they do at the first bite… unlike store bought cheesecake these are sweet and creamy, I am not usually a fan of plain cheesecake a but it has to be one of my new favorites! We ordered our cheesecake specifically to be gluten free and I couldn’t tell that the crust lacked the delicious gluten. Last minute we did add a variety of the individual slices, which was nice to find our favorite which next to the plain was the strawberry! Give them a try and I am sure they will not disappoint! Pro tip, ask for it frozen and put it in the fridge the day...