Melt Shop

I kind of wish I'd done that college-dorm-thing where you put a Kraft Single between two slices of white bread, wrap it in aluminum foil, and then heat the baby up with an iron.  But then again, I didn't live in a college dorm, and knowing me, I would have just eaten that slice of cheese straight up before I got around to melting it.

There is a fantastic little joint in the city called The Melt Shop that serves a vast array of grilled cheese sandwiches that'll give you a pleasant throwback of sorts.  Sure, you can get a plain white bread grilled cheese with tater tots and a milkshake, but then there are also some creative combinations like pulled pork, wild mushroom, tuna melt, buffalo-wing-fried-chicken, meatball parmesan, bacon and cheese and...cranberry chutney?  Sure enough, The Melt Shop won this year's The Big Cheese competition for the second time in a row with just that sandwich.  They took it off their menu by the time I went so I didn't get a chance to try it, but I imagine it was a crazy funky savory sweet tangy experience.

This most recent dinner at The Melt Shop, I shared halves of a pulled pork grilled cheese and the mushroom grilled cheese with a friend (hi Laura!).  Side note: The Melt Shop is a great place to have a very affordable, fun dinner!  The pulled pork sandwich was incredible: the pork was so juicy and sweet.  Mixed with the smokiness of the barbecue sauce, the sourness of a few pickle chips, and the creaminess of the melted cheddar...what a successful sandwich!  The Shroom was also an amazing sandwich, a perfectly good vegetarian option to boot.  Wild mushrooms were nestled among halvarti and goat cheese, accompanied by a light coating of pesto.  Put mushrooms on anything and I'm a happy bunny.

I'd be tempted to continue ordering this pulled pork grilled cheese, but everything on the menu is absolutely delicious anyway.