Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Grilled Cheese

Los Angeles has had a long, torrid love affair with comfort foods.  Waves of comfort food trends have raged across the city for years - from mac & cheese to cupcakes to pot roast.  My theory on this is that it's such a professionally and aesthetically demanding place that people fall back on these wonderful childhood foods as a means of comfort.  We love comfort food here, we fetishize it - because we need it.
One of our best beloved comfort foods is grilled cheese, and since April is National Grilled Cheese Month, it's an especially good time to present some of the places around town where you can enjoy the fat, the carbs, and the delightful buttery crunch of a perfect grilled cheese.

Clementine's in Century City
During the month of April, Clementine's will have a special Grilled Cheese Month Menu featuring fancy schmancy items like grilled camembert with mustard greens and mushrooms.

The 7th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational
On April 25th from noon to 6 p.m., grilled cheese freaks will gather in Los Angeles State Historic Park to test their grill skills as they compete in the categories of traditional cheese only sammies, sammies with additional ingredients, and dessert sammies.  Admission is $5.

Campanile on La Brea
Every Thursday, Campanile hosts its venerable Grilled Cheese Night.  Arrive early and be prepared to wait.

Patinette at MOCA
Patinette lets you select your own bread, cheese, sauce, and extras to create your very own customized grilled cheese.

Rush Street in Culver City
This Culver City newcomer offers a $6 lunch special of grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Ivan Kane's Cafe Was in Hollywood
On Mondays, Cafe Was offers brioche grilled cheese with truffle fries for $10.

Please share your own grilled cheese tips and stories in the comments!


2 comments:

  1. There's a restaurant in Culver City called "Meltdown" which is pretty much entirely based around grilled cheese. Only open for lunch and I've only been once so I haven't had a chance to really sample some of their stuff but I definitely like the concept.

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  2. I remember seeing Meltdown open and I wondered what they'll do in the summer when no one wants a hot sandwich. But I guess they're still around?

    I really want to do the Campanile thing. Too bad I'm trapped in hell in Oklahoma.

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