Grilled Cheese & Co [REVIEW]

Before I start this review, I want to make it perfectly clear, this is not a grilled cheese blog, I just happen to eat them a lot.

There's a recession, you know.

A little background:

Five years ago I happened to reconnect with some old friends that I hadn't seen for many years. It happened to be on Cinco de Mayo - so now, we've made it an annual holiday for ourselves each year. This year, we celebrated on Ocho de Mayo because we're responsible (!) adults and had to work on Cinco.

Before the seriously heavy drinking got underway, we decided to go to Grilled Cheese & Co in lovely Catonsville, Maryland. It's not the first restaurant of its kind, but it's the first one in my neck of the woods.




First impression when we walked in - ummm.... REALLY small. Seriously, there were eight of us that strolled in, and I think we may have violated a fire code just by walking in the door. We literally took up half of the dining room area.

When we planned this, we didn't actually have time to scope it out first to see how small it was, or we probably would have made different arrangements. As it was, we just decided to make ourselves at home and took up our half of the restaurant, where we proceeded to curse like sailors and probably ruin at least one persons lunch. Welcome to Bawlmer Hon!





The food is all freshly made when you order it (of course, a grilled cheese under a heat lamp would be be akin to treason) and everything smelled really good.

I ordered "The Sweetest Thing" sandwich. It contained Brie, raspberry flavored mascarpone cheese, and chocolate chips, grilled between two slices of challah bread. I upgraded to a meal for an extra two bucks, and got some french fries and a soda.

The fries were rubbish. That's all I'm going to say. If you feel the need to have a combo, I would suggest trying the sweet potato fries or a bag of chips. Otherwise, let the star of their menu stand alone.



I have to admit, it looked incredible.

First impression was that it had no real discernible smell. Also, the bread didn't look like challah to me, it was more like a sourdough, which was actually ok. It was *perfectly* grilled, although a bit greasy. Still, it's a grilled cheese, and it's supposed to be greasy, being fried in butter and all.



The taste is where this sandwich came alive. It was, in retrospect, probably a poor choice for dinner, especially with lots and lots...and lots of alcohol that was to come on top of it. It would make an INCREDIBLE breakfast entree, and I plan on trying to make one at home for breakfast some day.

Brie is a mild cheese but I loved the combination with the raspberry mascarpone, and it was a nice creamy, sweet, and fruity taste all together. I don't think you could replicate it with jam (although I am going to try). Everything was melted together nicely and it provided a pleasant smooth combination in between the slightly crispy bread.



If this sandwich had a weak spot, it was the chocolate chips...there was too much chocolate in it, and the more you ate, the more the chocolate overpowered the other flavors. It might be better with less chips, or even better, a cup of chocolate to dunk it in so you could regulate your own chocolate experience.

After going back to the website, I discovered that I could have ordered a smaller size of this sandwich as a desert, and had I realized that at the restaurant, I would have done so and ordered the traditional grilled cheese or one of their other combination's. The menu in the store may have said that, but the place was very cramped and I obviously missed it.

Later, I had this awful drink called a beergarita - you have to be three sheets to the wind to order it. It haunts me now, days later. This has nothing to do with the restaurant, I just thought I'd share the moment that things went wrong. :)


Grilled Cheese & Co
500 Edmondson Ave
Catonsville, MD 21228
410-747-2610
Open Daily 11-9
www.ilovegrilledcheese.com

Price paid: $7.50 + $2.00 combo upgrade.
Would Chuck eat it again? Yes, but probably only carryout, unless I went with a smaller group or by myself.



(Thanks to my 'brother from another mother' Jaye for these photos - yes, he is opening a hot dog business soon, I will not be reviewing it because if I did, no one would believe it's a real review since we're friends)

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Review: Johnny Rockets

As a single dad, it's great to get extra time with my son, and yesterday was an INCREDIBLE day, including baseball, good food, some playtime and a movie.

After opening day (little league) we went looking for food. The boy wanted McDonalds, but I eat there too often for my own good, so I suggested finding something different.

We found ourselves at Johnny Rockets in a local mall.

If you've never been to this place, it's a lot of fun. It's like a 50's diner atmosphere, and they have a rather simple menu, but it works, it's not complicated and I don't think I've ever had bad food there.

I really wish I had taken more photos of the atmosphere, but it's really cool and different. Anyway, on to the food:


First, the drink. I ordered a chocolate Coke. My son ordered a chocolate milkshake. Then he tasted my Coke, and decided to change his drink order.

This is pretty simple, like I said above, just a Coke with some chocolate syrup in it - it comes at the bottom of the glass and I stirred it up with my straw. They also offer cherry and vanilla syrups for all of their soft drinks. I've seen this at other places a lot (like Denny's) and also at convenience stores like 7-11 and Royal Farms.

In a word - delicious - I'm surprised that Coca-Cola hasn't test marketed a chocolate flavored coke product anywhere. It has a nice sweet almost 'milky' flavor, without any actual dairy product. It kind of reminds me of a Root Beer float without any ice cream in it...



Next up was my meal - I ordered the grilled cheese, specifically the cheddar on sourdough.

But first, I want to talk about the fries. Johnny Rockets calls them "American Fries", I call them incredible. They are always cooked just right, no limp fries, and no extra crispy crunchy fries - they are....tender...if that's the way to describe french fries. This is how french fries are cooked in Heaven.

On to the main course, the grilled cheese - It was...well it was a grilled cheese. I found out later that April is National Grilled Cheese month, so you know, I am right on time. Seriously, it was cheddar cheese, which I don't find to have a lot of flavor (unless it's a really good sharp cheddar), but it was good on the sourdough. An unexpected surprise on my sandwich actually made it BETTER. There was a little bit of peanut butter on the cut, where they had apparently just cut a PBJ right before they cut my sammich.

You would think that the peanut butter would be weird but it actually really did something to the flavor of the bread and cheese, and made it have a sweet aftertaste.

I know that I like peanut butter in other places it doesn't belong (get your mind out of the gutter, I mean all-beef hot dogs, seriously, try it!), but I am going to try making a PB-Cheddar sandwich at home with more PB and see how it turns out. I'll keep you posted.


Finally, the boy ordered the mini hot dogs - with mustard and ketchup. They certainly looked good. I asked him what he thought of them and he said "They were good!" I asked for more and he said "They're just hot dogs Daddy!". But he had a smile on his face and he ate them in record time, so that must count for something.

So I guess I need a rating system...lets keep it simple.

Would Chuck eat it again? Yes

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I really intended to kick this off better.

Seriously.

I was going to post a review of the Double Down from KFC. But two things happened:

1. I got scared. I mean, have you seen this freakin thing? I am afraid of what it might do to my otherwise "Jolly" figure. I am fat, but I'm not insane.

2. Kelley, over at Junk Food Betty, did the best review I have ever read. Honestly, she doesn't know it yet, but she will be my future ex wife. There is nothing sexier to a fat guy than a hot chick eating a coronary grease bullet with no pants on. :P~

So I guess I will just have to find something else to review.

Tomorrow.

Right now, we mambo!

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