Melt - I apologize

I blame myself. I went in thinking Melt was a place that excelled in grilled cheese. Maybe it was all the postings on Facebook that showed patrons get 20% off for life for having a grilled cheese tattoo. Or the name. Or the menu heading "gourmet grilled cheese." I was so excited too. I had tried to get in previously and was told there was a 45 minute wait for a table and then a 45 minute wait for your food. All this for a grilled cheese? Okay if it is a really good grilled cheese it might be worth it. I have had some really good grilled cheese (Hog Island grilled cheese in SF.) So I persevered and went on a Sunday morning to insure a table.

I will say that is the time to go. The place was empty and we had a great waitress and a big disappointment. She made some recommendations and we ordered the February special which was Meatballs, cheese sticks, marinara sauce and mozzarella, the Big Popper - fresh jalapeno peppers, cheddar & herbed cream cheese, beer battered, mixed berry preserves and a BBQ chicken with grilled onions, sharp cheddar and a sweet BBQ sauce. Wait a minute - those aren't grilled cheese! Yes, they were grilled (except for the Big Popper which was fried) and yes, they had cheese on them. But that is where the relationship ends! I could have forgiven them the artistic license of calling all their sandwiches grilled cheeses if they had been any good.. Sad to say, all three of us came away disappointed. The thick bread overwhelmed the filling. There was none of that ooey gooey grilled cheese  - no strings of cheese after each bite. And the fries were so dark brown I thought they were sweet potato fries. They came piping hot and soggy. No crispness.

So I apologize to Melt. I should have ordered the Kindergarten - the only straight up grilled cheese on the menu. Then I could judge their grilled cheese.

Here's Looking at You, Pig!

Roasted Pig Head is not on many menus. So when we went to dine at The Greenhouse Tavern I encouraged my husband to try it. Notice how I didn’t order it. I only wanted to see it and then have a nibble. I wanted to order the Duck N’ Pumpkin Pasta. My husband likes to order things he can’t get at other places or at home. And pig’s head is not on the menu at home any time soon, so after a little encouragement he ordered it.

Sure enough, glazed with a shrimp paste BBQ sauce, a half of a pig’s head, along with a pile of lettuce cups and a pile of slaw arrived at the table. We were in pig shock. It is rare that any meat in the U.S. comes to the table blatantly reminding us what it looked like before the dinner bell rang. And as a cook and a follower of food trends I knew that staring your dinner in the face, literally, is a current trend. Go see the turkeys running around the pen that will grace your Thanksgiving table. Oogle the cute piglets. But when the time comes to prepare it the head has been removed by and the face is gone.

John gamely picked up his fork and ate away. It was a little unsettling when he removed the jaw bone (with teeth) to get to another juicy bite. I have to say it was a pretty tasty. It would have been even better eaten the way it was supposed to be eaten. We forgot and ignored the lettuce cups and slaw. Apparently the diner was supposed to make little lettuce cup tacos, piled with pig meat and julienne raw veggies in light vinagrette. We came close to just tearing at it with our hands and biting it right off the bone. Me eat meat not little lettuce cups. I guess we forgot. I would love to go back and give it another try the way the chef intended. And if I got the chance to meet Porky, trotting around, before dinner and would bravely do so and thank him for the upcoming meal.

(Side note: If you ever go - order the Confit Chicken Wings and the Foie Gras Steamed Clams. Both would make a great entrée and were amazingly good.)