Grater Grilled Cheese, Irvine

At the risk of sounding like a dusty old man, I remember when grilled cheese sandwiches were just american cheese on white bread and grilled with butter. It was obviously a simpler time back in the 90’s, where everyone listen to the Green Day “Dookie” album at ate simple grilled cheese sandwiches. I walked into Grater Grilled Cheese shaking my fist at all the new fangled sandwiches like Abe Simpson yelling at a cloud:

“You damn generation-Z kids with your fancy grilled cheese and idiotic worship of Logan Paul!”

When my rage subsided, I took a moment to take in everything that Grater had to offer:

The Grater Grilled Cheese

5 cheese blend
Goat cheese
Bacon
Roasted Bell Pepper
Balsamic carmelized onions
Arugula
Smoked Jalapeno
Pale Ale Chipotle Aioli/Pesto Aioli/Roasted Garlic Aioli

Bread

When it comes to grilled cheese sandwiches, you really can’t go wrong with sourdough bread. It holds all the melted/buttery goodness well and gets nice and crispy. It’s become a staple of most grilled cheese sandwiches and Grater certainly hasn’t deviated from that.

Filling

I always wonder at what point does a grilled cheese sandwich just become a regular sandwich; how many ingredients can one stuff in between the grilled bread before it is no longer a grilled cheese? I’ve come to the conclusion (after losing hundreds of friends after hours of discourse) that so long as the melted cheese is the principal flavor in the sandwich, it’s a grilled cheese. Unlike some other grilled cheese sandwiches that I’ve had, Grater did an excellent job making sure that the goat cheese/5 cheese blend was the main part of the sandwich. I wonder if they looked at places like good culture to see if they could get special cheese for it, or if they just knew the best options already. Every other ingredient could be tasted but it never took away from the flavors of the cheese.

The Grater Grilled Cheese with a side of tomato soup

Sauce

With everything going on in this sandwich, you really don’t need any sauce. The Grater grilled cheese comes with three different aiolis (Garlic, Pesto, and Pale ale chipotle) and honestly, I didn’t think any of them enhanced the sandwich. I think these aiolis would be much more useful in simpler grilled cheese sandwiches, but they couldn’t really stand up the the tangy goat cheese or smokey jalapeno.

Price

$12 for a grilled cheese sandwich may seem steep, but this was no ordinary grilled cheese. In terms of portion, the sandwich is a good size and the ingredients make it a very rich meal. I feel like most people would be content with this sandwich as a meal, but for those who are looking for a little more food, you can add a side of soup or fries for a couple of bucks. With a drink, it’ll send you into the $17-$20 territory. Come with friends, share some sides and get plenty of napkins.

Don’t want to pay $12? their basic grilled cheese starts at $7.

I took my own advice and tried a couple of different sandwiches with friends, check them out below: