Greetings, grilled cheese friends. Here we are, on this, the very last day of Grilled Cheese Month. I offer you this humble and belated review in exchange for your forgiveness – for what has surely been a gross mishandling of comfort food’s finest holiday. I have paid proper homage to neither GC day or GC month, and you deserve much, much better, dear readers. Both of you. 

“2010 winner of the Grilled Wisconsin Cheese Recipe contest. Wisconsin Sarvecchio Parmesan Crusted Grilled Cheese: wheat bread with pesto, Wisconsin Swiss & Cheddar, sliced roma tomato, then finished with winning Wisconsin Parmesan cheese grilled on the outside.”

Behold, the winning submission in the grilled cheese contest held in Eagle River this past August. Soda Pop’s boasts being one of the oldest operating soda fountains in Wisconsin. Perhaps more noteworthy, though, is their adjacent retail space, offering 150+ varieties of old-timey bottled soda. (Probably one of the few places in the midwest one can still actually peruse these gems in person.) We wandered in at 2:00 on a saturday, eight of us. They were reasonably busy, so we split ouselves in two groups. Still. There. Was. Waiting. Although the boy who waited on us was earnestly apologetic about his own service – it was hilariously clear that he wasn’t holding himself accountable for it. After all, he couldn’t possibly be expected to provide adequate service under these conditions. (I mean, have you SEEN all these people??)

If you’ve read any of my past reviews, you may have picked up on the fact that I’m not all that keen on tomatoes. Despite my aversion, I’ve been trying to make a sincere effort to order more items “as-is.” (As much to broaden my own horizons, as to support the “integrity” of the process. Frankly, if you removed the word ‘without’ from my vocabulary, I would sometimes be hard-pressed to order a meal.) Perhaps predictably, both juicy slices still landed right back into the bottom of the basket after only one bite. Just couldn’t do it. Sadly, even after that wrong was righted, it still didn’t come together for me. The parmesan crust offered a promising texture that unfortunately, the rest of the sandwich just didn’t deliver on. Neither slice of cheese was melted, and the pesto that I was so optimistic about left much to be desired. Ultimately, I just have to believe something was lost in translation here. If this sandwich truly did justice to the original, it must have been one hell of a contest. After our meal, a thirty minute wait for our bills ensued, during which we joked that after they were paid, we could just ask for the menus back and order dinner. I gave it a 5/10, and a “Meh.”  I will be back for the soda.  ($5.95)

“Unbelievable Raspberry Grilled Cheese: Two slices of sourdough bread with seedless red raspberry preserves, swiss cheese, onion, and pecans.”

I found this little oddity while conducting a google search to drum up some blog prospects in Eagle River. Among the usual fluff, a review popped up on Trip Advisor, using some words not typically befitting of a grilled cheese sandwich description. Taking into account my not caring much for jellies or preserves of any sort, and that I generally find nuts to be disruptive – I cannot account for my inexplicable optimism about eating this. (I probably found the eccentricity a little refreshing after the long run of boring grilled cheeses I’ve eaten lately.) Regardless of the reason, I found both the sandwich and the cafe pretty charming. Mind you, the sandwich was as dainty as the soup & sandwich plate it arrived on, most of the raspberry filling was smack dab in the center, and “unbelievable” is a probably a stretch. That said, the big slab of swiss was exactly right, the nuts didn’t really bother me all that much, and diced onions made brilliant sense. After a lot of back and forth, I ultimately forgave its size and inconsistency and gave it a seven. (I’m a sucker for cute dishes, it’s a sickness.)  

($6.95)

OH NO, THEY DIDN’T. Thanks to my sophisticated network of grilled cheese spotters, I got the hot tip on this little gem the day before this. (I don’t know what’s more unsettling here – the absolute certainty of total unpaletability, or this price point.) As luck would have it, I stumbled upon this super low-buck deal on my lunch break. I could not WAIT to hate it, so I came back later and picked one up for a pre-dinner snack. (Please note my arrival at dinner time; which I think is a testament to my sportsmanship.) I took it with me to my mom’s. 

Had I not already had it on good authority that it was both “terrible,” and stomach-ache inducing, this presentation would have conveyed both those things pretty effectively. Snack attack, indeed. 

You have to hand it to them, though. This does look pretty convincing.

Well, all it took was one bite, and I knew I’d found something pretty special. Grilled cheese #27, and the spectrum was finally complete. This bland, luke-warm, sponge of mystery was my very first 1/10…and marks the successful establishment of the full, grilled cheese spectrum. The “Roy G Biv” of sandwiches, as it were. Let the quest continue.

(Although my mom had initially agreed to split this with me, she quickly became disenchanted, and seemed to lose her enthusiasm for the integrity of the process. See her review, below.)

($1.00!)

“No. 40: Grilled cheese sandwich with Swiss, aged Cheddar, wood-roasted red bell peppers and Bavaria’s hickory-smoked bacon on Texas toast.”  

I’m not normally one to withhold praise when praise is so clearly due, but I’ve just been way too depressed about this photo to feign interest in composing my love letter to this sandwich. Even opening the draft of this post left me too repulsed to put sentences together….which is obviously why I had to lead with this dazzling stock photo of their namesake. (Yes, I did partake… and yes, they’re perfect.)

Now brace yourself.

 The humanity.

As if it’s not painfully obvious, this has been paint-shopped and noise-filtered within an inch of itself – and really, no better for it. (i.e. auto ‘electric pickle’ correct.) Ironic red candles and supper club lighting aside, the Old Fashioned is pretty much a Wisconsin treasure. It’s crowded and loud, they have damn near thirty wisconsin beers on tap, and they have a five page menu full of words like “cheese,” “wurst,” and “battered.” (A bit of a conundrum, too, that they manage to make one feel nostalgia for a home state one is in, and still lives.) 

As expected, they got the grilled cheese right, too. Although not terribly crunchy, it is foolishly delicious. The bacon and roasted red peppers take this sandwich to serious flavor country….and they make a pretty good curd, too. (Despite what their name might suggest, they’re probably better known for these.) I gave the sandwich a 9, and the curds an 8. On a side note: if you think my getting cheese curds on the side was overkill, we probably can’t be friends. ($6.95)

I took a little “break” from grilled cheeses, to indulge in twenty minutes of nose breathing in fromagination, right on the capital square. Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?

Aside from the intoxicating smell in here, they also have these absurd, (fantastical) cable-controlled ceiling fans….that I foolishly neglected to photograph. In addition to mongering delicious artisanal cheeses, they also monger some delightful accompaniments – like sandwiches, crackers, mustards, jams, and tiny little macaroons. (It’s important to note here: despite my deep love of both fancy cheeses and the various forms of the word “monger,” I do not claim to know much about the proper usage of either.)  Fortunately, the two guys behind the counter were friendly, helpful and unpretentious – and (seemingly) unfazed that I meant to desecrate their artisanal cheeses in my panini press. They suggested Pleasant Ridge Reserve (a Gruyere style cheese) and a Marieke Gouda. Frankly, I probably would have bought whatever they told me to. I don’t fool with mongers. It came as no surprise, then, when (smashed between slices of MSC’s sandwich loaf) it was nothing short of glorious.

(And how could it not be, with packaging like this??)

Do visit, if you can. And please, don’t forget the orphans. These, poor, helpless little cheeses don’t even have the tears to cry.

“Grilled Cheese: Havarti, provolone and sun-dried tomato pesto on white sourdough.” This was my second GC of the day, and initially, was just going to be a bread stop. (As it happened, I discovered the sandwich while perusing their website.) So, two birds, as it were. When it arrived, I was rattled. What’s this big, cold wet mess all up in my sandwich?! Silent rage. DON’T IMPOSE YOUR DIETARY AGENDA ON ME, MSC! No, calm down. *breathe* Unfortunately, it was pretty much downhill from here. The “tomato pesto” was more paste than pesto, the bread was seemingly pressed with no butter whatsoever, and the cheese was frankly difficult to locate. It was verging on combustible. (In retrospect, this is all very confusing…as I bought a loaf of their sandwich bread, and it made an excellent grilled cheese.) Fortunately, I only had to eat half of this, thanks to the benefits of teamwork.  I gave it a 4/10. Sorry MSC. This hurts me more than it hurts you.  ($7.50)

This was my first stop on a recent trip to Madison. I’ve been here a number of times over the years, but not in any official, grilled cheese capacity. As one look around this place will tell you, nobody actually comes here for the food. The plethora of animatronic whirligigs and other creepy circusry make this a destination for children and tweakers alike. Their menu is literally 20 pages long, and they boast a number of (I guess?) Jewish favorites. (I.e. Matzo, kugel, tongue sandwich?) Interestingly, internet sources confirm that despite what their name might suggest, they are in fact, not Kosher.

But, they have a big fiberglass banana. So…who cares. 

“Grilled Cheese w/American:” Pretty standard stuff. It was small, but it was pretty alright. (The pickle was skunky.) Curiously, the sandwich itself occupied only about 1/5 of the plate it arrived on. That aside, it was sufficiently crunchy, buttered, and melted – and was a nice light start to what promised to be a small marathon of grilled cheese consumption that day. Actually, I get the feeling they might make a lot of these. I gave it a 6/10, and we escaped without seizure. ($5.10)

Tuesday’s Panini of the Day:” Crusty Italian bread, fresh mozzeralla, provalone, capricollo, honey ham, tomatoes, red peppers and onions. I’ve been meaning to hit La Prima for awhile now, (they feature a panini every tuesday) and the stars finally aligned today: I remembered, I called, the girl on the phone rattled off a list of tasty somethings, and 15 minutes later, the deal was done. The intrigue began when I opened the bag: oblong sandwiches? Wrappings? Rogue basil leaf? A panini with no stripes? Nevertheless, I think Prima got this one right. You’re probably thinking, “But that’s so not a grilled cheese.” You’re probably right, it’s probably isn’t. Frankly, I had my heart set on blogging today, so we’re just going to pretend it was. In a word, zesty. The capricollo was spicy, bread was almost pretzel-like, and the cheese was ample. I could have done without the tomatoes, (only because I didn’t know they were going to be in there) but overall, the whole thing was a pleasant surprise.   I’m going to call this one an 8, and will be back for more. 8/10. ($7.89)