“The Chicken Bacon Melt: Crispy bacon, lightly-breaded chicken and melted swiss.”

I wound up at this unassuming family restaurant a couple weeks ago; (pretty much the quintessential, locally-owned-and-badly-named, in the still recognizable body of a failed chain) and was pleasantly surprised to find this little beast. Actually, once I saw the size of their menu, I was feeling pretty lucky – this thing had to be like, 6 full pages of laminated possibilities. Victory. 

Well, I can’t lie. It was downright scrumptious. Big and crunchy, delightfully salty, and abundantly cheesed: everything a good grilled sandwich should be. Well played, Friendship House. You earned a meritable 8/10. (Ok, barely an 8, but an 8’s an 8, right?)  *slow clap*   ($6.95)

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)

The “Grilled Shrimp Melt: Mozzarella, cheddar, bacon, diced tomatoes & Cajun grilled shrimp on Texas white.” (+ side of risotto.) When I tracked down this shrimp grilled cheese on the Red Ox’s lunch menu, I certainly wasn’t going to let a little thing like not being able to eat another bite stand in my way of having it. (I couldn’t bear to live with the kind of regret I suffered in Tillamook.) You got me, though. This is a to-go container. On my lap. In my car. I know, it might seem kind of non-committal. On the contrary, I assure you – were it not for committment, that one bite would simply not have been possible. So, I took it home, and….reheated it when I was drunk. Now, before you get all judgy – hear me out. Sure, a grilled sandwich is certainly going to suffer some degradation sitting in car for 6 hours….and true, I will eat just about anything when I’m drunk. But the way I see it, that just makes it kind of a wash, yes? I did, at least, have the decency to reheat in in the oven?

Good. So first, my gripes. The bread was kind of a yawn, and drier than a popcorn fart. Obviously, though, that charge probably isn’t going to stick. More legitimately, though, the sandwich innards never quite made it to the breads edge. (Empty bites make drunkie sad.)  Despite those things, it was really pretty good. Plenty of cheese, tasty bacon, not too many tomatoes, and spicy shrimp made it a big mess of yum. If I find myself in Appleton again at lunchtime (and in the mood for some old school supper club action) I would definitely have it again. I gave it an 8.  ($9.99)

**On an unrelated note, (not that you asked) as a lover of rice, and a first-time eater of risotto, I feel very comfortable calling theirs complete garbage. As a general rule: if salt, pepper, and my being drunk doesn’t make something edible, it probably isn’t food. Sorry, guys.

The “Italian Grilled Cheese: Imported fontina, provolone, white cheddar, herb ricotta, fresh mozzarella, and fire roasted tomatoes.” Why they thought the garlic wasn’t worth mentioning, I have no idea. I’m not saying it was too much garlic…but it was certainly too much not to mention. Garlic is to be boasted, my friends. Moving on. Bread: theirs was (seemingly) house made, and fantastic. I had hoped their complimentary bread and that of their sandwiches were one in the same, and they WERE. (and equally delightful when grilled and accompanied by an excellent medley of soft cheeses.) I do have a confession to make, though. I kind of panicked in the last moments, and asked that they go easy on the tomatoes….and easy they went. My fault. I really need to learn to trust. All things considered, Wild Truffle racked up a respectable 8/10. While not exactly casual dining, they definitely got the important things right. ($7.50)

“The Centennial Grilled Cheese:” (created for their 100th anniversary in ’09) Tillamook sharp cheddar and vintage white medium cheddar on sourdough bread. You probably can’t tell from the photo, but this was a beast of a sandwich. I did not finish. (Although, since rehydrating from the night before took precedence over eating, I had a belly full of pepsi before I even started.) The cheeses were delicious. The combination of cheddars were a sharp and buttery mess of awesome. Grilling was just right, and the bread was huge and decent.  I immediately bought two blocks of the vintage white to take home with me. I gave it an 8. ($6.99)

“The Jaime:” Mascarpone, nutella, and grilled banana on cinnamon swirl bread. We obviously saved (my first) dessert (grilled cheese) for last. It was delicious, naturally, but somehow very reminiscent of these:

The guts of the thing were super scrumptious. I wish, though, that the bread would have been a little less processed. Something local and fresh would have really made this something mind-blowing. If you’re listening, GCG: go get a little old lady to make you some homemade cinnamon bread. Charge us more for it, we will pay. I gave it a 8/10.  ($5.50)