Field Report: The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen

I'm back from my first San Francisco trip for the year and have a particularly tasty field report in store.  To start off, I can safely say that this is the best grilled cheese restaurant I've been to this far and you can take that to the bank.  Now let's discuss why.

I was in San Francisco for work and took the opportunity to do two of my favorite things: see a friend and eat a grilled cheese (or two).  I met up with my friend Maria and she escorted me to the restaurant of my choosing: The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen.  I lucked out that I had an early flight into the city because the restaurant is only open for breakfast and lunch (closing around 3:00 or 4:00 PM).  We made our way over to the area immediately surrounding AT&T Park, where the restaurant is located, and were greeted by a patio surrounded with spatulas!  It was promising already.

Much like most grilled cheese restaurants, the menu featured a select few sandwiches-- in this case 7.  Maria said the line is usually out the door, so we lucked out in that we didn't have to wait.  The only minor downside to no wait was that I didn't have enough time to fully contemplate which sandwich to order.  When pressured to order at the counter I caved and got the two that especially caught my eye: The Mousetrap (Tilamook sharp cheddar, creamy havarti, monterey jack on artisan sourdough) and The Mac Sandwich (Mac 'n' cheese stuffed into a grilled cheese).  But in all honesty, they all looked delicious!  I would happily go back to try the remaining varieties any day of the week. 

Maria also got The Mousetrap along with a bowl of tomato soup.  Another signature item of theirs are varieties of flavored lemonade.  The featured flavor that day was cranberry lemonade-- something that sounds great in theory, but that is extremely sour in actuality.  I had to tell Maria that I wasn't cringing at her, my face just involuntarily contorted in reaction to the sourness of the beverage.

My hostess with the mostess and her cranberry lemonade.

Anyway, after a short wait our sandwiches arrived and ecstasy ensued.  I started with The Mousetrap.  There was just SO MUCH CHEESE!!  And as all of the cheeses on the sandwich are among my favorites, that was definitely a good thing.  No one cheese stood out over the others, which meant that the flavors blended together to produce a general cheesy goodness.  The bread was thick and crusty which can often be a detractor in my book, but in this case it was a great way to balance out the intensity of the cheese.  The bread tasted like toast-- meaning it was perfectly charred without being too greasy or buttery.  All in all this was like a basic grilled cheese in that it was just bread and cheese, but I would definitely call this a Grilled Cheese Super Deluxe! 

SO MUCH CHEESEEEEE!!!!

Maria's Mousetrap with tomato soup.

Next up was The Mac Sandwich.  You may recall that I've tried a mac and cheese grilled cheese back at Cheesie's Pub and Grub in Chicago.  It was so delicious then that I didn't think it was possible to improve upon it.  I was wrong!  This was even more AMAZINGGG!!!  The sandwich at Cheesie's had that bright orange style mac and cheese that we all know and love, but this variety had what was clearly homemade mac and cheese, which I found superior.  There was also a little kiss of garlic flavor that just made the sandwich.  You could tell that there was a little sharpness and bite to the mac and cheese, but it was just indescribably perfect.  The inside was nice and soft/mushy, thanks to the macaroni, which made the sandwich smooth and delicious.  I give this a RESOUNDING A+! 

As you can see, I really did mean that this was the best grilled cheese restaurant that I've been to so far.  I would go back here in a heartbeat and am jealous of all San Francisco residents who can visit whenever they want.  I guess now I've just got incentive to go out to San Francisco on the early flights so I can snag lunch as soon as I arrive!  I'm headed back to San Francisco again next week, but then am in town for the foreseeable future, so standard grilled cheesing will recommence upon my return.