What better time of year to enjoy good old-fashioned comfort food – tasty grilled cheese “melts” and delicious soup combos. The Melt (owned by Flip Video founder, Jonathon Kaplan) recently opened a new location on the San Francisco Peninsula – at Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto. Nestled between Max’s Diner and California Pizza Kitchen, the upscale fast-food joint opened to the delight of holiday shoppers just a week before Christmas. Many of you may already be familiar with The Melt locations in San Francisco (on New Montgomery, One Embarcadero Center and on Spear Street).
The Melt offers diners a choice of “5 Combos” (5 gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and 5 homemade soups) – select a pairing or interchange any soup and grilled cheese combo to your liking (at no extra charge). For lighter appetites, soups are available on their own (by the cup or bowl). The grilled cheese melts are also available a la carte. As you can see from the picture below, The Combo calories range from 540 up to 810 depending on your choice – no, we don’t know which ones are healthier… we didn’t ask!
My favorite combo is “The Classic” (Sharp Cheddar on Potato Bread & Two Tomato Basil Soup, pictured below) – in my opinion, you can’t go wrong with sharp cheddar cheese and tomato basil!
Barry prefers a little more bite – “The Mission” (Jalapeno Jack on Sourdough & Sweet Corn Tortilla Soup, pictured below) and “The Italian Job” (Fontina/Provolone on Garlic Bread & Italian Sausage & Pepper Soup). Other combos include “The Outlaw” (Colby Jack on Eight Grain & Spicy Bean Soup), and “The Parisian” (Brie/Apple Butter on White Wheat & Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup).
All Melt/Soup combos come with a small bag of tasty Kettle Potato Chips – don’t feel too guilty… as you can see from the picture above, it’s a really small bag!
If you like Smoked Bacon, be sure to ask for it to be added in your grilled cheese sandwich when you place your order at the counter – it’s FREE and really good! Ditto the Fresh Sliced Tomato.
Light and airy, the casual techie restaurant has two rooms, both with large picture windows. The high-tech ordering system lets you see when your order is ready. Look for your “initials” on the order board to check the status – “working” means they’re working on your order. When it starts flashing orange, your order is ready to be picked up at the counter.
If you’re out at Stanford Shopping Center on a cold winter’s day (yes, even in sunny California it can get quite chilly) and fancy some comfort food to warm you up, The Melt is a perfect place to stop for a quick bite. Service is fast and friendly – so you can be out and shopping again in no time!
Be prepared… we think it’s a bit on the pricey side for what you get (soup portions are quite small) and it may be a bit too gourmet for kids. But all-in-all, it’s a great concept and should do very well. There’s just something about their delicious melted gooey cheese that will keep us coming back for more!
Have any of you eaten at any of The Melt locations yet? What’s your favorite Combo?
More Info on The Melt (find a location near you)
