Cheesy options on National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day
Seven Hamilton area restaurants to help you celebrate the cheesiest special food day
It is a big day for space travel and sandwiches. Not only is it the 63rd anniversary of the first person in space — Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited the earth on April 12, 1961 — but it's also National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day.
Honouring the majesty of shredded gruyère, aged cheddar and/or American cheese, melted between mayo- or butter-coated slices of the finest white bread, may feel unnecessary. However, a sandwich celebration, with a side of space flight history, is more fun than no celebration at all.
Here are seven Hamilton area restaurants to get a face-meltingly good grilled cheese:
■ The city's own grilled cheese and soup chain is a good place to start. Get a full or half grilled cheese with a soup-of-the-day at one of four Burnt Tongue locations. Try a full French onion with white cheddar and caramelized onions stuffed in panini-style bread for $9 or half for $5 at the 182 Locke St. S. location. Open for lunch and dinner daily. theburnttongue.com
■ Gagarin thought he was going to burn up in re-entry, but at Gage Park Diner the grilled cheese sammy will only scorch your mouth with a choice of melted cheddar or Swiss cheese and a side of fries for $8.75. The small but mighty diner is open for breakfast and lunch, Wednesday to Sunday at 975 Main
St. gageparkdiner.com
■ Fill your mouth with molten cheddar, American or mozzarella at one of the local Meltwich locations. You can pick up a classic for about $7 at 1324 Barton St. E. or V-classic (the “V” is for vegan) with mozzarella-style cheese for $8. Open for lunch and dinner. meltwich.com
■ The grilled cheese is “deluxe” at Ancaster's Butties of Scotland. Melted cheddar, mozzarella and Swiss in between thick slices of toast. Find the $8 sandwich at the 21 Panabaker Dr. breakfast and lunch spot Tuesday to Sunday. buttiesofscotland.com
■ Buy a button at 541 Eatery and Exchange and get a great sandwich on a tight budget, too. The not-forprofit and pay-it-forward restaurant at 541 Barton St. E. offers a cheddar on white bread grilled cheese for $4, at the same time diners can support residents who can't afford to pay. fivefortyone.ca
■ Like Gagarin's space flight, you can order a grilled cheese from Detour on the fly. Though, his ship, the Vostok 3KA-3, circled the earth at 27,400 kilometres per hour. Order the three-cheese sandwich on Dear Grain sourdough online for about $10 and then pick it up at the 41 King St. W., Dundas, location during breakfast and lunch hours. detourcoffee.com
■ At Burlington's Rose Garden, the selection is extreme. Find four gooey, cheesy, mouth scalding sandwiches to chose from at 1124 Plains Rd. W., including the Extreme Grilled Cheese, with cheddar and mozzarella and topped with mushrooms, onions, and a choice of bacon or ham. The sandwich, for nearly $18, comes with fries. rosegardenfamily.com
You'll surely fall back to earth after eating all that dairy and gluten.