Restaurants
The Grilled Cheese
The Grilled Cheese in Kensington Market has taken a simple concept, perfected it and unleashed it on the neighbourhood at just the right time to capitalize on the mass patio exodus that fall instigates.
The Grilled Cheese serves variations on traditional plain grilled cheese and nothing but (save for an accompanying daily soup).
Their menu ranges from the basic 'Classic' grilled cheese which contains three types of cheese, with varying degrees of sharpness, plus tomato slices and the 'Dill-icious' a dill Havarti, pesto and sun-dried tomato medley that tastes even better than it sounds.
Occupying the space formerly taken up by a Belgian waffle shop, The Grilled Cheese was conceptually transplanted from New York to Toronto by Rob Yuill.
The simplicity of the idea (reclassifying grilled cheese as a late-night option by having extended opening hours and serving it in take-out containers) is a logical continuation of Toronto's appetite for a diaspora of specialist comfort food.
After gourmet burgers, poutine restaurants and cupcake stores what makes more sense than epicure grilled cheese?
We stopped by The Grilled Cheese for weekday lunch after a few previous attempts to visit left us staring at closed doors during posted opening hours.
In the initial days of opening The Grilled Cheese was a one man operation, but two weeks on staff have been hired and opening hours have expanded to include lunch time.
We ordered the Grill Works ($7) and the aforementioned Dill-icious ($6) to have in, plus a Classic ($6) to take out. The grilled cheese here is more of a panini than a pan-fried grease missile, an appreciable feature when each variation is loaded with multiple, molten, gooey cheeses. All orders arrive in takeout boxes and come with tortilla chips plus a side of pickles.
The Grill Works, a roasted vegetable and three cheese fusion combining Provolone, Monterrey Jack and Swiss is amply-filled, with the mushrooms, red onions and peppers balancing out the cheese content well.
The Dill-icious though, is so tasty that it makes my choice seem bland by comparison. The mix of pesto, dill, onion and sun dried tomato works well with the creaminess of Havarti, infusing it with flavour.
Overall, The Grilled Cheese is exactly what you'd hope it would be. The food is good, the bright, wood-paneled interior makes the place feel more like a cozy cabin than a fast-turnover enterprise and it's a great compliment to both I Deal Coffee and Ronnie's Local on Nassau St.
Photos by Anna Lisa Sang.
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Lost a customer
YOU BETTER CHANGE THOSE OR MY PEOPLE WILL NOT FREQUENT YOUR ESTABLISHMENT
GOOD DAY SIR
As for the food: I got the classic grilled cheese, which was probably the blandest grilled cheese I have ever had. Looking forward to trying something with flavour. Also, the two times I went in for soup it still wasn't ready for the day (and this was around 1pm).Sad.
I WILL BE IN THIS WEEKEND TO STUFF MY FACE
GOOD DAY SIR
Why go out?
Let's stay home and eat boiled celery.
Thanks for your awesome revelation that buying food prepared by a restaurant costs more than buying the groceries and making it yourself.
SUCH AMAZING POWERS OF OBSERVATION
A crap grilled cheese at a shite hole like Mars is still 6 bucks, and it's processed crap on Wonderbread crap. If that's what you're into, more power to you. But sexy bread + higher quality ingredients is definitely worth 6-8 bucks.
However I will say that 2 bucks extra for bacon is outrageous.
lazyest store ever?
We don't even have the recycling facilities to recycled the millions of plastic water bottles that dumbasses are drinking every day. (Only about 40% of our recycling is actually recycled)
I was walking by there one day when they were fixing the place up to open it and there were 2 people pouring jugs and jugs of bleach into the gutter to "clean" it.
They were arrogant and rude when I mentioned that that stuff goes directly into our waterways.
I can smell a GRILLED CHEESE BOYCOTT bitches.
Hey, I'm all for eating out, but I'm just saying this trend of 'dressed up comfort food' leaves me feeling ripped off. I'll pass!
I have high expectations for TGC - I hope they're met.
Unless you are composting these paper packages in your backyard, they will either go to landfill or be recycled. (There is some controversy over the amount of bleach used to recycle paper, but that is another matter)
The main controversy over Toronto's waste management is over the Green Bin anyway, something that doesn't handle any kind of take out packaging. There has been some controversy over some Blue Bin stuff being shipped to China, but I haven't heard of any Blue Bin stuff going straight to landfill, as the city makes money from selling recyclables from Blue Bins.
Either way, I was just trying to mention the poor job the city has done in letting the city know that styrofoam is accepted in the blue bins, proven by most of the comments at the start of this article.
(J-Dawg.. that sun thing is really depressing... i really hope expanding-universe rumours is just more media scare-mongering...)
stupid
Excuse my indignation, but perhaps it is justified when you consider that many consumers and business owners believe that they are making the right choice when they opt for biodegradable bags, or other "eco-friendly" packaging options when the City of Toronto does not currently offer the means (nor in some cases does the technology exist) to recycle or compost them and keep them out of landfill.
To further the point about styrofoam, at least there is now a process in place to manage it as responsibly as possible. It has taken years to get to this point, and as one of the bulkiest items taking up space in a landfill, it couldn't have come sooner. I'm not advocating increasing the use of polystyrene by any means, but at least there is a level of honesty involved in its recyclability and the end products it creates.
Additionally, many times these choices come at an increased cost to the business owner, who may or may not decide to pass those costs on to their customers. Again, what's the point of paying extra for a corn-starch based biodegradable fork, when the waste management system we use cannot break it down? Manufacturers of these products are constantly touting their merits, but as consumers, shouldn't we feel a little "green-washed"?
Anyway, some of the above posters are absolutely right: this thread really is hilarious and ridiculous. I think I need to walk away!
they should put a sin tax on food like this...whoever eat this regularly is going to be a burden on our healthcare
------
There should be a stupid tax on people who think a grilled cheese sandwich is unhealthy.
OMG they put TOMATOES in some of the sandwiches? WOW SO UNHEALTHY.
WE WILL BE HEREBY ADDING ADDITIONAL TAXES TO ALL GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES.
P.S. Mr. Hate, I think I love you.
Where are we reviewing next, dear readers? Where indeed.
Grilled cheese & fries or salad combo for only $5.00 inclusive can be found only at Karine's in the Village by the Grange.
It doesn't make you any less of a loser if you shit talk everything. It just make you a more annoying loser.
Grill cheese on the other hand, they're cool with me.
Going there is like going to a high school of 30 year olds, it's weird when people cling to styles that only really are understandable for teenagers.
Nothing sadder that a 30 year old with a mohawk, who still thinks that is rebel cool.
I'm going to grab a grilled cheese and laugh at the locals tomorrow.
yes you can make this yourself at home but it is so important to dine out with your loved one every once in awhile it just lets you step outside your perimeter outside the box and you are forced to make conversation with each other lol (couples who have been together a long time can relate)
Can blogto'ers rouse themselves from last night's non-grilled reverie and advise me as to what cheeses and breads make the best grilled cheese? Should I use some green onions? Should I butter or use olive oil on the bread before grilling? How do people feel about raisin bread? Edam? Jarlsberg? Cheddar? Emmenthal? Mozzarella? Gruyere? Processed? Which cheese(s) make(s) the best grilled cheese?
"Cup O' Farts" is what I'm going to call it.
i had a grilled cheese sandwich there a couple weeks ago. frankly, it's not as good as homemade. homemade style usually involves buttering the top and bottom of the sandwich to provide a flaky delicious surface to the exterior of the sandwich once fried in the pan. they don't do this -- they just slap it naked into a panini grill, and the result is a hard, flavourless exterior.
the corn chips that come with each order are pointless -- who wants cold corn chips when you're eating a grilled cheese sandwich? when we went there was no pickle, just a side of hummous for the chips (which is dumb -- a pickle makes more sense). but how about including the soup? soup is cheap, $8 is a lot to pay for just a grilled cheese sandwich.
it just feels weird eating from takeaway boxes while sitting in the restaurant, but there's no other option. they need to think about the concept of 'dishes,' like maybe having them.
I want to really like this place, but I don't. If I have to spend $8 on lunch in that area I'd much rather go to Big Fat Burrito for something delicious, varied, and filling.
And, for the green gestapo, the sandwich was served in a plastic reusable basket with red and white checkered waxed paper underneath (the kind the use at some joints to serve fries or wings), the soup was in styrofoam and the water was in plastic.
The lady behind the counter was quite friendly and addressed me as if we resumed a conversation that was started beforehand with "yeah, it is pretty cold out there. you want some soup?". The tomato soup was quite tasty and the classic sandwich I ordered was not huge but relatively tasty served in a reusable basket lined with waxed paper and half a pickle and chips. Perhaps I'll come back for some of the more peculiar sandwiches but most of them were $7 and $8 and I only had a ten on me.
I could go for a Turk 2000 right about now. . .
The Beast is a 10$ sandwich and it is small and average in taste. The vegetables make the cheese slimy.
nice idea - poor execution
It was extremely crowded. We were advised that we would have to way "20 minutes, maybe 15" for our order to be filled. We agreed. 20 minutes later--no food. One guy came back in, politely cancelled his order and left. I distinctly heard the cook mutter under his breath "If you want fast go to McDonald's.";
EXCUSE ME? You're making grilled cheese sandwiches, you're not Gordon Ramsay. If your grill is too small to handle the rush, announce right up front--before customers pay--that the wait will be a long one. We finally got our sandwiches 35 minutes later!
A note about the sandwiches. Decent whole wheat bread. Generous toppings. A little unimaginative with the cheese-- cheddar, mozzarella, swiss, monterey--though the boccacini and arugala made a statement--how about something a little more provocative, like brie and apples?
TGC must be doing well, with line-ups and selling six to 10 dollar sandwiches, but with the bad customer service, it may become a victim of its own success. (Good on the young woman at the counter, however, who kept up a cheerful tone throughout the craziness.)
Joe :)
http://collectivemills.ca/
Give me a break, did some second hand sweater wearing nincompoop come up with this from his rat infested hole on Augusta Ave while listening to post-punk math rock and eating cheese and bread because the rest of mommy and daddy's money is securely saved away for mdma and eight balls of cocaine?
It's just cheese and bread people, there's nothing magical here, except maybe magically getting people to pay $8 for it.
People are so colorful, it amazes me! :))
sizzling hot
i would go back... i'm from mississauga, really boring but kensington is such a great hang out, love the people, so opened and outgoing.