Melt Bar and Grilled

14718 Detroit Ave
Lakewood, Ohio
216-226-3699

Type: Grilled Cheese
Atmosphere: Clubhouse for the Ramones
Occasion: Beers after work, informal chow with friends
Gotta Try: The Parmageddon
Take or Leave: -
Booze: Over 100 beers, full bar with Melt cocktails
Prices: Cheap eats
Hours: Kitchen open 11am to 11pm Monday thru Thursday until midnight Friday & Saturday, brunch on Sunday 9am to 9pm. Bar open daily until 2am.
Reservations: Nope. Be prepared to wait during prime time.
Snarky Says: A on food, A on booze, A on atmosphere

On a whim a few Saturdays afternoons ago, I found myself trying to find Melt for a late afternoon beer/early evening dinner. I kept hearing the buzz and was ready for something new as I stomped around on the West Side. As I fumbled and stuttered through Lakewood, I was just about ready to give it up before spying it on the right hand side of the street as I headed west on Detroit. Around the corner I parked, at a busted meter I parked and all karmic indicators pointed to a great experience in my immediate future.

Like Laverne and Shirley, into Melt my dining companion and I skipped as New Order belted from the sound system. I knew I was going to like this place. Afternoon boozers were starting to clear out and the staff was finishing up their dinners before evening service began. We quickly took two stools at the end of the bar towards the kitchen and soaked up the juju. Very cool. I was immediately reminded that I’ve hit the climax of my thirties and it’s only downhill from here on out. The days of youth and charisma gathered even more dust in my rear view mirror as I watched the young staff wipe down tables, polish glasses, pull beers and speed rap with the patrons.

We each ordered a beer from one of the 100 varieties available and I tried not to convey how smitten I was with the lean, pixie-like server getting her groove on to old school Depeche Mode. Made me wish I could have tossed my bangs in my eyes and offer her a Camel Light. Alas, my hairline is receding and I hardly ever smoke anymore. Not to mention, I have a reedy voice and elongate the last syllables of words only in a way that those who speak Faglish can, so I was truly being transported back to another day and time.

Lollapalooza longings aside, Melt specializes in grilled cheese sandwiches. Although hamburgers, steak sandwiches and brats are on the menu too, grilled cheese is their gig. Grilled cheese with smoked turkey, Chorizo, ham or bacon to name a few. Havarti, Gouda, Swiss, provolone or cheddar. Even pierogies, sun-dried tomato pesto or beer-battered Walleye. All the sandwiches are served with hand cut French fries and coleslaw while coming on huge hunks of toasted Italian bread.

For seven and a half bucks, I ordered the Chorizo and potato grilled cheese with sharp cheddar. It rocked the casbah. I picked up my knife and fork, set them back down and then picked them back up again as I tried to figure out how to eat it. Costing nine bucks, my friend got the pierogi grilled cheese sandwich aptly called The Parmageddon which had fresh vodka Napa kraut, grilled peppers and American on it. I wanted to order it just for the name. As I’ve relayed the experience, all have laughed out loud at the sandwich title. Both sandwiches were delicious. The bread crunched, the Chorizo was delightfully spicy and each bite was better than the next. The Parmageddon was so unusual and imaginative on all fronts, I was slightly jealous. Soft and warm like a duvet, it was elegant enough to eat at a five star restaurant. The French fries were hot and plentiful without being overly greasy or limp. With absolutely no expectations whatsoever, even the coleslaw was good and didn’t taste like it was dumped from a plastic bag minutes earlier.

Both sandwiches were so big we could only get halfway through them. We threw them in a box and saved them for a midnight snack. As we finished our beers, we realized at least ten people were standing along the wall by the door waiting for tables to clear. I could feel the laser beams and wishes for an inconvenient death bouncing off the back of my head. As tempted as we were to hear one more Smiths track and catch a glimpse of yet another strategically placed tattoo, we cleared out and quit bogarting the Melt.

It’s a young, cool crowd hanging at Melt but if you look around you still some gray hair and a little LL Bean. The grub is fierce and how can one go wrong with 100 beers and a full bar? Also, brunch is served on Sunday. Don your black t-shirt and grab a group of friends; Melt is a great place to hang-out and kill a few hours.

Peas out!
Snarky

This entry was posted on Friday, March 30th, 2007 at 9:18 am and is filed under Restaurant Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.