Grilled Cheese Gets Fancy at Meltkraft in Reading Terminal Market

A long-time staple sandwich for kids across America, the ever-dependable grilled cheese has been taken up a notch by sandwich entrepreneurs lately, as us grown-ups search for a more sophisticated grilled cheese experience.

Last year, the cheese gods at Valley Shepherd Creamery launched Meltkraft in Reading Terminal Market, where you can find creations that would make any foodie salivate.

Some highlights include the Somerset (cured ham, 12-18 month gruyere, pickles and mustard), the Brielle (brie, cranberry chutney, caramelized onions and pine nuts on brioche) and the Melter Skelter (raclette, picked green tomatoes, jalapenos, BBQ chips and watercress).

It was the Valley Thunder, however, a grilled cheese stuffed with brisket, cheddar and baked mac & cheese, that piqued my taste buds most.

The year-aged cheddar was flavorful and cooked to a nice gooey consistency in a panini-like grill, and the brisket was nice and moist. The bread was tasty albeit a tad overcooked on the edges, a common occurrence with many grilled cheeses.

Overall, though, the Valley Thunder didn’t quite match the sky-high expectations I had for a sandwich that sounds like heaven. It was a solid grilled cheese, but not amazing.


Three subtle changes would help perfect Meltkraft's Valley Thunder:

1. Spread the brisket and cheese more evenly. The outer inch of the bread didn’t have any bite of brisket and, in some cases, no cheese either. Spreading the ingredients evenly is a reasonable ask if you’re trying to make the upper echelon of Sandwich Quest and charging $8.75.

2. Bake or even fry the mac & cheese to a crisp. I was hoping the crispy part of the mac & cheese (you know, like from edges of the pan??) would shine through, but that slightly burnt sensation, and even more importantly the texture, was nonexistent.

3. Add a condiment to boost the flavor. I’m thinking some caramelized onions and/or a horseradish aioli would have done the trick for the Valley Thunder.

My best endorsement for Meltkraft is that I want to go back with Kristy to try some of the other options. It's another great place to try in Reading Terminal Market, which keeps turning out some of the best sandwiches in Philadelphia.

Has anyone else been to Meltkraft?

Inside the Valley Thunder, not as much or evenly-spread filling as I'd hop

For Your Next Weekend Trip to Brooklyn

Confession: we'd never been to Brooklyn before December 2013 (except when Bradd ran through the borough during the NYC marathon). Some say Brooklyn is now the "hottest" place to be with endless great food and shops. Others say it's "so last year" and all the cool kids have already moved on to other [cheaper] boroughs. Well, all we know is that we had a great little weekend getaway - and ate tons of great food - so if you are looking for a foodie excursion, consider Brooklyn.

Here are a few reasons why:

Skirt steak and basil spaghetti from Chimu, a Peruvian restaurant in Williamsburg. We wandered in at 5:15pm on a Saturday to an already-half-full restaurant and were wow'd with every bite. Chimu's ceviche mixto appetizer is an absolute must-order. It's an enormous blend of mussels, shrimp, crab and white fish cooked ever so delicately in lime and cilantro.

After the ceviche, the skirt steak must be the most popular dish at Chimu, as all three people at the table next to us ordered it. The meaty cut of tender, simply yet perfectly seasoned steak is served over a heap of green spaghetti - so much that I made an entire dinner the next night out of my leftover pasta and some fresh shrimp. Basil sauce coats the spaghetti without drowning it and tasted just as good the next day. This dish is fantastic on its own, but you can kick it up another notch by asking for a side of chimichurri.

Peruvian basil spaghetti and skirt steak at Chimu

South Street West: So Tasty, So Crepe!

South Street West's restaurant row continued to expand during 2013 with the openings of spots like Miles Table, So Crepe and, most recently, Entree. We haven't seen or heard much about Entree yet - have you?? This blog post gives a little history about the chef's Ardmore roots and sourcing of ingredients from Italian Market vendors. 

I've become a fan of So Crepe for Sunday brunch with girlfriends. It has a short menu of sweet and savory crepes, plus 4-5 daily specials. The crepes are plenty big enough for a meal; I'd recommend getting one savory each and then splitting a sweet for the table. Both times I went with a party of three we did this and it was plenty of food. Also, with a few coffees or juices added in the bill was only around $35 total, so it's very affordable. 

My favorite crepe so far has been the "So Chevre" with goat cheese, honey and walnuts (below). The crepe was nice and light, stuffed with plenty of cheese and just enough nuts. I couldn't finish it all and it tasted great heated up in the oven for dinner the next day. Other savory options include brunch-ish ingredients like ham, eggs and cheese, as well as shrimp, chicken, salmon, veggies and even hot dogs. Last visit, I tried a special crepe with leeks, swiss and bacon, which was less photogenic but also hit the spot. 

So Chevre with honey and walnuts, with a little spinach on the side