The Grilled Cheese Grill

The Grilled Cheese Grill has two locations in Portland: one on NE Alberta St. and one on SE Ankeny. The latter location is known for their "double-decker bus setup." I ventured to NE Alberta and their original school bus for this trip. GCG is more than just straight-up grilled cheese sandwiches. They offer over 20 different sandwiches on their menu, ranging from the traditional grilled cheese to the "Cheesus," basically two grilled cheese sandwiches encasing a 1/3 lb. burger (with the usual burger toppings). GCG also offers sweet options as well, such as the "Jaime" (mascarpone, nutella, and grilled banana) and the "Elvis" (peanut butter and banana on white bread...add bacon to this for the Fat Elvis!).

How sweet is this bus?

The first thing that caught my eye was their school bus setup. A perfect way to trigger those days of getting on that school bus, a sack lunch in tow. Grilled cheese is one of the ultimate American comfort foods, and I always remember my grandma making me grilled cheese on sourdough bread in the morning before I headed to school.

I ordered their "Thriller" ($6.25): "Secret Aardvark Jerk Sauce Marinated Turkey, Colby Jack, Fresh Red Onion and Tomato on Sourdough." Colby cheese is a hybrid of Colby and Monterrey Jack cheeses, combining for a yellow-white look.

Menu, side 1 (as of September 2011)

Menu, side 2 (as of September 2011)

"Thriller" (Grilled Cheese Grill)

It was one of those (happy) life-or-death struggles with the cheese for about five minutes. Oozy, gooey cheese everywhere I took a bite. I still got the great turkey flavors and textures, despite the meat being infused with the pleasant, tangy aardvark sauce. It could be deemed spicy to a few people, but for me, it was very mild. The bite of the red onion also added a lovely crunch. Tomato in grilled cheese...can it get any more classic than that? The sourdough bread was grilled on the flattop to absolute crunchy perfection, Every bite I took could have created the ideal symphony of grilled cheese noshing.

The grilled cheese itself was obviously a bit greasy, and I probably would add on some roasted jalapenos next time (25 cents extra), but those are nitpicking concerns here.

The Thriller is a great, more adult take on grilled cheese. I must be getting pretty good at researching places to eat, because this was another home run. 8.5/10