Possibly more than any other dish, grilled cheese, it may be seriously said, possesses superpowers.
Consider the fact that this foodstuff can inspire almost anyone to greater gourmand heights, even if boiling water is beyond a person's general reach. Sandwiches are approachable edibles, and the notion of creating a melty mélange at home, full of unusual ingredients, isn't out of any cook's sphere.
La Brea Bakery Cafe helped goose the character of grilled cheese on a large and swanky scale, thanks to its popular Grilled Cheese Nights, a happening that ran for years at the bready bastion. Before places like the La Brea Avenue restaurant experimenting with add-ins — sundried tomatoes, chorizo, short rib, pepper jams, and such — grilled cheeses stuck to a single form, for the most part.
It's a form that works, of course (hooray for traditional grilled cheeses and plain tomato soup). But if an idea of a fancy-pants grilled cheese at La Brea Bakery has you tucking the nearest napkin into your collar, be not sad that these famously gooey nights went away: They're back, at least for April, and at least on Thursday evenings.
You got it: The breakfast-and-lunch spot will keep later hours on April Thursdays — 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. -- to go the grilled cheese road. Not just any road, but there'll be a full-on grilled cheese tasting menu (we used "fancy-pants" once already but we want to unleash it again, because a grilled cheese tasting menu earns the term). Wine pairings shall be suggested, and beer pairings, too, from California makers like Talley Vineyards, Hitching Post Winery, Stone Brewing, and Smog City Brewing.
So the bevs'll be lovely. The fillings inside the top-notch sandwiches will be interesting and piquant and fully prismatic with flavor bursts. And the bread..? Well, this is La Brea Bakery, a cornerstone of crust-making knowledge.
First night is Thursday, April 7. What gooey creations will you eat? Is it impossible to describe a grilled cheese without using the word "gooey" or even "melty"? Is it too fancy-pants to use the word "prismatic" as it pertains to grilled cheeses? And what would happen if a basic old-school grilled cheese and a super-stuffed new-school grilled cheese appeared on one plate?
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Well, we know the answer to that: Most anyone would devour both, gratefully. For when it comes to great grilled-cheesery, all of us are winners. All of us.
