There are grilled cheeses far and wide, for good reason. Many of them are good. Some, great. For April, Grilled Cheese Month, we'll be trying grilled cheeses from all over, and dispensing a little wisdom along the way.
"The love of a sandwich must, I suppose, be an unrequited one; and so grilled cheese and bacon has never stopped to think about how much it means to me." So began the best essay I ever wrote, a despondent love letter to my favorite food of all time. Obsessing over anything is by definition a lonely business, unleavened with communication or companionship. Generally, the temporary appearance of other beings largely serves as a cue for mindless anxiety monologues, the kind that require no real response. And yet...
Reading all the entries for National Grilled Cheese Month on Eat Like a Man has made me feel somewhat less alone. Not that they speak very deeply to me; in fact, it wouldn't be going too far to say that I that a feel a violent aversion to them, and really, to any grilled cheese sandwich not of the most rigidly orthodox kind. This is an infant food after all, and peevish, dogmatic nerds like myself base their whole adult lives on enshrining and overvaluing the shit they happened to eat when they were kids. I admit this readily, but happily there are other men like me out there who feel the same way.
One such is Adam Biderman. The young proprietor of The Company Burger in New Orleans was one of the authors of the celebrated, sought-after Holman and Finch burger in Atlanta, and his boutique operation in the crescent city has been hailed as one of the best in America. I wandered in to the place one time, knowing very little about it; Biderman recognized me right away and spoke in the vehement way that people do who believe in their opinions a little too strongly. I will save my Company Burger experience for another day. But one way I could feel deep call to deep was in what appeared to be a throwaway on The Company Burger's menu: an absolutely ravishing, utterly classical, intensely greasy and dense grilled cheese and bacon sandwich. Why is it so good? I will let Biderman describe for himself.
"The genesis of the Company Burger grilled cheese. and grilled cheese with bacon, goes back, as many things in cooking do, to how I grew up, and more specifically, how my mother made grilled cheese. So when it came to putting the grilled cheese option on our menu for company burger, it was a no-brainer, I wanted the grilled cheese of my youth. We already had the American cheese for our burgers, so I had the baker we work with to make a really nice white bread loaf. It's like Wonderbread on steroids, made with a much nicer, higher ash count flour. Then we cut the bread thicker, like Texas toast, so that when we put the weight on it to toast it, we get a substantial toasty crust. We use at least four slices of cheese to make sure that when it melts, it covers the entire area of the bread, all the way out to the edges.
"Lastly, and I cannot stress this enough—there must be a generous amount of butter applied to the bread before toasting. This way it ensures that a golden brown crust forms, and that the steam from the butter melting heats the cheese. As far as additions go, we prefer just bacon, and, in the summer when creole tomatoes are in season, a couple of slices of those. For the truly hungover, there is the option to add a fried egg or two. The combo of cheese, buttery bread, bacon, and egg is potentially lifesaving. All in all I feel like our grilled cheese is as American as our burgers, and speaks to a more simple time in all our lives, just toasted bread and cheese can be a remarkable and satisfying thing."
Now I ask you, have you read a more laudable sentiment in a young chef? I can testify to this grilled cheese's greatness, having eaten two of them on the spot the day I went there, on top of countless hamburgers. But I would go back and eat another right now, because they're just that good. I can't say I really approve of Biderman's eggs and tomatoes and god knows what else. Adding things to grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches is a slippery slope. Before you know it you'll be putting in pickled ramps. But if I would trust anyone to monkey with the most perfect of all American sandwiches, it would be Biderman, because his butter-choked heart is in the right place. I suppose in writing my dark ode to my favorite sandwich, I was only half right. The sandwich doesn't care for me one bit. But there are other obsessives, a few of us, and we can support each other as best we can. Primarily by cooking each other grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches. It's not exactly camaraderie, but it will do until the right sandwich comes along.
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