SPRINGFIELD – Who knew that grilled cheese could be such an amazing sandwich, with so many possibilities to tease the taste buds.
Throughout the month of February, 48 local restaurants have slapped together their favorite concoctions during the 11th annual Grilled Cheese Experience. Every time a sandwich is sold, FOOD for Lane County receives $2 of the proceeds.
Some of the creations make perfect sense. Like the bourbon bacon with smoked gouda, which has been the hottest seller at Squacho’s Bar & Grill in Springfield.
Then there are others that, well, make you think twice.
At the Axe and Fiddle in Cottage Grove, where they served up a mouthwatering cream cheese, cheddar, bacon and jalapeno on a panini-pressed brioche bun last week, the previous week’s Hawaiian sandwich wasn’t as much of a big hit.
“People had mixed thoughts on that one,” cook Makai Golden said of combining peanut butter with ham, cheese and pineapple. “But it’s a pretty good sandwich.”
Golden was glad to be a part of such a worthy community endeavor.
“It’s great that our restaurants all band together like this,” he said.
For Morgan Rice, the chef at Plank Town Brewing Co. in Springfield, this month is a true “experience”
“I love getting into the spirit of the Grilled Cheese Experience,” Rice said. “It’s a great chance to help out the community with fresh ingredients, and it’s a great product for a great price.”
Plank Town’s Week 3 special – Smoked turkey and gouda, fresh spinach, grilled tomatoes, caramelized onions and chipotle aioli, on marble rye – was so gooooda …
Just down the street, PublicHouse has three participating restaurants – Moi Poki Grill, Tonalli Latin Kitchen, and Northwest Burgers & Pizza.
Crab grilled cheese has been the hot seller at Moi Poki.
“I really like the crab,” line cook Liam Bolz said. “We’ve been selling more of those than we expected.”
At Tonalli’s, the big deal is making quesadillas. They use oaxaca cheese, Monterrey jack, onions, and cilantro.
“They’ve been popular, we make about 20 a day,” cook Andrew Kanning said.
Felicia Kirsch, owner of Northwest Burgers, has been serving up Swiss cheese, a smashed hamburger patty, green onions, and thousand island dressing on marble rye with beer-battered fries.
Felicia and her husband, Garrett, bought the restaurant 10½ years ago and are now looking to sell it. Garrett’s father, Don, coached the University of Oregon baseball team from 1948-70. His uncle Paul also had a long baseball career, including a coaching stint with the Emeralds.
The Grilled Cheese Experience has been an enormous success, both in terms of raising a lot of money for over a decade now for FOOD for Lane County, and for providing a bunch of enjoyable meals – whether it’s to start your day or when you’re winding down.
At the Busy Bee Cafe, you get cheddar, pepper jack, and garlic butter with a fried egg in the middle.
“It’s very popular, we’ve sold a lot of them,” manager Dawn Whitemagpie said.
Ray Morse, 80, is a retired air traffic controller. He visits the Brewstation in Cottage Grove a couple evenings a week.
“I had a couple of these here before,” said Morse, who has lived in Cottage Grove since 2002. “It’s a delicious sandwich. Love the ham.”
With whatever kind of slice you like.
