More Cheesy Goodness at the 2010 Grilled Cheese Invitational

My first time attending the Grilled Cheese Invitational was in 2008, which you can read about here. It was definitely a fun time and I've been a regular goer ever since. Since my first visit, this event has grown in size and last April, I found myself with other avid grilled cheese sandwich lovers at the Los Angeles Center Studios for the 2010 Grilled Cheese Invitational.

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At the Grilled Cheese Invitational, it's all about the spirit of competition as both amateur and professional cooks competed separately for grilled cheese sandwich greatness in 3 different categories.

• The Missionary Position: Standard bread, standard cheese (or cheeses), standard butter and no additional ingredients.
  
  
• The Kama Sutra: Any kind of bread, any kind of butter, and any kind of cheese PLUS additional ingredients(the interior ingredients must be at least 60% cheese).
  
  
• The Honey Pot: Any kind of bread, any kind of butter, and any kind of cheese (the interior ingredients of the sammich must be at least 60% cheese), and with an overall flavor that is sweet and would best be served as dessert.

As for the judging, Invitational go-ers had to apply online ahead of time to become a judge and though they had still pay for admission, they were able to sample as many of the grilled cheese sandwiches as they could get to in the competition area. So what are the general rules of judging?

• Get Sammy from Runner
• Eat Sammy
• Vote on Sammich
• Put Vote in Ballot Box

However, just because you're a judge, it doesn't mean that you'll automatically get sandwiches to judge. When it comes to the nitty gritty of judging, the main goal is to "get that sammy from the runner."

To get that sammy can involve anything from being patient for some and being aggressive for others. It could mean being at the right place at the right time or knowing people who are competing. A cheese-inspired costume could give you brownie points, especially since a lot of the chef and runners themselves were also dressed accordingly. Knowing how to make good eye contact and smiling doesn't hurt and looking excited, being enthusiastic and vocal may also draw the chef and the runner's attention to you. In short, a shy violet will not get any sammiches.

Once you get that sandwich and hopefully, you'll get more than one, you'll get a ballot where you get to score that sandwich on 4 different categories.

• Presentation: How does the sammich look? (Scale of 1 – 10, 10 being highest)
• Taste: How does it taste? (Scale of 1 – 20, 20 being highest)
• Wessonality: Is this sammich special? Deliver Style points here (Scale of 1- 5, 5 being highest)

• SPAZ: The Weird Factor (Scale of 1 – 15, 15 being biggest Spaz

If you weren't an official judge, there were other opportunities that day to get some grilled cheese sandwich action. Tillamook Cheese, was one of the main sponsors and there were free Tillamook grilled cheese sandwiches for all. There were also other vendors competing for a People's Choice Awards like The Grilled Cheese Truck, the Oaks Gourmet, Chef Eric Greenspan of the Foundry and more.

Overall, being a cheesehead, this is one event I look forward to every year and even better, one of my friend's Missionary entry won a Judge's Choice Award. You can see that winning sandwich below as well as my friend Cecilia and her runner for the day, Miho along with her trophy. To see the list of all the winners, click here.

If you don't want to miss out on the 2011 Grilled Cheese Invitational, see below for all the contact information.

Grilled Cheese Invitational Website
Grilled Cheese Invitational on Twitter
Grilled Cheese Invitational on Facebook

My 70+ photos of the 2010 Grilled Cheese Invitational can be found here!

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I Scream. You Scream. We All Scream.....for Cheese?

Yes, as the title suggests, there was lots of screaming for cheese, specifically oooey-gooey grilled cheese sandwiches. So where was all this yelling and carousing happening? Well, at the The 1st 6th Annual National Grilled Cheese Invitational, which was held at Griffith Park this past Saturday. And why were people yelling and carousing? More on that later, but first, let's start our tale with a little bit of background.

Since 2003, organizers from behind the Burning Man festival have been organizing a rowdy grilled cheese sandwich making contest referred to as the Grilled Cheese Invitational. With the mantra, "Bread. Butter. Cheese. Victory!" spurring them on, both amateur and professional chefs would compete side-by-side in different categories to see who would reign supreme in hot cheesy goodness. This year, a new category was added for a strong, flirty foursome. You'll know what I mean by "flirty" when you see the names of the category below.

The Missionary Position: white bread, orange cheese (cheddar or American) and butter or margarine only.

(NEW Category) Spoons: any kind of white bread, any kind of butter and any kind of cheese (or combination of cheeses) but no additional ingredients

The Kama Sutra: any kind of bread, any kind of butter and any kind of cheese (or blend of cheeses) plus additional ingredients.

The Honey Pot: any kind of bread, any kind of butter, any kind of cheese (or blend of cheeses), and any additional ingredients, but a sandwich that is sweet in flavor, or would best be served as a dessert.

Initially, this event was on a smaller scale and much more underground. Most people heard about it through word of mouth. In fact, there was such an aura of mystery surrounding this event, similar to a rave, that the location address wouldn't be published until the week of the event itself and that's a tradition that continued this year as well.

As time went by, more and more cheeseheads wanted to get in the action. So this year's Grilled Cheese Invitational was the first one open to the eating public and with over 100 cheese chefs competing in one, two or all four categories, there was a lot of cheesy action that happened on the day of the event. Since the last 5 years haven't really been open to the public, that's why this year's event is referred to as the 1st 6th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational. Get it? Enough background! Let's get to the good stuff.

Once I got there, I canvassed the area. On one side of the park, there were picnic benches all grouped together, which were sectioned off primarily by tables covered with bright orange plastic covers. That area served as the general kitchen area. There were two competitors to a bench and each was allotted a portable burner to cook with, as well as given a gift bag that contained a frying pan, spatula and other items for their use.

Right next door to the kitchen area, there was a Kraft Cheese booth and they provided free grilled cheese sandwiches while Izze Sparkling Juice also had free offerings of their apple, grapefruit, pomengranate, blackberry and orange beverages from start to finish. My favorite Izze drinks were definitely the blackberry and apple. I found them light and refreshing and I think they went well with all the rich cheese offerings that were to be had.

Finally, the organizers took the stage and gave an introduction and quick explanation of how judging was going to happen. Basically, here's the breakdown of the process. Each competitor has to make enough sandwiches to make 20 portions for each category they choose to enter. The portions could vary from half size to quarter size to bigger or smaller. It didn't really matter just as long as there were enough for 20 people. Each portion is put on a paper plate which has a ballot stapled to it. As soon as you sample your sandwich, you fill out the ballot and drop it in ballot boxes being carried around by volunteer staff.

So are you wondering yet where the screaming comes in? Well, as the sandwiches are cooked, either the competitor or one of their runners would bring out the sandwiches to be distributed to the waiting cheese-a-holics waiting behind the tables in front of the cooking section. Just because these sandwiches are free, it didn't mean that you don't have to work for them. That's where the screaming came to play or should I say enthusiasm? Nah, there was a lot of screaming involved. If you wanted one of those sandwiches, you had to get yourself noticed or you'd passed by for the noisier person standing right next to you or even behind you.

Even with all the yelling, there's still no guarantee that you'll get a sandwich. If you came expecting to be stuffed with grilled cheese sandwiches, you would have been sorely disappointed. Even if you managed to get 4 or more sandwiches, the small portions were not going to fill you up by any means. It got to the point that if one generous person got a sandwich, they would sometimes share it with 2 or 3 other people who may not have gotten one at all, which meant for an even smaller sampling.

I managed to try one sandwich and vote on it, but after awhile, I opted to go into the cooking section where my friend, Cecilia, was competing in all four categories. The vibe was less frenetic, but still very busy as the cheese chefs were working hard to send their offerings out to the hungry crowd. At one point, I was recruited to be a runner. Now that was fun.

I'd have my plates of Cecilia's sandwiches and as I approached the crowd, eyes pointed towards me and soon symphonies of sound, like waves, crashed around me. There was pleading and yelling. One or two people got down on their knees begged. Small children were used by their parents - their big, round innocent eyes pleading with me. I even got a proposal of marriage thrown at me. The first couple of times it was a bit overwhelming and I thought to myself, "Did I look that crazed when the shoe was on the other foot?" I probably did.

Soon, I got the hang of the whole thing and even got on a bit of a power trip. I felt like a Greek Goddess trying to decide which sycophant to bless with my gift of cheese. Hmmm...was she worthy enough? Did he beg enough? Are those children cute enough? Ok, I wasn't that bad, but I could have been if I let it go to my head. In general, the reaction of the crowd was just so much fun..

What I liked being in the cooking section was seeing the real camaraderie among the competitors. They in turn, supported and egged each other on. There was also swappings of cheese sandwiches going on so that they could taste each other's creations. The competitors themselves were also a quirky lot. Between a very tall man wearing a red velvet dress and a green madhatter hat and someone in a gorilla outfit wearing an apron, quirky may still be too tame a description. Into the mix were also professional chefs. In fact, Cecilia shared her bench with the Artisan Cheese Gallery and the winner of the Kama Sutra category was Eric Greenspan, chef of The Foundry Restaurant.

Finally, after the heat of the competition was over, the awards ceremony were held that evening. As mentioned, Chef Greenspan took honors in the Kama Sutra category. My friend, Cecilia, first-time competitor, took first place in the Missionary Category. To see all the winners, click here!

To wrap it up, is the Grilled Cheese Invitational for everyone? Probably not. If you're expecting a more formal kind of judging where competitors are at individual stations that allow you to pick which sandwiches you want to sample and vote on, you'll be disappointed. If you're expecting to sample the majority of the sandwiches, if not all of them, you'll be crushed.

In the end, although the name of this event is the Grilled Cheese Invitational, there definitely weren't enough grilled cheese sandwiches to go around for everyone to try. I think what you get is actually beyond just the sandwiches themselves. What I saw was a fun and lively atmosphere. What I saw were generous people willing to split a quarter of a sandwich with 2 or 3 other people just so more people could have a taste. What I saw were competitors using their creativity and taking a simple comfort food to the next level. Whether it was a grilled cheese and anchovy sandwich or a dessert sandwich that consisted of guava jelly, marscarpone cheese and chocolate chips, these cheese chefs were limited only by their own imagination.

What I also saw was the spirit behind this event. How can you not appreciate all the hard work and time the organizers and volunteer staff put into something that was at no cost to the attendees? There aren't very many freebies in this world, especially when you consider that culinary events can cost as little as a $15 entrance fee to a food festival up to $400 for a 10 course tasting menu. Then there's the competitors who basically donated their time and money. They weren't given a stipend to pay for all the ingredients for their sandwiches. That was all their own money. I have to give them props as well for their generosity.

Overall, it wasn't what I expected; yet, it somehow also exceeded my expectations in a weird sort of way. I'm already looking forward to the 2nd 6th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational or is it 1st 7th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational?

For more info, click here for the Grilled Cheese Invitational Website.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157604631335780/

Grilled Cheese Sandwich Tasting at Meltdown Etc - CLOSED

Last September, I set up a tasting of the ultimate comfort food, grilled cheese sandwiches at Meltdown etc in Culver City, a part of town that's starting to be quite a foodie mecca. Our ooey-gooey-cheese fest started with the perfect accompaniment, a tart tomato soup, which definitely paired well with the first three sandwiches we partook in.

We started off with their Classic Three Cheese sandwich, which consisted of sharp cheddar, Meunster, Fontina, Roma tomato on sourdough bread. For this particular sandwich, there are different variations to its ingredients. The three cheeses stay the same, but you have the option to add separately or together, a roma tomato and/or applewood bacon. For our tasting, I opted to include the tomato, simply because I like how it added a fresh, juicy acidity to every bite of the sandwich.

Up next was their Cheddar, Ham and Apple sandwich that was made up of sharp cheddar, smoked ham and apple butter on sourdough bread. In truth, the apple butter seemed a strange bed partner to the other two ingredients, but I was willing to give it a whirl. Surprisingly, it was a total hit with me. Usually, I don't like ham because I find it too salty for my taste, but the sweetness of the apple butter actually counter-balanced that saltiness so much so, that I could have happily eaten a whole sandwich without complaint.

Just around the corner came the Turkey Melt with brie, oven-roasted turkey, arugula, cranberry-horseradish mustard on walnut bread. Of the three savory sandwiches we sampled, this was my least favorite. Usually, I'll pick turkey over ham any time of the week, but not in this case. What I found lacking or should I say missing was the cheese. There just wasn't enough of it. The turkey portions were generous, but with the word "melt" being part of the sandwich name, cheese is an important part of equation and unfortunately, it was MIA.

Also, while I loved the addition of the arugula which added a nice peppery kick, I was a little disappointed in the cranberry-horseradish mustard, which I expected to add more oomph to the sandwich and it didn't.

With three of Meltdown's savory grilled cheese offerings under our belt, it was now time to experience two of their "Sweet Melts". First up was their Goat Cheese, Fig and Honey sandwich on walnut bread. What's interesting about this sandwich is that if you are someone who doesn't like goat cheese because of its pungency, you may actually be able to eat this sandwich and even like it. The sweetness of the fig preserves and the honey cuts into the piquancy of the cheese, which may make it more palatable to goat cheese naysayers.

Last, but not least, came the Brie and Apricot sandwich, also on walnut bread. I've actually had this sandwich before and at first, I couldn't quite equate melted brie mixed with apricot preserves as being a good combination. My first bite; however, made me a convert. The mildness of the cheese was a perfect foundation for the tart-sweetness of the apricots.

Overall, this was a fun little tasting and I think we were able to get a good sampling of Meltdown etc grilled cheese sandwiches. For those of you who weren't able to join us, I guess you'll just have to live vicariously through my photos below. :-D

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157602589758602/

Meltdown etc
9739 Culver Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 838-6358
http://www.meltdownetc.com/

Meltdown Etc. - CLOSED

There's just something about comfort food like grilled cheese sandwiches that give me the warm fuzzies. I'm just reminded of growing up as a kid and having my Mom making them as a snack. She even would cut the crusts for me. What a great mom!

But now I'm all grown up and I appreciate that Meltdown offers grilled cheese sandwiches that are grown up as well with cheeses and ingredients that go beyond the American processed plastic wrapped cheese of days gone by.

For my first time meal there, a friend of mine and I ordered a variety of items to share. Let's talk sandwiches. First up was the Market Melt, which had herbed goat cheese, fontina cheese, grilled Farmer's Market vegetables, caramelized onions, walnut pesto on ciabatta bread. For this particular sandwich, the vegetables which were fresh, delicious and crisp were the real stars of the show with the other ingredients, including the cheese playing supporting roles.

When you're able to take advantage of locally grown produce, it doesn't make sense to overpower those seasonal flavors with too many other ingredients. You really have to find a good balance of flavors. With the Market Melt, the sweetness of the onions, the nutty flavor of the walnut pesto, the slight pungency and saltiness of the two cheeses enhanced and not overwhelmed the vegetables' natural flavors. That's how it should be and that's why this sandwich was such a bit hit with me.

The second sandwich we tried was the Classic 3 Cheese with the Applewood Bacon. The three cheeses were the sharp cheddar, muenster and fontina, all on a sourdough bread. When this sandwich arrived, the cheese was already oozing out of the bread. It was actually a little messy and oily to eat, but I still loved every bite. How can you not love biting off strings of oooey-gooey cheese from your sandwich?

Along with the savory grilled sandwiches, there are also what Meltdown refers to as "Sweet Melts" and course, we had to try one of those and we settled for the Brie & Apricot Melt. Wow! What a great dessert sandwich! The smooth creaminess of the brie cheese combined with the tart-sweetness of the apricots and than you throw in the nuttiness of the walnut bread was a perfect marriage of flavors.

Along with the sandwiches, we also ordered a couple of sides. One was the Fennel-Red Onion Slaw, which I found cool, refreshing and crunchy. My only one little complaint is that there was just too much dill, but other than that, it's a delicious salad. The other side was a special soup for the day, a cold potato leek soup with spring garlic. The soup had a nice herb flavor to it, but I didn't really taste any garlic, so that was the only thing I found lacking.

In general, I think the food is fantastic at Meltdown etc and I look forward to returning and trying other items from their menu really soon.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157600353766278/

Meltdown etc
9739 Culver Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 838-6358