We got there at 5:15 PM (after driving by it twice without noticing it) on a Saturday, people were standing around everywhere. We figured out that you had to forget about the signs that say please wait to be seated and just go up to the counter to get on the waiting list. We were told it would be 2-2.5 hours. This was expected. By the way, the parking situation is stupid. All the parking is with a meter and it's hard to find, so we parked across the street in the Marc's parking lot despite the sign saying customers and employees only. We stood around in the cramped lobby area for what ended up being 3 hours before getting to our seats. While waiting, we watched people pour through the doors and right back out after hearing of the wait. For every customer that stayed, there had to be at least three that left. A ridiculous amount of business walked out the door. This place is small.
Melt is all about the cheese. Gourmet grilled cheese, in great variety and quantity. Every sandwich is large and comes with fries and slaw. The fries are excellent, the slaw is dry. I ordered the Northcoast Shores (Crab cakes, spinach, red pepper and herbed cream cheese), Carlos got the Fat City Burger (salami, ham, bacon and swiss and american on a burger), Matt selected the Westside Monte Cristo, and Kaleb calmly and confidently accepted the Melt Challenge. Our waiter strongly advised Kaleb against the attempt and let us know that it would be an hour to prepare the challenge. The rest of us got our food in good order, and it was excellent. However, if I return, I would get the Parmageddon or possibly the Godfather or the Hot Italian. While my sandwich was good, the consistency of the crab cakes with the cream cheese made it quite gooey. Kaleb got his food as we were finishing ours.
The Melt Challenge is a behemoth not to be taken lightly. It has three pieces of texas toast, with 13 different types of cheeses on it (american, sharp cheddar, provolone, pepper jack, havarti, swiss, muenster, smoked gouda, feta, herbed cream cheese, and goat). The sandwich itself weighs roughly 4 lbs, and with the fries and cole slaw it comes out to about 5 lbs. And unlike most food challenges, there is no time limit, you're just not allowed to leave the table once you've begun. Kaleb's response to his first bite was positive in regards to the flavor of this colossal conglomerate of cheeses. In fact, he finished the first half of the monster in just nine minutes. However, things slowed down considerably once he began the second half. After a while, he started looking for ways to break down the defenses of the cheese (strong flavor and quantity), including the use of malt vinegar (which he advises against). After 90 minutes of constant eating and chewing, and not much further to go, Kale brought his fist to his mouth, looked up at us with watery eyes, then suddenly his cheeks expanded, lowered his head to his plate, and expelled a portion of his comsumed Challenge onto what was left of it. It was one of the most graceful and discreet pukes I have ever witnessed. The wait staff, as if they knew it was coming, immediately removed the evidence and the Challenge was over. Kaleb is to be commended for his effort, having left it all at the table. The 90 consecutive minutes of chewing is a physical feat in and of itself. We left Melt at 10:45 PM, 5.5 hours after we arrived. Melt has terrific food, but the wait makes dining there a serious commitment that has to be planned for and not a place I could go very often. I would suggest that if you're going to go, make sure you go with someone that is going to attempt the Challenge.
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