The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen: Your Not-So-Ordinary Grilled Cheese

For the next few posts, I’ll be writing places we’ve ate in San Francisco. One thing we did there a lot was eat. And ate good food we did. When you visit San Francisco, you might want to hit up the places I’m about to mention. You will not regret it. First meal upon arriving from San Francisco: The American Grilled Cheese.

I’m not a big fan of your regular grilled cheese. I like cheese, but I just don’t fancy American cheese too much. I’ve also tried The Grilled Cheese truck here in LA, but it was ok.

But, The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen really showed me how gourmet grilled cheese is done.

Piglet: Tillamook sharp cheddar, artisan cured ham, apple mustard, rosemary butter $8

After visiting the awesome Beautylish team, we’ve asked them for some recommendations for places to eat around their area. Ning has suggested that we checked this place out and has highly raved about this place by pointing out that she’s already had twice within one week. So it must be that good.

The restaurant is in the corner of South Park Ave and 2nd Street. I can imagine parking being difficult in this area (just like the rest of San Francisco), but the parking gods were good to us the whole weekend that parking was almost never an issue while we were there. The restaurant has outdoor and limited indoor seating which can be too close for comfort if it gets crowded. But since we had a pretty late lunch (around 2 pm) that day, there was barely anybody eating at the time, so we didn’t have to worry about waiting to find a seat for two.

We had to order our food first before getting seated.

Mushroom Gruyere: fontina, gruyère, roasted wild mushrooms + gold potatoes, melted leeks, caramelized onions, thyme butter ($9)

I ordered the Mushroom Gruyere. The bread itself was really good. I can eat that alone for days. It was toasted with a perfect crunch at every bite. The cheese is so ooey and gooey and it made a good combination with the mushroom. It wasn’t too overwhelming. It’s also interesting how they incorporated potatoes with it. For some instances, I almost thought that the mushrooms were some sort of meat. The whole thing was just really good and very filling for me for something that doesn’t have a piece of meat included.

While the boyfriend ordered the Piglet Grilled Cheese Sandwich: “The first thing that came to mind upon the first bite…’wow.’ The golden brown rye bread wasn’t over-toasted, but it was enough to make that perfect crunch sound with every chew. Bursting out the sides was the chunky ham contrasted by the melted, gooey cheddar cheese. The mustard added that extra oomph to make you want more after every bite! Delicious is not a good enough word to describe the Piglet; Damn good sounds much better. The apple that came with the sandwich was a good taste to follow up with the sharp cheddar. Everything washed down well with the Empire brand cola from Rhode Island.”

Pretty empty since we went after the lunch rush.

It’s also nice how their sandwiches come with an apple. They have a selection of drinks that you would normally not find in a regular restaurant. The décor of the restaurant is contemporary. Aside from the bar area, the dining area is along the windows of the restaurants which makes your dining experience a little bit more enjoyable looking outside. The staff was nice and friendly, but our food took some time before it came out even though it wasn’t crowded at the time.

Our view from where we were seated.

The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen is one of those stops you have to make in San Francisco. I’m really jealous that we don’t have this in Los Angeles! But this place is a must try if you’re ever in San Francisco.

The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen
1 S Park Ave
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 243-0107
www.theamericansf.com/