Sunday, June 8, 2008

MELT


14718 Detroit Ave
Lakewood, OH 44107

God came down to earth and said "It is time that I make a wonderful grill cheese sandwich bar with 21 different types of sandwiches and 150 beers." And the people were happy.

MELT's name conjures up images of divine grilled cheese that makes my stomach grumble for joy. Each dish is served with hand cut fries and sweet slaw. The hand cut fries are crisp, pleasing to all senses, and taste like they were freshly made minutes before being served. This place is your all American punk rock restaurant/bar and caters to everyone from meat lovers to vegans.

If you're having a gooey, cheesy, sandwich fit than every single dish served at MELT will win you over. Even if you are vegan and real cheese isn't your thing. You can have vegan cheese substituted for the real stuff on any of their sandwiches. Or if you are still craving something different then try their holy handmade veggie burger ($8).

Beer and grilled cheese go together as well as sparkling champagne and wedding cake. So do try one of their many appealing selections of beers from Great Lakes to PBR. All for a reasonable amount of pocket change. And yes they have He'brew too!

If you're craving some protein then try the West Side Monte Cristo made with honey ham, smoked turkey, Swiss, and American cheese ($9). Or if you are looking for a colossal veg sandwich The Parmageddon with potato and cheese pierogi, fresh napa vodka kraut, grilled onions, and cheese ($9) will keep you full for days.

The heavenly homemade soups are all made with fresh ingredients. Try their house soup with roasted garlic with a tomato soup base. It comes piping hot in a mug accompanied by gold fish crackers.

Cleveland's MELT is one of the best hidden gems you will ever find. This celestial grilled cheese restaurent may even make you go back to church. Or at least thank God that a place like this exist.

Akihabara-The Electric City 4/14


We arrived 18 hours later in Tokyo. I fell in and out of consciousness the entire flight. Airplane sleep is the worst. Once you are tired enough to fall asleep a bump or an unfamiliar ding wakes you up and the cycle repeats and repeats until you arrive at your destination.

Upon our arrival, Katie and I grabbed our bags and went through customs. We were both eager to get to our capsule hotel and crash. We were both exhausted and hungry. Although, the plane ride made us both rather queasy, we were still hankering for some nourishment. We found a little noodle house crowded with businessmen and children playing on their hand held mini-nintendos. (We were in Akihabara known worldwide for its small electronics, manga, and anima.)

Our interaction with the cook was the first attempt for us to communicate with a non-English speaker. We ordered, paid, and congratulated ourselves for what we thought was a successful interactive. We ended up with curry instead of soothing udon. Since the meal was cheap (470 yen) we decided it would be more of a hassle to try and correct the order. I'm so glad we kept it. The curry ended up being the best in all ranges of ethnic curries I've ever had in all my 20 something years of being a curry fan. It was neither spicy or greasy, but rather light with a bold curry flavor that perfectly matched with the soba noodles it came with.

With our bellies full, we walked a couple blocks to the capsule hotel. For 3700 yen a night we thought we were going to be staying in a shithole. We were pleasantly surprised. We took off our shoes and placed them in a locker before walking up to talk with the clerk. The clerk spoke perfect English and was accommodating and friendly. As for the capsule it was way larger than I had imagined. I thought for sure I was going to be suffocating in a little claustrophobic box. The capsules turned out to be clean, comfortable, and spacious rectangular tubes with a personal TV and radio.

We took a shower to erase all the gunk of our travels. The shower stall had 3 spickets aimed to hit each vocal point of a naked body. There was complimentary Shisedo shampoo and body wash. After the shower I used the kimono-esque robe and slippers they gave us. I went back to my tiny yellow submarine, shut the blinds, and feel asleep to a game on the TV of Japanese ping pong. I woke up to find Katie up and ready to go. It was 6am and we had about nine hours of sleep. We were happy, refreshed, and ready to embark on our first day of exploration.