Melt-ing in Independence

Husband loves Man v Food so naturally I watch it too. It's kind of fun to visit the places we see on t.v., one of the best we've checked out is Hash House A Go Go. We've been to both Vegas locations and enjoyed every meal there.

So of course we had to check out Melt, which was featured on the show and now has four locations in the Cleveland area. We went to the one in Independence, which was very close to our hotel. We hadn't eaten all day but we didn't mind too much. Melt's sandwiches had a reputation. When we walked up to the restaurant we noticed a lot of neon inside and out. That was a good thing.

It also had a lot of people. The wait was going to be about 2 hours. You would think that for two starving people a two hour wait was not going to happen, but we had nowhere to be and a back-up plan. This was our back-up plan:

The back-up plan was right down the road, a beautiful building we'd planned to check out after Melt. We simply rearranged the order. The building houses a McDonald's. We tided ourselves over with some fries (there may also have been a chocolate shake involved) and made sure our table was pristine before we left. (It was that kind of place.)

They don't take your name when you're waiting. They have you pick a name tag out of a bowl and that is the 'name' you go under. We saw Honey Boo Boo and Drew Barrymore. Our name was Joe Haden. The coolness factor was lost on us because we had no idea who Joe Haden was. (We found out later he plays for the Cleveland Browns.) When we returned we still had 45 minutes to wait for our table so I amused myself by taking pictures of the restaurant. It's an interesting place.

 

 

 

 

 

We were finally seated. The menu was pretty cool, printed on old album covers. See if you remember these.

The non-alcoholic drink selections were pretty neat. Here's a blurry portion of the menu:

Our server was perky. A bit unattentive but we gave that a pass due to the business of the place. 

We decided to order three sandwiches and sample each of them, taking leftovers back to the hotel. Our choices were:

Godfather / 3 cheese lasagna, hearty red sauce, garlic
spiked grilled bread, provolone

Parmageddon / 2 potato & cheese pierogi, fresh napa vodka
kraut, grilled onions, cheddar 

Chorizo & Potato / fresh ground spicy mexican sausage &
potato hash, sharp cheddar

When they came we were impressed with the presentation. Each sandwich was, as per the menu, served with hand cut fries and sweet slaw. Being lovers of hand cut fries and sweet slaw we were happy campers.

But not for long.

Before I divulge the bad news, here is what arrived at our table, tempting us with a very savory sight.

The Godfather

 Parmageddon

 Chorizo & Potato

The pickles were awesome. I tried to discreetly eat most of them but hubby caught on and put an instant stop to my thievery. The fries weren't too bad, but slightly deceitful. The fries on top of the pile were tasty and properly cooked. The fries on the bottom of the pile were kind of burned and greasy. Like putting real bills on the top of a suitcase full of cut paper. 

As there were plenty of top fries, we gave this a pass too. Then came the shocker.

The sweet slaw.

The definition of sweet:

1a (1) : pleasing to the taste (2) : being or inducing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is typically induced by disaccharides and is mediated especially by receptors in taste buds at the front of the tongue — compare bitter, salt, sour

 

I shoveled a spoonful of sweet slaw into my mouth, eager to taste this famous slaw, and almost choked. It was HOT. So hot that my lips burned. I wanted to plunge them into ice water but I didn't have any. Husband had the same experience. The couple sitting on our right said it was pretty awful cole slaw. They didn't eat it. Neither did the couple on the left. Whew, it wasn't just us. Perky waiter informed us later that the chef uses four different kinds of pepper in the sweet slaw. I made the unfortunate observation that the menu says it's sweet, so it was kind of a disappointment. Perky waiter said, "Oh the chef likes things hot." Good for him, but if your lips are blistered it's a bit hard to eat anything else.

Now for the sandwiches.

The Godfather was okay for the first few bites. Eventually the pasta and thick bread got a bit overwhelming in the carb department. Perhaps if there had been a bit more 'hearty red sauce' it may have been less dry and a bit more tasty. 

The Parmageddon had the same carb issue and was very dry. The onions weren't cooked enough. That edge of raw just beginning to cook texture made the sandwich a little hard to eat.

The Chorizo & Potato saved the day. It was delicious!

We didn't have dessert but the couple on our left did. They graciously let me shoot their Carmel Applejack Apple Crisp.

They also serve fried Twinkies.

All in all we'd probably go back and sample some of the other sandwiches, but not if there is a two hour wait. The place may be hip and cool, but not worthy of an entire evening out.

Or a pair of scorched lips.

Until next time.