National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day, April 12, provides the perfect pretext to celebrate cheese melted between bread and fried up in butter. Ancient Roman cookbooks had recipes to make a cooked bread and cheese sandwich, and many cultures since have created similar takes on this ancient dish. Case in point: the French have the croque monsieur (a grilled ham and cheese sandwich); Mexico has quesadillas; and the Swiss, well, they melt the cheese and toast the bread separately before combining them. The classic American grilled cheese sandwich dates to the 1920s when, thanks in good part to James L. Kraft, inexpensive processed cheese became available (as did affordable sliced bread). Grilled cheese is now a chief comfort food in cafés, diners, school cafeterias, and a number of on-trend restaurants, including these local ones.
Bobo’s Café
249 US-202 #6, Heritage Ctr, Somers; 914.276.2233
The family-owned eatery established in 1949 in Somers, with additional locations in Purchase, Chappaqua, Baldwin Place, and Ridgefield, CT, serves up four customizable grilled cheese sandwiches. Choose barbecue with pulled barbecue chicken and cheddar on sourdough; plain with American cheese, sourdough, and hot-honey chips; tomato-bacon with American cheese on sourdough, or Italian with roasted tomato, mozzarella, and pesto on sourdough.
Bread and Brine
19 Main St, Hastings-on-Hudson; 914.479.5243
Bread and Brine scores big with a gourmet lobster grilled cheese: a quarter pound of succulent seafood, cheddar, and mozzarella on white toast. This hefty sandwich weighs in at $32. The eatery also serves a tuna melt, a cousin of grilled cheese.
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Melt Mobile
Westchester and Fairfield counties; 203.609.1422
This food truck and catering service covers Westchester and Fairfield with nine grilled sandwich varieties, all made from scratch using local, seasonal ingredients. Add-ons include caramelized onions, sautéed wild mushrooms, vine-ripened tomatoes, pickled jalapeños, avocado, applewood-smoked bacon, crispy prosciutto, and grilled chicken. Want catering? Elegant food trucks with top-notch service will deliver melts for 50 to 250 guests, along with your choice of hors d’oeuvres, salads, and sides, and desserts — try the creamy New York cheesecake melt!
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Melt Sandwich Shop
277 Mamaroneck Ave, White Plains; 914.358.1364
Open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday, Melt Sandwich Shop is a local favorite for fresh, made-to-order sandwiches and salads. Its grilled cheese specialty, The Goat (tomatoes, red onions, spinach, pesto, and goat or other cheese), is one of many made in a special melt oven. Choose your bread and favorite toppings, and voila: sandwiches for dinner!
Rye House
126 N Main St, Port Chester; 914.481.8771
Rye House has a mighty fine truffle grilled cheese with gouda and fontina, served with French fries, on its dinner menu starting at 4 p.m. daily; closed Mondays.
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Village Social
251 Main St, Mount Kisco; 914.864.1255
67 Purchase St, Rye; 914.612.4267
Village Social certainly know how to cook up a meal in a sandwich. In its grilled cheese iteration, cheddar cheese and tender short ribs are grilled together in melty perfection and placed between slices of toasted sourdough bread. The short ribs are cooked in-house for three to five hours in red wine, then pulled apart and tossed in homemade barbecue sauce, with fries on the side, of course.
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Other Spots to Check out:
Birdsall House
970 Main St, Peekskill; 914.930.1880
The gastropub pairs a three-cheese griller featuring New York white cheddar, fontina, and imported gruyere on multigrain bread with hand-cut fries. Wash it all down with a brew from the eatery’s craft beer menu.
Croton Colonial Diner
221 S Riverside Ave, Croton-on-Hudson; 914.271.8868
Open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., this diner is the go-to spot for its grilled-and-cheesy menu offering five favorites chockful of cheeses, bacon and tomato, roasted peppers and pesto, barbecue chicken or a burger. Build your own gourmet griller on the bread of your choice and opt for classic coleslaw with a pickle or sliced tomato on the side.
Horsefeathers
94 N Broadway, Tarrytown; 914.631.6606
Horsefeathers is a local haunt that serves up a touch of regional history (think the Headless Horseman) and boasts an irresistible grilled cheese menu. Start by choosing one or more of nine cheese varieties including horseradish cheddar, soft-pub cheddar, gorgonzola, Swiss, or Muenster. From there, add tomato, tuna, bacon — or how about a patty melt? — and it will be all melted to perfection between slices of your favorite bread.
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Put Some Meat on Your Bones
Mohegan Lake-Jefferson Valley; 914.391.5527
This food truck is an eat-on-the-run gem serving grilled cheese stuffed with bacon and mac ’n’ cheese, brie with fig and apple, or buffalo chicken.  The classic grill or the six-cheese adult grilled sandwiches will satisfy as well. Chips are always included.
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Wooden Spoon
16 Division St, New Rochelle; 914.278.9432
Wooden Spoon puts on a showstopper with a four-cheese blend on Texas toast and plenty of add-on options: bacon, tomato, fried onions, pulled pork, brisket, or Philly crab, paired with French fries, tater tots, or sweet potato fries.
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Related: 5 Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwiches to Order in Westchester
