Westchester Grilled Cheeses To Chow Down On

April 12 is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day (it’s also National Licorice Day but cheese between bread and fried up in butter beats out licorice any day). 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: 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 some on-trend restaurants, including some local ones.

Rye House in Port Chester (126 N Main St, Port Chester 914-481-8771; ryehousepc.com) has a mighty fine truffle grilled cheese with Gouda, Fontina, arugula, mushroom, and taro root on their dinner menu (a slightly cheaper similar version is on the lunch menu), and there’s a “breakfast grilled cheese” with fried eggs, bacon, diced potatoes, and aged cheddar offered at brunch.

On the other side of the county in Dobbs Ferry, the newish Hudson Social (11 Station Plz, Dobbs Ferry 914-478-3634; hudsonsocial.com) in the old train depot station has a trio of crispy-crusted grilled cheeses on Arthur Avenue-style bread, including one with cheddar, bacon, and tomato. There’s also a selection of panini, which (at Hudson Social anyway) are essentially grilled cheeses filled with Italian ingredients (figs, prosciutto, Parmesan, mozzarella, fresh basil, and so on).   

Don’t feel like going out? You can make a top-grade grilled cheese at home by spreading mayo on the bread, and then sautéing it in butter. Just stay away from artificial Kraft Singles and the like, and instead use a quality cheese like a young cheddar, Gruyère, Talleggio, or mozzarella/feta combo.

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