The 44th Ward Dinner Party

I love grilled cheese… so by the transitive property I should like 44^th Ward, right? The math never lies. It was dang good, but I didn’t need a cheesy postulate pun to guess that a hip place that makes their sandwiches with loving dedication would be a safe bet.
I love how they have a nice, long bar and unique seating arrangements throughout the two main spaces. Usually with a smaller space, like this one, places tend to try to maximize seating. Here, they let style take a front seat, and it works well. One day I hope to sit in the one outdoor table, located in a small patio. The sliding glass door makes it almost look like a glass case displaying the lucky couple chosen to dine there.
All their menu items are delicious, but I find the way to go is to visit on Wednesdays and let the sandwich gods dictate your fate. They have a $ 5 special that lets you randomly draw for your meal. Whatever item you pull is what they’ll serve up. It’s both A) a money-​saver B) fun and C) safe, because you can’t go wrong. Whether it’s the Belmont Harbor, The Rooftop, The Bleacher Bum, or anything else you’re sure to get a satisfying choice.
Also, if you’re here for drinks, late-​night, on the weekend, they serve up traditional grilled cheeses for just a buck each. They curb your drunken hunger AND keep you from your usually ritual of leaving a bar to abuse your body with the Taco Bell dollar menu. It’s a win-​win!
Caution: closed Mon. and Tues.

omg grilled cheese. WOW… I never knew grilled cheese could be so good!
I went here for a Unilocal elite event (yeah late review my queue is huge) I met some great folks here and had a fun time.
They have a nice bar area and some unique seating. The outdoor patio has one table for two, and in the back there is one table that is raised up and set into the wall. very cool.

*Update: Apparently this place is now closed. Hmm, I wonder why.*
The 44^th Ward Dinner Party is a head scratcher. When I first heard the name last year, I honestly thought it was some fancy schmancy ongoing fundraising event being thrown by Tom Tunney. When I found out that it was a grilled cheese bar, I was a little bit let down (I like wearing dresses) and a little bit excited because I like a good grilled cheese.
I finally made my way down here last night for a frate (friend date) with another lovely Unilocaler. She had arrived a few minutes before me, but was easy to spot because the place was completely empty on a Thursday night. We were both confused by this. Wasn’t this the hip new place that all the kids were trying?
The décor was cute with the low lighting and dark mahogany furniture. If Ron Burgundy was a real person, you’d imagine he’d hang out in a place that looked like this. The elegance juxtaposed with such a simplistic menu was pleasing to my taste in humor. They were starting Rock ‘n Roll bingo when we arrived, but half of the pictures on the bingo cards were so small and pixilated that we couldn’t say for sure if they were who we were hearing. It’s a great concept, but maybe they should stick to solo artists since a 1×1 black and white copied thumbnail of a 5 man band isn’t so easy to see in low lighting.
To start, I ordered a Lakeview Lemonade that had just the right amount of sweet from the mix and a nice kick of whisky. Well done on the drink. We decided to try the onion rings of fire and those also were a hit. Rather than individual large rings, they were small hand battered strings with pieces of fried jalapeño and cilantro. They were really good although not as spicy as the menu would have you think.
For our sandwiches, my buddy ordered the Bleacher Bum and I choose to build my own sandwich merely because I didn’t see any named sandwiches that came on a pretzel bun. I went with said pretzel roll with tomatoes, bacon, swiss and cheddar cheese. It was pretty good. I can’t say that I can really rave about it, because it was exactly what I’d expected it to be. Would I say it was the best grilled cheese I’ve ever had? Maybe. But in all honesty, it’s really hard to go wrong with a grilled cheese. It’s kind of like asking if a glass of orange juice is the best I’ve had. Sure, some are better than others, but the difference between the best and the worst is marginal.
I will say the «sweet and savory» fries were a bit of a let down. They were basic shoestring fries with a faint sprinkle of sweet and salty rub. I only really noticed the sweetness because it was noted on the menu. I also felt the portion was also lacking. When I’m eating bread, cheese, and two slices of bacon, I’d like to have a bit more than what would be a Mc Donald’s small to substantiate my meal.
Based on food and cuteness, I’d have given this place 4 stars because I like the concept. There’s also tiny outdoor area with one table that can be reserved for intimate dates. I couldn’t help but think that the place as a whole was a perfect casual first date place because it looks fancy, but in actuality is extremely casual. Serving only grilled cheese sandwiches is pretty light hearted and it’s a cheap date that doesn’t look cheap… er wait a minute. Does that bill say $ 58?
Yes my friends, this is where the 3^rd and 4^th stars get lost. I don’t consider myself to be frugal. Truthfully, I know what I expect to spend when walking in an establishment, and am only ever price conscious when I am dining lavishly on another’s dime. That being said, I understand how 2 martinis and a mixed drink can be $ 28. I’m not new. What I don’t understand is how onion rings and two grilled cheese sandwiches amounts to $ 30. Bread + 2 different slices of cheese+ Bacon+ Tomatoes+ 25 french fries =/​= $ 13. Did I just unknowingly order room service? I’m not sure who got screwed more because my friend paid $ 7 for a slice of cheese and tomatoes. Hmm. No, it was definitely me because I paid almost double her price for the same plus a slice of swiss and bacon.
It makes a lot of sense that we found the place empty on a Thursday night. Hey! 44^th Ward! You guys have such a cute thing going on, but your price points are all messed up. It’s not that a $ 13 sandwich is unheard of, but come ON.

Ever since I didn’t get into the Unilocal event at 44^th Ward, it’s been bookmarked for me to try, and last night, I finally did.
I had plans to meet a Unilocalette here last night and when I walked in, my initial thought was that the layout was just strange. You walk in, and the bathrooms are RIGHT there. Then you’re not really sure where to go and there isn’t really a host stand. I walked up the stairs and the bartender greeted me and told me to sit wherever I wanted. He also mentioned the rock n roll bingo that night, which sounded fun, so he gave us two bingo cards. I was expecting this place to be packed at 7:00 on a Thursday night, but the only occupied table was the one outside.
I grabbed a spot and looked at the menu while waiting for my friend to join me. The cocktail list was rather gimmicky, but I decided on a Wrigley Martini, which had vodka, peach schnapps, raspberry liqueur and pineapple juice. The drink was good; it had a sugar rim and it wasn’t too sweet.
My friend arrived and ordered a Lakeview Lemonade and while we looked at the menu, we ordered the Onion Rings of Fire. These were quite good; just greasy enough and mixed in with the onion rings were strips of jalapeño and cilantro.
I ordered a Bleacher Bum which sounded delicious: American cheese, roasted tomatoes, garlic infused butter on Texas toast. She opted to «build your own» sandwich, and buy the time she was done with all the extras, her sandwich quickly morphed into a pricey one.
Our food arrived quickly. My sandwich was fine. I wasn’t blown away; I thought it was a little bland and the sweet and savory fries that came with it were a bit misleading. I was expecting a mix of sweet potato and regular fries so I was a little disappointed.
We finished our food and stayed there talking and playing rock n roll bingo. We’re both pretty music savvy, but the pictures of the bands were so blurry that we had trouble making them out. Eventually we just gave up. The free shot just wasn’t worth it at that point.
Our tab came to nearly $ 60, which was about half alcohol and half food, so watch those «build your own» grilled cheese sandwiches. Before you know it, you’ll rack up quite a bill and have one hella expensive grilled cheese on your hands.
I’m glad I gave 44^th Ward a try. I wasn’t wowed, but I wasn’t disappointed either. I’d give it another shot.

SOS, SOS… help, help, help… someone please call the lactose police… there is a dire situation that needs to be attended to STAT! Unity has almost died of stomach pain due to over indulgence in cheesy gooey goodness. Note to self… bring along some Lactaid next time.
Why Oh Why can we not be given the chance to give ½ stars!!! Unilocal please make that happen. This place is a solid 3 ½ stars but no option to give it that, I give them 4 stars as 3 stars just seems a bit harsh for the experience had there.
So the deadline to use my groupon (I heart them!!) was fast approaching and I needed to get my behind there so as to not waste the hard earned money. So it was DATE NIGHT for the hubby & me (yay!). We arrived on a Friday night around 6:45pm…silly me for thinking that we would not have to wait long since it was only an hour after opening and a bit early for a dinner crowd. Alas, this was not the case & we waited for about 45 minutes for a table. Not a problem since we got to sit at the bar, get some drinks & have an appetizer while we waited. The bar tender & manager were more than accommodating & made sure we were well attended. The staff of 44^th ward are awesome & will very much make you feel at home. PLUS, they do not rush you even though this place is not so big.
The atmosphere of this place is lovely… has a vintage coziness to it that gives it a very intimate feel. Now the space is not the largest thing you will ever come across and the tables are set fairly close to each other so if you wanting to have some private conversation… that won’t happen. This place is more for having fun & just hanging out.
The food… hmmm, this where they lose me just a little. While I love the novelty of a place dedicated to grill cheese, part of me thinks it could be better. First off, we started with the Mac-​n-​cheese appetizer which was surprisingly lacking in flavor. Even though it had charred onions & bacon on top, there was a lack of salt to it, I found a bit strange and it could have used a bit more cheese… I felt it was a bit dry.
We did not let this deter us as we were excited to try the sandwiches. Now this is where they win some points… they do grill cheese very well. Not the greasy mess you expect from other places & it has a finesse to it that is completely unexpected. It is like designer grill cheese. I had the Red Line (per reading Nick M’s review) and my hubby had the Rooftop. Both very tasty… I would note that the Red line felt less like a grill cheese sandwich & more like a regular sandwich. We both got the sweet & spicy fries to go with it; I was not such a fan of them as my hubby was. Plus, I was feeling all convicted that I should have gotten the side salad instead… ah well next time.
Overall a great experience, but I feel that the food could be a tad better for the price you pay. I am bit hard pressed to pay $ 14 for a grill cheese, but the service and atmosphere do make up for that. I will happily go back to 44^th Ward & try other things especially since 2 of my favorite peeps live near there (Hi Val & Lindsay!!).

Ebs suggested I try the Belmont Harbor with mozzarella soy — I am lactose-​intolerant. It was pretty good– there’s really not much you can say about grilled cheese sandwiches. The mozzarella really tasted like cheese! I like that there are a few items on the menu for the vegans (or lactose-​intolerant). The salad that came with my sandwich was okay, didn’t like the iceberg lettuce but I enjoyed the crunchiness of the carrots and apples.
The service yesterday was not very nice. Shortly after we got the tab, a server came over to our table to ask if we had paid. He also asked us if we could leave since there’s a party of 11 waiting. Uh… rude?!? My friend wasn’t even done eating! Geez.
I remember ordering a drink from here once and not liking it very much. Plus the first time I came here, the restrooms were clogged and the water seeped out into the hallway. It was pretty gross. I didn’t want to check that again last night. Luckily for me, our next destination had a nice restroom.
The rating’s really somewhere between 2 and 3 stars, maybe 2.5 but not quite there either… I guess I’m feeling nice since the sandwich was at least pleasing.

Fake-on…*pant*…fake-on…fake-on…*pant*…fake-on…FAKE-ON!
I would seriously go all Beggin’ Strips commercial dog on this place if given the chance! I’ve only had a chance to go here twice, but I swear that even after those two brief encounters, their fake bacon haunts my dreams! If they would let me wait outside in the back alley like Tramp in the Disney film, I would just go to town on the leftover fakeon each night right there! If they let me beg at the front door for it where it’s more comfortable, it would be even better!
On one of their vegan sandwiches (they have two!), the Diversey Parkway, it provides a nice savory flavor that many meat eaters would not be able to differentiate. But, I have a secret to reveal. On the Belmont Harbor (possibly the world’s perfect grilled cheese sandwich), they’ll let you sub in the fakeon if you’re so inclined for health, religious, ethical, whatever reasons. After all, this is Boystown, they don’t judge, well… on the basis of food choice anyway…
Anyhow, they really will accommodate guest here in general. I went last time with a meat eater who happens to be lactose intolerant (yeah, we planned the excursion well). They substituted soy cheese on her grilled cheese sandwiches that didn’t ordinarily include it as well.
The tomato bisque is a perfect compliment to the sandwiches (it’s like a classier version of what it served at Noodles & Co.). They give free orders of their homemade potato chips now (some of the best deep fried skins I’ve ever tasted). *pant*
Now, this ain’t your mama’s grilled cheese and it can get a bit pricey, but three of us dined here on the recent $ 45 Groupon and we undershot the limit (even with a $ 3 PBR can and soup ordered by yours truly). I repeat. We undershot it and were all full!
Now that’s a somewhat affordable evening of cheesy goodness! And this is coming from a real cheesehound — in whatever definition you choose to use that in!

Décor ⁵⁄₅
Food ⁴⁄₅
Service ⁴⁄₅
My friends and I went there this past Monday and really enjoyed the environment and the tasty grilled cheese sandwiches. They had a wide variety of specialty sandwiches (e.g. vegan, meat, etc.). The fries that came with the sandwiches were unique, with a hint of sweetness and spice. It was a good and affordable place to eat out with friends.

I had been waiting anxiously for the opportunity to savor some delicious grilled cheese. We had to wait until the time was right… a ridiculously cold, snowy night.
The time was right so we headed over. This place was not what I was expecting but it was the perfect atmosphere to enjoy some comfort food. We got a cozy table overlooking the entrance and took the opportunity to enjoy the festive holiday décor and the homey atmosphere. My bf said he really liked the place. After about 30 minutes, I figured out why. It looked just like his living room.
We had a groupon and we really had to struggle to order $ 40 worth of food. This place is really reasonable and you get a lot of food with your order. We started with the veggie platter and the mac & cheese. I’m extremely wary of gourmet mac & cheese because it usually sucks, but this stuff was smoky deliciousness. Mac & cheese with caramelized onions and bacon? Yes please! Yum.
For my main course, I went with the ⁹⁰⁄₉₄. This sandwich is insane. Two grilled cheese sandwiches surrounding a beef patty, a sauteed portobella mushroom and cheese. OMG, I was pretty sure I was going to have a heart attack, but that was the most amazing thing I had tasted for… I can’t remember how long. So good! It came with a huge side salad with their homemade blue cheese dressing so I could feel a little bit better about inhaling that sandwich.
The service was friendly and the food was delicious. I can’t wait for the next horribly awful storm so I can go back for more!

I think A-​OK is the best way to describe 44^th Ward Dinner Party. Average food and better-​than average ambiance. It is a cool place to bring friends, but dont expect to be blown away by the food.
I had the Rooftop, which was essentially a Ham and cheese on a pretzel bun. You had me at hello with the pretzel bun. Honestly, I thought my sandwich was delicious. The others around the table thought theirs were eh, especially the turkey varieties. Cost is a little high too. Expect to spend $ 9 – 12 per sandwich.
One of the two bathrooms doesn’t have a lock so you can walk in on a little treat, if you know what I mean.
NO BYOB — Full bar. Boo!

The Rooftop is the best sandwich on the menu. Dang good! It’s followed by the Belmont Harbor.
The atmosphere and décor is still sexy as heck. The service.. . the male models in Zoolander didn’t die in a freak gasoline fight accident! They found a second career at 44^th Ward. In other words, they are as stylish and on the ball as those cats. I’ve been here on dead, empty nights and still have them forget our drinks, mess up our orders or check. When reminded they sheepishly shrug or become cutely overwhelmed, but hey, they’re stylin’ and profilin’ and kind at heart. Sometimes they’re so befuddled, we don’t even bother to say anything, One night a server messed up our drinks and both our meals, but fubbled a lot and stammered constantly, so we bit our tongues. The messed up drinks and meal plus his awkwardness could of killed our evening, but we were hot enough to persevere that obstacle.
When done RIGHT the food is GOOD and décor and vibe oh so hot. Plus, it’s a block from my place. I wish I knew how to quit you.

Remember a few months ago when I reported change was in the air at 44^th Ward?
Well then it was good. Now? Sigh… I’m a bit downhearted, actually. My friend and I came in for a chat and a sandwich (she: hungry, me: not) She ordered her usual, ate it with the same impassioned gusto, and then came the check. $ 20 for a grilled cheese sandwich and a Guinness.
Huh? Well, here’s the math:
Grilled cheese sandwich with bacon, cheddar and goat cheese: $ 10 ($ 6 for base including one cheese, $ 2 per add-​on)
Fries: $ 2
Guinness CAN: $ 8
Fries no longer come with the sandwiches (supposedly wasteful as ‘not everyone eats their fries’… huh?) and come on… $ 8 for a can of Guinness? Not even draft, but a can? Look at it this way: the can goes for the same price as a glass of champagne. May as well live the high life, baby!
The food is definitely still unbelievably delish, but sandwich and a beer (as in one single beer) night for $ 25 including tip makes it difficult to justify returning despite our hot and heavy affair. Guess it was just a summer romance. Sorry– I’m bummed too.

Granted, it’s possible I’m losing my mind, but I could have sworn that the sandwiches used to include a side of fries or salad. Now the side costs $ 2 extra. But you have the option of choosing fries, salad, mashed taters, chips or tomato bisque soup. My salad was still pretty substantial, but my dining companions both had fries and I didn’t think the serving size was terribly generous.
They have also expanded their menu a little more. One thing they still haven’t added is iced tea. Come on guys, it can’t be that hard! That’s twice now I’ve gone and drank free tap water when you could have sold me some iced tea. I can’t imagine I’m the only one… am I?
The food is still very good. But charging for sides without reducing the prices of the sandwiches (as far as I could tell… again, with the memory) = declining value. And still no iced tea. So, I’m forced to drop a star.

so I had to revisit this place and see if maybe the free drink (because they sat some other people at my table) skewed my review. And it did.
The fries are damn good. But the grilled cheese is just a decent grilled cheese with some good stuf inside.
Its a solid place, but its just not that special for me to make a trip from Damen to eat here.

Yummy! I made a sandwich… tomato foccacia bread with goat cheese and avacado and infused herb butter. The sandwich was delicious!
I’ll be back. On the super plus side, they have a basic grill cheese for $ 1 on fridays and saturdays after midnight. That will so satisfy any cravings and not have to settle for stale pizza slices that seem to be prevalent everywhere after midnight.
The inside is decorated tastefully. On the night we went, at 8pm, the place was empty, but I expect it to be more busier after hours. Thursdays, they have $ 3 Long Islands. Skip it. It tastes like sugar water and I realized after the first one why I stopped drinking long island years ago… very few places know how to make it well.
Sadly, I didn’t take advantage of the vintage photobooth, but it seems like a great idea.
I’m going back there again to taste another sandwich.

Innovative, fun, neat, inspiring…
Grilled cheese with a twist, wide range of ingredients, huge side salad, huge bowl of soup, sweet and salty fries…
Tasty drinks, hip environment, warm-​lighting, oversized comfy chairs, booth sitting along the wall, not too overpriced…
It’s grilled cheese so not much to say except, I really enjoyed my time here and will come back just to try the different variations of grilled cheese.

Seriously? This place doesn’t live up to it’s admittedly well designed signage out front. From the look of the signage, I was expecting a sexy little bistro. Low lighting, soft music, perfect for a latenight tryst with a delicious paramour.
You walk in to the former Bangkok Noodle space, and still there’s the same little vestigial, useless, mostly bare ‘lounge’ area in front. A bathroom smell greets upon entering. Nice. Very «where do we go from here» feeling.
Upstairs, just another bar with faux-​ironic turned wood barstools. And climate problems. And the music pretty much blares. The bartender was nice enough, I have to give the staff props. It just wasn’t sexy.
*sigh* Not sexy at all. And I LOVE sexy.
And seriously, I know all the «kids» today think that a grilled cheese sandwich on Wonder Bread is such a cool and ironic thing to eat (it’s not). But, for someone who has never ingested Wonder Bread (fine, call me a snob), the appeal is puzzling at best.

Riiiii-​co-​laaaaaaaaa!
Riiiii-​co-​laaaaaaaaa!
It’s nice to see that this place has taken some notes! I had read some reviews and heard from others about their less than stellar experience here and I have to say my dinner tonight was pretty darn good.
My roommate and I rolled in around 8:15 on Thursday for dinner. Sadly, all of the tables were occupied by lingering groups so we grabbed a seat at the bar. I was a little apprehensive when the bartender ignored us for over 5 minutes, despite being smack dab in front of him, and then acted like we just sat down. Fortunately, it was not a sign of things to come.
We probably waited about 30 minutes for a table our server and another guy (manager maybe) checked on us regularly and apologized profusely for the lingerers. The one table had finished when we arrived, but was still at their table by the time we left!
I ordered the Belmont Harbor, 86 the bacon; my roommate got the Rooftop. We both really enjoyed our food, we got the fries as our side which have some amazing seasoning on them and come with a bleu cheese dipping sauce.
Here are some improvements I noticed:
* Drink list — the menu must have been updated to include a full drink list including some specialty drinks. They still fall short on wine selection — 1 red, 1 white and 1 white zin.
* Service was amazingly attentive and friendly. Our server and the other guy came by our table regularly to check on us, refill our waters, etc.
Here is one majorly needed improvement — sound levels. Turn the f-​ing music down about 4 clicks; there is no reason the music needs to be deafeningly loud! We even asked for them to lower it a touch twice, which was barely noticeable; we resigned ourselves to leaning in and screaming through the rest of our meal, the alternative — eating in complete silence — just would’ve been too weird. They should bring the check with complimentary Ricolas or something to soothe your throat.
The décor was ok, nothing to write home about. The entryway makes you feel like you’re in an old lady’s living room. Upstairs the bar/​restaurant is dimly lit and pretty lackluster, I wasn’t digging the paisley wallpaper. They should spring for some sort of host station or at the very least a sign. When we got there we stood confused trying to figure out where to put our name in or if it was every man/​woman for themselves, that would’ve been fine I can throw a mean bony elbow. I wasn’t sure what their style was, our server and the bartender were in shirts and ties and the other guy looked like the lost member of Fall Out Boy; no biggie, just interesting.
Bottom line: I’d go back, the food is good and the prices are decent. Just be warned seating is sparse so don’t expect to waltz in and grab a table during peak hours!
P. S. The menu online is smaller than the actual one.

I’ve been stewin’ on this one for a bit…
I’ve come to a conclusion, which works well for semi-​hipster bars that serve a variety of grilled cheeses… but also for many other instances, experiences and life living in general.
Managing expectations is a tricky pickle.
Ya see… had I just stumbled upon this little diamond at the north end of Boystown, with no expectation of «World’s Greatest Grilled Cheese» or «Best Bar Ever!» or «The Music will make your ears fall off its so good» kinda stuff… well then, you know… I’d have been pretty thrilled.
A whole menu dedicated to grilled cheese with sorta fancy fixin’s and a whole side of the menu to build-​your-​own? Yes, please. Applewood smoked bacon and granny smith apples atop sourdough bread, drenched in ooey gooey cheese? Ahem, yes. For under $ 10? Yeah, you heard it. However if grilled cheeze ain’t your thang, chicken wang… you are straight outta luck. You might be able to get by on the pretty delicious creamy tomato soup, but not for long… after all though, if you don’t like bread and cheese… you probably aren’t human, and I probably don’t even want to know what deep inner demons live within your soul. Really. If cleanliness is next to godliness, grilled cheese is next to PBJ in my holy book.
Whoa, digression.
Anyway, the grilled cheese =good. Obv.
The drinks? Eh. Need some work, but I do believe it can be easily remedied. $ 7 Stoli + sodas make me bored and tired. For $ 3 they make me bored, tired… but I have more money. Smart little drinks with some punch and kick, now that will get me talkin’. I’m giving this fourth star on the condition that a cocktail list be composed. IN addition, please print a beer list. I cannot remember 12 beers when the waitress rattles them off. It’s a nice effort, but I still can’t remember it. A list works well, trust me.
The tunes: right up my alley, keep ‘em coming. Whoever thunk up this here playlist has auto-​rights to hijack my Ipod (wait, I don’t have one), but if I did… they could hijack it and I’d listen to my «44^th Ward Dinner Party» soundtrack all the live long day… jonesin’ for some throwback tunes. Indeed.
The vibe is good. Laid back. Cool. Needs a bit of tweakin’, but then again… the expectations may have been just a little sky high for this little place manufacturin’ grilled cheese for the faux-​hipster set. It is what it is, and if they make grilled cheese with bacon and stuff, I’ll go back.
Just fix the drinks. Pretty please.

I like what The 44^th Ward is trying to do: Specialize in one menu item (grilled cheese) and make it fantastic while delivering great music and a moody/​chic atmosphere all wrapped up in a late night location in Boystown.
Sounds fabulous, right?
Well… there are still some things 44^th Ward needs to work on before they reach late night grilled cheese Nirvana.
Before I get bitchy, I really must commend 44^th Ward on the absolutely delectable grilled cheese sandwiches. I ordered an aged cheddar, bacon and Roma tomato grilled cheese on whole wheat bread. Probably the best grilled cheese I’ve ever had in my entire life. And priced exceptionally well. I was charged for a $ 2 «Classique» and then $ 1 for each ingredient, being bacon and tomatoes. That’s one cheap sandwich! Since my diet was thrown out the window with all the bacon, cheese and butter, I decided to hell with it and ordered the fries. The menu says they’re shoestring, but be forewarned they’re actually a thicker cut fry.
Now, my issues.
1. No drink menu. Let me say that again… No.Drink.Menu. Not even a listing of beers and wines, let alone any kind of specialty cocktail list. I suppose I could deal without a specialty drink menu, but really, a restaurant needs to list out their beers and wines. How could a person possibly order wine without a wine list? And while we’re at it… beers on tap would be nice.
2. The staff needs a bit of improvement. Our service was touch and go at best. Our waitress flat out ignored one of my friends when she asked her questions… multiple times. I know it wasn’t that loud in there last night, Honey.
3. The crowd. Um, there was none. I was anticipating a bumping crowd, but it was just a smattering of a few tables. Nothing to see there, folks.
So while the grilled cheese is absolutely amazing and the music (which I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned yet!) was top-​notch, I think I was expecting more. Perhaps 44^th Ward is better on the weekends?