My mother-in-law had been raving about a little grilled cheese shop, called American Melts, in Kenilworth for months. So, when I was on my way home from the dentist (whose office just so happens to be in Kenilworth), I decided to finally stop in and try it.
E and I LOVE grilled cheese. When we moved down to New Jersey from Boston we were sad to leave Roxy’s, our favorite grilled cheese food truck, behind. We have been in New Jersey for over four and half years and hadn’t found anywhere even close to Roxy’s UNTIL NOW! American Melts is a little hole in the wall type place on a side street off of Route 22. You would totally miss it if you didn’t know it was there. I have probably passed it a million times! Well..this time I knew what I was looking for. American Melts is located inside Frank’s Pit Stop Cafe. You order inside and eat at the picnic benches in the parking lot, you can take your food to go, or can even order delivery through Uber Eats.
E was at home watching the kids, so he scanned the menu ahead of time. There were so many tasty sounding options. He was between the Stone Pony and the C.A.T. When I asked the father and son who operate American Melts which one E should get, they both exclaimed “Stony Pony!” without hesitation. So that is what I ordered for him. I ordered one of their specials, the Brie, for myself. Who doesn’t love apple and brie cheese together?! It just so happened to a beautiful day, so I waited outside while they prepared the sandwiches. About ten minutes later they were ready to go!
I drove them home and E and I dug right in. The bread was crispy and buttery on the outside and cheese was gooey. We both inhaled our sandwiches. They were DELICIOUS.
They were so good, in fact, that E and I decided to go back on the day before my maternity leave ended for a little lunch date. This time we actually ate there. It was another beautiful day in New Jersey (I remember, because we don’t get that many of them #bitter), so we sat at the picnic benches. I ordered the Mac n’ Cheese grilled cheese (sans bacon, because #noporkforme) because WHY THE HELL NOT?! It was GLORIOUS. Carbs on carbs on carbs. E ordered one of their specials (unfortunately we cannot remember what it was called) that had roast beef, cheddar cheese and cole slaw. To add to the fat assery, we added an order of tots to all of that. Within about 15 minutes everything we ordered was gone. Sad face.
If you are in the area you should DEFINITELY stop in for a quick sandwich. You will not regret it. We cannot wait to get our grilled cheese fix again soon! Maybe even this weekend…
American Melts, 515 Springfield Rd, Kenilworth, NJ 07033
