I was at a restaurant the other day and was surprised to notice the high number of grilled cheese sandwiches being eaten there. Not just by kids, but by adults as well. This is an estimate, but there were probably 100 people in the restaurant, maybe 20 kids or so. I my immediate area, there were 15 adults and 7 kids, I saw 4 adults eating Grilled cheese and 4 kids eating them. That is 8 out of 22 people. More than a third. If we apply that to the whole restaurant, that would be about 45 grilled cheese sandwiches. I believe I can safely say that America’s kids prefer a Grilled Cheese Sandwich to any other sandwich by a wide margin. And when I say kids, I mean real kids as well as those of us who have never grown up.
Let us further examine my claim:
· Have you ever been in a family restaurant that didn’t have a grilled cheese sandwich on a separate kid’s menu?
· Think about how often you’ve looked over a menu and finally said, “I’ll have a grilled cheese.” You don’t have to add “sandwich.” Everyone knows what grilled cheese means without further elaboration. I have done it more than a few times. Talking to a couple of my friends yesterday, they told me they have done it too.
· Do you remember the many times your mom or your wife said, “We’re having grilled cheese tonight” and everyone was happy?
· And guys, how about all those times you were living alone or your wife or Girlfriend were gone and you had to fix yourself supper? How many times did you just make a grilled cheese sandwich? Easy and quick to fix!
· Think about how often you fix grilled cheese for the kids. Do they ever complain? I have made grilled cheese four times in one week and I never hear “AWWWW, Grilled Cheese again?”
· Ladies, how many of you have been home alone on a cold evening, watching a movie or reading a book, wrapped up on the couch in front of the TV and decided to make yourself a Grilled cheese sandwich?
What is the deal with grilled cheese? Why is it so popular? Here is my theory – SIMPLICITY! There isn’t a sandwich that is easier to make than grilled cheese. Just take two slices of bread, slap some cheese between them and put it on a grill, turning it a couple of times. And it only takes a couple of minutes to make. No waiting around for 10 or 15 minutes. Instant food! Mac and Cheese can’t do that!
(In an earlier post, I showed you how to make a Grilled Cheese Sandwich in a toaster. You can see that post here!)