Fall is upon us and the first chill of winter is slowly creeping into the Bay Area, which means it's time for wool sweaters, umbrellas (if we're lucky) and warm comfort food. While one can appreciate soups, stews and sandwiches filled with melty goodness at any time of the year, these meals taste even better when we're curled up inside the toasty confines of one of our favorite restaurants. Lucky for us Oakland residents, there's plenty of places to find grilled cheese sandwiches -- like at the five suggested spots listed below. Let us know your favorites in the comments (and stay tuned for a follow-up post featuring melts.)
Come for the Grilled Cheese, Be Rewarded by All the Housemade Extras
I've sung the praises of Hog's Apothecary in a previous "5 Bites" post; it's one of my go-to places for hearty, seasonal cuisine and local craft beers (there's 25+ on tap.) If you're in the neighborhood around lunchtime, pop in to try their excellent "Say Cheese" grilled cheese sandwich. Cowgirl Creamery's semi-pungent Wagon Wheel cheese is melted onto thick slabs of toasted levain bread spread with Dijon mustard. For an added $2, you can pile on slices of their savory ham (it's made in-house from the whole hog that's delivered weekly and butchered on the premises.) Skip the mixed side salad and go for their housemade, lard-fried Kennebec potato chips and pickled vegetables; they're worth every calorie-laden bite.
Hog’s Apothecary
375 40th Street [Map]
Oakland, CA 94609
Ph: (510) 338-3847
Hours: Wed-Fri 11:30am-2:30pm (Lunch)
Facebook: The Hog’s Apothecary
Twitter: @HogsApothecary
Price range: $ Sandwiches ($10 and under)
A Tasty Riff on a Classic Comfort Food Combo
There's far too many temptations packed into The Sacred Wheel, a cozy specialty cheese shop located in Temescal. If you manage to tear yourself away from the gleaming refrigerated cases displaying dozens of local and imported cheeses (and the homey wooden shelves stocked with other gourmet foodstuffs), make your way to the back of the shop to peruse their blackboard menu. They feature several daily sandwich specials, but their "Trinity Sandwich" is one of their staples. Made with a rotating selection of three cheeses, you can choose from sourdough, rye, Texas Toast or Grease Box's gluten-free bread for your crispy, buttery sandwich. Highly recommended is their twist on the classic comfort food combo: a fresh, housemade tomato soup prepared with Pabst Blue Ribbon beer that gives it an extra twang of tangy flavor.
The Sacred Wheel
4935 Shattuck Avenue [Map]
Oakland, CA 94609
Ph: (510) 653-1353
Hours: Mon-Thu 11am-8pm; Sun 12-6pm
Facebook: SacredWheelOak
Twitter: @SacredWheelOak
Price range: $ Sandwiches ($10 and under)
For When You Want a Cocktail With Your Grilled Cheese
The Lodge rounds out Alexeis Filipello's Americana-themed trifecta (which includes Stag's Lunchette and Bar Dogwood) that opened up in September on Piedmont Avenue. All three carry its signature grilled cheese sandwich made with Berkeley's Belfiore mozzarella and Belton Farms white cheddar on sizable slices of buttery levain. Stellar spreadable add-ons -- bacon chutney, tomato jam and caramelized onion jam, to name a few -- are also available at each spot. Sip one of their house cocktails (the "Black Rider" mixed with Rittenhouse rye, Amaro Nardini orange bitters and walnut bitters is a fine concoction that's similar to an Old-Fashioned.) In winter months, it'll probably be too cold to relax outdoors, so try and snag a warm seat by the fireplace.
