Tom+Chee is restaurant focusing on the all-American staple: grilled cheese.
Tom+Chee is restaurant focusing on the all-American staple: grilled cheese.
REVIEW - TOM+CHEE: A UNIQUE NICHE RESTAURANT
Tom+Chee Review: Grilled cheese is classic comfort food. That fact hasn’t escaped even the Amish who enjoy the all-American sandwich and often refer to them as “cheese toasties.” But not all cheese toasties are alike and that point was driven home the other night when I sampled a restaurant called Tom+Chee which recently opened a restaurant near us. You may recognize the eatery from ABC's show Shark Tank, which catapulted them to fame.
My shroom and swiss grilled cheese accompanied by a bowl of chunky tomato-basil soup
My problem (I’m not sure whether the hearty appetite is the problem or the sandwich) is that often a grilled cheese sandwich doesn’t do it for me. I’m hungry two hours later. Tom+Chee takes care of that problem by offering a double-decker version. I should have gotten the double decker version because, as always happens, I was hungry a few hours later. I marvel at people (like my mother-in-law or my father) who can eat half a sandwich, declare themselves full and satisfied and take the second half home. If I wonder why I struggle with weight, that is my answer right there.
Anyway, back to Tom + Chee's. I ordered the “`shroom and swiss” grilled cheese…Swiss melted between two slices of rye with lots of mushrooms and onions packed between. They also offer a limited line of soups. In fact, the “Tom” in the restaurant’s title is shorthand for “tomato soup.” I got a bowl of chunky basil tomato soup.
It was a GOOD grilled cheese. Really. Probably about the best a grilled cheese could be (although, I will say another local chain, Frisch’s, does a great grilled cheese with the thick slices of Texas toast), but how great can a grilled cheese be? At the end of the day, it is still grilled cheese.But my shroom and swiss grilled cheese was yummy.
tom+chee's famous grilled cheese doughnut.
What really captured my imagination is Tom+Chee's dessert menu of "grilled cheese" doughnuts.A grilled cheese doughnut? Yep…I was flummoxed how a grilled cheese doughnut could actually taste anything but wretched. But, to my surprise, it was a delicious dessert and I really didn’t even notice the cheese. Rachel and I split a dessert but I could have easily eaten a whole one. But at $5 a pop, that'd be kind of expensive. If you think how cheap you can get a great glazed doughnut, $5 seemed a bit pricey for a essentially a dressed up doughnut. If you want to make your own grilled cheese doughnut at home, Tastespotting offers a recipe. Click here.
Tom + Chee features bright and cheery décor and affable employees. I think Aster enjoyed the atmosphere and garish colors. Can a restaurant focused solely on grilled cheese survive long-term? It strikes me as sort of a "faddish." type place....I'm sure Rachel and I will go back,but will we still be 10 years from now. Maybe, grilled cheese has hung on as an American staple for a long time, but you can also make it in your own kitchen with your own cast-iron skillet for far less time and money. So that is the paradox of Tom+Chee: it takes one of the most accessible, unimaginative foods imaginable and turns it into a restaurant concept. Time will tell whether it will survive, but next time I go, I'll make it a double-decker.
Lisa Siegwald-Baird
Great article Kevin ! I have been to the Tom & Chee in Hilliard,a suburb of Columbus. Like you,I had the tomato soup and it was very good. Don't quite remember which sandwich I had but I do know that it was tasty and very filling as well. I splurged and had one of the doughnuts but was not really thrilled with the taste ( This coming from a person that loves bacon ice cream sundae's ! ) All in all,it was a different type of place,a place to have a good old fashioned family meal and I will be back !