# Your "grilled cheese for grownups" is a hamburger! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 25, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663 "2010-05-25T02:50:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/21 "2010-05-25T06:29:15Z")
One of my husband’s favorite comfort foods is grilled cheese sandwiches. If I serve tomato or chicken noodle soup with the sandwiches, he’s happy. If I don’t, he’s STILL happy. If I have put some cooked bacon in the sandwiches, he’s ecstatic. But he doesn’t want a cheeseburger, with or without bacon. He wants a grilled cheese. And he wants me to make it. Apparently, I’m the only one in the universe who makes them properly. I like cheeseburgers, but I object to any company sneering at the noble grilled cheese sandwich as being just for kiddies. Sometimes, only a grilled cheese sandwich will do. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/22 "2010-05-25T06:49:50Z")
**Frank** : You might want to steer clear of South Korea for a while, then. There’s an interesting food trend here, named with the English word _Toast_ (but it’s pronounced Toe-sooh-tooh). Now, you would think that’s just toasted bread. You would be wrong. It’s pan toasted bread with various items added between the two slices. Eggs and jam are the core ingredients. You can have Ham toast, Steak toast, Vegetable toast, Pizza toast, etc. What you will never get, though, is just plain ol’ toast. You can click on the various menu items [here](http://www.isaac-toast.co.kr/#) to get a photo of the “toast” (you have to click on toast, then on 메뉴, finally on the item you think you might want. And I just discovered there’s an [Isaac Toast](http://www.isaactoast.com/toast) in Los Angeles! I used the Isaac Toast because there’s one less than a block from my school and I’m a bit addicted to their stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/23 "2010-05-25T06:50:48Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > One of my husband’s favorite comfort foods is grilled cheese sandwiches. If I serve tomato or chicken noodle soup with the sandwiches, he’s happy. If I don’t, he’s STILL happy. If I have put some cooked bacon in the sandwiches, he’s ecstatic. But he doesn’t want a cheeseburger, with or without bacon. He wants a grilled cheese. And he wants me to make it. Apparently, I’m the only one in the universe who makes them properly. > > I like cheeseburgers, but I object to any company sneering at the noble grilled cheese sandwich as being just for kiddies. Sometimes, only a grilled cheese sandwich will do. Hear, hear! Well said! And I just wanted to point out that [In-N-Out Burger](http://www.in-n-out.com/secretmenu.asp) does have a real grilled cheese on their menu. It’s the only reason I go there. > [@In-N-Out](#): > > Grilled Cheese > > Two slices of melted American cheese, hand-leafed lettuce, tomato, spread, with or without onions on a freshly baked bun. I would note that in my experience, it’s been flat bread, not a bun. And I don’t have to ask for the tomato & lettuce! WOOT! ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/24 "2010-05-25T07:13:49Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > If Arby’s can call a roast beef sandwich a “burger” (and they have), I guess this is news to me, because I’ve never ever heard Arby’s advertise their sandwiches as anything but. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/25 "2010-05-25T07:17:54Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > I guess this is news to me, because I’ve never ever heard Arby’s advertise their sandwiches as anything but. My memory and [Arby’s menu](http://www.arbys.com/menu/) concur. Arby’s sells sandwiches. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/26 "2010-05-25T08:33:02Z")
I’ve eaten nothing but road kill served up by the rehab center where I spent the last two months. Yesterday, I was treated to two sliders that were made of ground sirloin topped with caramelized onions and I think I will never eat anything but those things again. I’ve never tasted anything better and I’m not going to tell anyone where I bought them because I don’t want anyone else to have them; I want them all for myself. The rest of you can have all the grilled cheese you want and I don’t care what you call it. I’ve discovered the ultimate sandwich. I wish I had a few of them right this moment. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/27 "2010-05-25T08:44:21Z")
> [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](#): > > It is NOT, however, a grilled cheese sandwich. It is a toasted ham and cheese sandwich. Apparently if you pour cream gravy or something on it, it becomes a French delicacy, but for me it is only a toasted ham and cheese sandwich. Actually, you don’t have to pour anything over it. If you want to be fancy, call it a “croque monsieur.” It’s just a hot French ham-and-cheese sandwich (usually made with some kind of Swiss cheese, Emmanthaler or Gruyere). On another note, is grilled cheese with tomato and lettuce common? I have never heard of such a thing until this thread. To me, grilled cheese is just bread and cheese. Cheese, lettuce, and tomato, is totally subverting my expectations. That concoction should have a different name. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/28 "2010-05-25T09:06:28Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Well well well, aren’t **we** being the little corporate lackey here. Since when is a customer not supposed to stop patronizing an establishment unless he has what the corporate lackey considers an adequate justification for it? > > A company’s advertising policies are part of its total corporate brand, and if customers find the advertising repulsive enough to diminish their enjoyment of the company’s products, said customers should by all means stop rewarding said company with their business. How else will the company know that they should change their stupid ad campaign? > > What kind of servile mindset does it take to consider it “moronic” not to want to give your business to a company that’s gratuitously irritating and exasperating you while attempting to lure you into buying their products? Are we under some kind of pledge not to deny the company their God-given right to our money unless they fail to meet our requirements concerning **only** product price and quality, or what? > > Sheesh, it’s not like there’s nowhere else for the OP to get a bacon cheeseburger if he wants one, or like he’ll be desperately deprived if he just decides to go without it. > Yes, OP, how dare you attempt to chastise the Holy and Noble Corporation for your own elitist and effete squeamishness about their advertising? Don’t you know that you have no right to criticize the Holy and Noble Corporation about ANYTHING other than product price and quality? The Holy and Noble Corporation is the Defender of the Ordinary Hard-working Consumer, and when you diss their ad campaigns, you’re shitting on ordinary hard-working consumers everywhere. Why do you hate America, Liberty and Free Enterprise, OP? BLAH BLAH BLAH. I’ll ignore your turgid, stupid-ass response and say this: he’s pissed off because a restaurant calls something “grilled cheese” that doesn’t conform to his definition of what “grilled cheese” is. If you can’t see how infantile that is then you’re a fucking moron, too. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/29 "2010-05-25T09:30:09Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > What kind of servile mindset does it take to consider it “moronic” not to want to give your business to a company that’s gratuitously irritating and exasperating you while attempting to lure you into buying their products? Are we under some kind of pledge not to deny the company their God-given right to our money unless they fail to meet our requirements concerning **only** product price and quality, or what? > > Sheesh, it’s not like there’s nowhere else for the OP to get a bacon cheeseburger if he wants one, or like he’ll be desperately deprived if he just decides to go without it. Not to mention, many vegetarians order grilled CHEESE sandwiches because they are actively avoiding meat, they don’t want a honking slab of dead cow in their vegetarian sandwich. Telling people it is a grilled cheese for adults should mean it is on texas toast, or specialty bread, as grilled cheese is typically cheese, bread, hot cooking surface. With a slab of cow it makes it a patty melt, not a grilled cheese. Now if they called it a patty melt for adults, I would have no problem with it. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/30 "2010-05-25T10:00:06Z")
So am I alone in fancying a grilled cheese now? And I’ve never even had one before. They could be disgusting for all I know. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/31 "2010-05-25T10:01:40Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > The implication being, presumably, that a normal traditional grilled cheese sandwich is mere “kiddie food”, unworthy of adult consumption unless it’s pasted around some dubious slab of minced animal parts. This does contain cow ass. I hope most people realize it will taste like cheese with ass I’d like a number two cheesy ground cow ass please. 😉 Arrogant Worms I Am Cow! > [@](#): > > I am Cow, hear me moo > I weigh twice as much as you > And I look good on the barbecue > Yogurt, curd, cream cheese and butter’s > Made from liquid from my udders > I am Cow, I am Cow, Hear me moo ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/32 "2010-05-25T11:17:52Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Not to mention, many vegetarians order grilled CHEESE sandwiches because they are actively avoiding meat, they don’t want a honking slab of dead cow in their vegetarian sandwich. As a former vegetarian, I say that if you don’t check up on the ingredients of your food before you eat it then it’s your own damn fault if you end up eating something you don’t want to. “Grilled Cheese” means different things to different people, and I know plenty who eat meat on their “grilled cheese.” Also, the vegetarian angle was not mentioned anywhere in the OP at all. It was just, “Their grilled cheese isn’t a _real_ grilled cheese” and then a temper tantrum ensued. > [@aruvqan](#): > > Telling people it is a grilled cheese for adults should mean it is on texas toast, or specialty bread, as grilled cheese is typically cheese, bread, hot cooking surface. Says who? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/33 "2010-05-25T11:44:08Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > As a former vegetarian, I say that if you don’t check up on the ingredients of your food before you eat it then it’s your own damn fault if you end up eating something you don’t want to. “Grilled Cheese” means different things to different people, and I know plenty who eat meat on their “grilled cheese.” > > Also, the vegetarian angle was not mentioned anywhere in the OP at all. It was just, “Their grilled cheese isn’t a _real_ grilled cheese” and then a temper tantrum ensued. > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally Posted by aruvqan > > Telling people it is a grilled cheese for adults should mean it is on texas toast, or specialty bread, as grilled cheese is typically cheese, bread, hot cooking surface. > > Says who? > **[Cheese sandwich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese_sandwich)** > > A cheese sandwich is a sandwich made with cheese between slices of bread. Typically, semi-hard cheeses are used for the filling, such as Cheddar, Red Leicester, or Double Gloucester. A Guardian article described the cheese sandwich as a "British lunchtime staple." Using a pie iron or frying pan can transform the cheese sandwich into a grilled cheese. > When a meat sandwich is prepared, the cheese becomes an accompaniment, and the sandwich is known by other names such as a ham sandwich or tuna sa... > **[The Grilled Cheese Invitational](http://grilledcheeseinvitational.com/)** > **[grilled cheese - Google Search](http://www.google.com/search?q=grilled%2Bcheese&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=qLb7S5zpBIHGlQe7gNn1Dw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=6&ved=0CEQQsAQwBQ&tbm=isch)** [though in this last compendium of images, the face of the religious icon of your choice is optional] In 90% or greater the images are 2 slices of bread, some slab of cheese, and a cooking surface. I didn’t find any where they were made with a blow torch, but I also didn’t really look that hard for one. The vast majority did not contain meat, though there were occasional pieces of ham, spam, bacon, sausage patties and what did appear to be beef patties. Though any of the images of ground product could have been boca burgers or veggie patties of varying types. I think Ill have grilled cheese with tomato soup for lunch. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/34 "2010-05-25T12:07:58Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > This is the fucking most moronic thing I’ve ever read. They’ve lost your business not because they sell an inferior product or because they overcharge, but because they called something on their menu by a name you disagree with? Well, yes. It’s an idiotic commercial for a product that is not what they imply it is, and I choose to respond to it by no longer providing them with my money. I don’t see why this isn’t equally as valid a response to the commercial as dashing out and buying one. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/35 "2010-05-25T12:21:29Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > AFAICT, the OP is complaining not because the product **name** “grilled cheese thickburger” is inaccurate, but because the product **slogan** “grilled cheese for grown ups” is inaccurate. The product name “grilled cheese thickburger” may not be technically inaccurate, but IMHO it’s misleading. Because it’s hardly unheard of to put prefixes before ‘burger’ that are indicative of a burger-style sandwich that doesn’t have any ground beef in it, e.g. Bocaburger, and veggieburgers generally. So if I hadn’t read this thread, and I were told that that Hardee’s was making a grilled cheese sandwich for grownups with the name “grilled cheese thickburger,” I might wonder whether the ‘thickburger’ was really a hamburger with a shitload of cheese on it, but I wouldn’t _expect_ it. ETA: I’d expect it to be on hamburger buns, though, regardless of what was between the buns. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/36 "2010-05-25T12:27:01Z")
Yep. That commercial pisses me off almost as much as the one they had for KFC a year or two ago, where they show the family going through the grocery store and buying a whole bag of flour and jars of each of the 11 eleven herbs and spices, as well as entire containers of whatever else goes in their fried chicken, in an effort to demonstrate how much cheaper it would be to eat out. And at the end the mom says, “That’s it. We’re going to KFC!” And the kids go YAAAAYYYY!. Anyway, sorry for the hijack. I just had to get that out there. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/37 "2010-05-25T12:37:43Z")
I went to Sam’s Club, bought a 500 pound bag of scratch. Now, all my meals are made from scratch, just like Hardees’ biscuits. ---
**Author:** ![cards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@cards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cards)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/38 "2010-05-25T12:43:20Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Well, yes. It’s an idiotic commercial for a product that is not what they imply it is, and I choose to respond to it by no longer providing them with my money. I don’t see why this isn’t equally as valid a response to the commercial as dashing out and buying one. Agreed. Now, stop eating at fast food places and spend a couple bucks more at some place like this near you in Creve Coeur: [http://www.caterwithus.com/](http://www.caterwithus.com/) I eat lunch once a week there and the servings are generous and yummy. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/39 "2010-05-25T12:51:23Z")
Damn, I’m going to have to go to the store and get some cheese. I sometimes make grilled cheese by dipping one side of the bread in an egg and milk mixture (think french toast) before putting it in the pan. Makes a nice, crusty sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663/40 "2010-05-25T13:24:42Z")
This looks to me like one of those cases where someone dreamed up the ad campaign _before_ they had the product. They came up with the whole “grilled cheese for grownups” concept, but the actual product idea got bastardized somewhere along the line. BTW – Hardees’? Next time, put the word “thick” at the _beginning_ of the name. Trust me, It’ll save a lot of whining. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grilled-cheese-for-grownups-is-a-hamburger/540663.md?page=3)