On a sunny beautiful California October day (can you believe those words describe October), we attended the all you can eat grilled cheese festival in Woodside. It's also known as The Great Meltdown hosted by Tasting Table and Lexus. Woodside is only a short 30ish minute drive from San Jose. The venue was the beautiful Mountain Terrace which I've seen that people book for their weddings. It's set against tall redwoods through which you see a sliver of the Silicon Valley.
The cost was $20 + $1.75 tax + Eventbrite fee of a few bucks. It's all you can eat grilled cheese from 6 local Bay Area restaurants and all you can drink beer (4 different types). Psycho Donuts served donut holes for dessert. There was also a photobooth. The event lasted 3 hours and there were no lines for anything - not for food, drinks, or porta-potties. These were the classiest portable bathrooms I've ever seen. They had a sink with counter top, flower vase, and decorative rug in each stall.
I was immediately impressed by the venue set up. There was also a live jazz band playing in the corner.
They also displayed a 2015 Lexus GS 350 for anyone interested in sitting in the lap of luxury. Luxury grilled cheese sandwiches are more my thing.
This sandwich contained 3 different kinds of cheeses and a side of pickled golden beets. The cheese was melty goodness but the ratio of cheese to bread was just too much. It oozed out in large gobs on each side and cheese is actually very salty so too much cheese made the sandwich too salty. The pickles were great. I don't think I've ever had pickled beets before.
This one looked the fanciest but I wasn't a fan. There's all different sorts of cheeses inside that were just too strong.
These were one of the best of the whole event. Sandwiches with melted cheddar and a thick slice of short rib with a dab of sriracha. So simple, so good.
I came too late and the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen ran out of their popular items like a jalapeno popper grilled cheese. They only had these plain cheddar and bacon sandwiches left.
Precita Park Cafe made the second best sandwich of the whole place. It was just plain cheddar with a fried green tomato in the middle and dipped in a creamy yogurty herb sauce. Like!
I ended the meal with two different sandwiches from the Grilled Cheese Guys. The top had bacon I think and the bottom one which was better, had roasted bell peppers.
Great festival. I hope they have it again next year. The venue was perfect! If anyone is thinking of having a wedding at Mountain Terrace, I am now sold on the ambiance!
Here's the link to the Eventbrite listing:
While your photos look great, this event screams "Go away, Kate! You aren't welcome here!"
ReplyDeleteIs it the gluten, and lactose, and commercialization?
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