LITTLE MUENSTER

100 Stanton Street

New York, NY 10002

(212) 203-7179

A couple of years ago, there was a small but growing and noticeable trend of restaurants that focused on one dish and built a menu around that. The trend seems to have plateaued, but meatballs, cupcakes, hamburgers, french fries, and grilled cheese sandwiches are among those that I've written about while it was hot. Little Muenster is in this crowd and, like Melt Shop in midtown, it focuses on the ever popular, hard to go wrong dish, the grilled cheese sandwich.

If Little Muenster is anything, it's little. There are a few spots inside, a few stools, and, if the weather's nice, you can steal the lone outside table. The menu, which changes over time and over the course of the day, is entirely grilled cheeses and tomato soup. In my travels here, I've tried four sandwiches and, while some were just okay, some were flat out amazing. I haven't tried the tomato soup and there's a good chance that I might be the only one. Each time I've eaten at Little Muenster, everyone else had soup with their sammie. They also sell beer.

The Candied Bacon grilled cheese (granny smith apples, cheddar cheese, jack cheese, and bacon) was one of the just-okay ones. It was over-grilled, so maybe that's why, but was also far too sweet for my taste. The Chipotle Chicken grilled cheese, on the other hand (grilled chicken, Jarlsberg cheese and a chipotle crema sauce) was insane. I inhaled it in five seconds. One minute it was in front of me, and the next, all that I could see was a grease stain on the plate. The chipotle sauce might raise and eyebrow to some, but fear not. It's far from spicy. It's just a factor of tanginess and adds a little smoke. The White American Singles with Tomato and Bacon grilled cheese is just that, a grilled cheese with tomato and bacon, just like mom used to make except not free and on better bread. So it was, naturally, very good. Finally (though ironically the first one I ate), the Prosciutto with Fontina and Gruyere. It was good without being great. Too complicated I think. But don't quote me on it because my half-assed notes only have the word "okay" next to it. 

I'm a big fan of Little Muenster. For a little bit of money you can have a very satisfying snack that will take you back to a more childlike time. Especially if your childhood included comfort food cooked by a gourmet chef.