Grilled cheese, the 'greatest' sandwich choice says Andrew Coppolino

With a bowl of tomato soup, the sandwich just has to be grilled cheese. For its taste and texture, for its simplicity, I say it's the greatest sandwich around. 

Italy can have its panini, France its croque monsieur. The grilled cheese sandwich with soft gooey, stretchy cheese on the inside and crisp, crunchy toast on outside is my favourite. 

At home, there are two approaches to the sandwich, and I like them both: it can be Wonderbread-style white slices and American singles torn from their plastic envelopes, or more upscale artisanal sourdough sandwiching Muenster or Jarlsberg, or both, with caramelized onions and grainy mustard. It depends on your mood.

As for the cooking fat, is butter your choice or mayonnaise? Butter is more flavourful and gets a touch more crispy (but is a bit more greasy), while mayo is more convenient in that you don't have to worry about it being soft enough to spread without tearing the bread. 

At restaurants, grilled cheese can run the gamut from very casual late-night joints for students to more upscale venues with crafted rather than processed ingredients. Both styles of restaurants can offer veggie and gluten-free grilled cheese options; still other venues might have vegan cheese. 

Here are a few suggestions for local grilled cheese selections. 

The Princess Café in Waterloo combines Cheddar and goat cheese with caramelized onions, artichoke caponata (the Sicilian eggplant dish) and grainy mustard for bold vegetarian flavours. Very late on weekend nights, the famous Cheeses Murphy takes over at the location after midnight: they serve grilled cheese sandwiches to customers on the sidewalk through a window. That makes it a true street-food snack. 

A few blocks away, look for Ethel's Lounge and their special "build-your-own-three-topping" grilled cheese. The neighbourhood restaurant and bar is a casual and friendly place to savour the classic sandwich with a pint of beer and pub camaraderie. 

A few blocks further and you'll end up at Johnny Fresco at Weber Street and University Avenue (warning: there can be a lineup at lunch time). They have about a half-dozen grilled cheese, cooked both on flat-top and grill, including the cheesy and meaty "Tony Montana." Tamer is the Mountie: a grilled cheese with chopped Canadian peameal bacon and an egg. 

Veggie grilled cheeses can be found at Jimmy's Feed Co. and The Jane Bond: at the former is Provolone doubling up Harvati with roasted red pepper and hot eggplant; at the latter, an applewood-smoked Cheddar with pea sprouts (and you can add tofu bacon, if you choose). 

At The Bent Elbow, a grilled cheese on good quality beer bread is a passion: I've recently tried the beef salami and grainy mustard, a ham grilled cheese and a beer barbecue pulled pork and Cheddar.  

Fans of Portuguese food can find at "tosta mista," Portugal's version of the croque-monsieur, at Nova Era across from the Kitchener Market: it's big and delicious with ham and Havarti, and while there is another grilled cheese on the menu, the tosta mista with a galao coffee is my Saturday morning go-to after shopping at the market. 

On the other side of the market is Yeti Café, where there is an inventive "Smokie" grilled cheese of halloumi cheese, apple-onion marmalade, greens and mayo on a kaiser bun. 

At Malt and Barley in Kitchener's Williamsburg neighbourhood, the kitchen makes a ham and cheese "toastie" with Gouda cheese from Mountainoak cheese company. As it is with their sister restaurant in New Hamburg, Scran and Dram, they can modify the sandwich to be vegetarian and offer you a gluten-free bun if you wish.

Also in New Hamburg, there's a bistro with a more refined menu that recognizes the sheer deliciousness of the grilled cheese: Jake and Humphreys [sic] Bistro lunch menu includes what may well be the trifecta of grilled cheese cheeses: Cheddar, Monterey Jack and Havarti are the heart of the sandwich, accompanied by bacon that is all served up on a potato-oregano bread. 

Now, if you think that grilled cheese sandwiches are only at independent restaurants, I will add that the casual MELTwich [sic] near Wilfrid Laurier University has a wide range of the sandwiches. Their sourdough grilled cheese comes with onions and jalapeno for only $5.

And best of all, it's open until 4 a.m. should you get an early morning craving for grilled cheese with onions and jalapenos.