The Birmingham Restaurant Raider: Review: Melt Birmingham-"Reinventing The Sammich"

The food truck phenomenon has REALLY taken off in the city of Birmingham. It always makes me proud to see a food truck business expand to a brick & mortar location. One name that has been consistently suggested over & over is Melt. Melt has infamously taken the grilled cheese sandwich to another level. Their menu shows that a little creativity can make thousands of hungry locals flock to their food truck and their restaurant in droves.

Atmosphere: The restaurant is spacious and can accommodate large groups. They have plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. This is a casual dining spot that sits right in the heart of Avondale. At the time of my visit, there was a very nice crowd. The indoor seating was filled close to capacity. It was busy, but not so noisy that I could not enjoy the conversation with my dinner companion.

The Meal: We had a shared appetizer of the "That's How Matilda Rolls"- rolls of flash fried mozzarella & cheddar cheeses combined with red pepper flakes with a side of marinara for dipping. These were VERY good. If you like Italian blend cheeses, you will love these. My main dish consisted of a recommended Melt favorite, the "Flyin' Hawaiian" - a Pretzel bun loaded with smoked ham, a slice of cajun spiced grilled pineapple and melted habanero jack cheese. This was complimented with a side of amazing Greek pasta salad. My dinner companion opted for the "Food Truck Nachos"-A bed of freshly prepared house made chips, topped with succulent pulled pork, sliced fried jalapeno peppers, nacho cheese sauce, fried jalapenos, green onions AND if that's not isn't enough... jalapeno ranch. But wait... there's more! To top it all off, we shared an order of three deep fried, double-stuffed Oreo cookies, dusted with powdered sugar.

The Service: The service was very friendly. I would have liked more frequent refills due to the dishes we ordered, but no real complaints about the actual service.

The prices: The prices at Melt are extremely reasonable. The starters & shareable items range between $3 & $7. This includes soup. If you'd like to try one of their signature salads, they range from $7-$11 bucks, sandwiches $7-$12 & sides from $3-$5. They also have a great looking kids menu.

Overall experience: I enjoyed the atmosphere and everything we ordered. I didn't feel ripped off and still hungry at the end of my meal, so I'd say that's a good thing. They have some other great looking menu items I'd like to try such as their infamous grilled mac & cheese sandwich. I shall return!

For more information about Melt Birmingham check out their website at http://www.meltbham.com/
Follow them on Twitter at @meltbham
Follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/meltbham

Thanks for reading,

~The Birmingham Restaurant Raider