Generally, I’m a healthy eater, but I can’t help but indulge here and there when the time calls for it. My kids love it when Mommy munches on some treats with them for a family movie night or out and about on a fun outing. I have to admit, I enjoy it, too.
I’m always on the lookout for kid-friendly spots to eat that aren’t your typical fast-food joints. A place where Mommy can have a salad and there are fool-proof kids’ meals. When I heard the new Tom & Chee restaurant in Oakley opened, I was interested. When I found out about their delicious new menu options, they really had my attention. I had to check it out for myself.
I never knew it before, but Tom & Chee serves much more than gourmet grilled cheese. From healthier options to comfort food, they serve something for every member of the family. It’s truly a sensory experience that begins with great service and ends with happy kids licking their fingertips. From adventurous, handcrafted melts to savory soups and fresh salads, the menu offers elevated comfort food, with options for the healthy kind like me, including gluten-free bread, vegan cheese and vegan/vegetarian menu items.
“We’re more than grilled cheese at Tom & Chee, we’re handcrafted melts and salads and soups and mac,” says Jamie Pollard, Marketing Manager at Tom & Chee. “Our unique, craveable combinations on the menu offer something for the entire family to enjoy.”
Meeting with the friendly and welcoming Tom & Chee team, I learned a little more about why this restaurant is growing by the numbers and satisfying one family at a time. This expanding crafty restaurant began in a small tent next to the ice-skating rink in Fountain Square. Quickly, the simple yet genius warm grilled cheese and soup menu caught Cincinnatian’s attention. Before you could say “Grilled cheese, please,” Tom & Chee expanded to multiple stores in the Cincinnati area, and it’s Grilled Cheese Donut was even named one of the “Best Sandwiches in America” by the Today Show.
I couldn’t believe my eyes and taste buds when I sampled their newest menu items including:
- The Bacon, Fig & Goat (a.k.a. the BFG) Melt, made with mozzarella, goat cheese, bacon, sauteed onions and Bonne Maman Fig Preserves on wheat bread – and this vegetarian had it without the bacon, and oh my was it mouthwatering.
- The Pot Roast Cheddar Melt, featuring slow-roasted tender pot roast, cheddar cheese, tomato and horseradish slaw atop Texas toast.
- The Buffalo Chicken Melt, pepper jack cheese, shredded chicken tossed in buffalo sauce, ranch sauce and shredded romaine lettuce on Texas toast.
- The Southwestern Street Corn Salad, mixed greens, fire-roasted corn, tomato, fresh herbs, cotija cheese, green onion, tortilla strips and chipotle ranch dressing (delicious with or without chicken).
- The Sweet Baby BBQ Salad, mixed greens, red onion, a five-cheese blend, fresh cilantro, ranch dressing and Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce.
I was also going crazy over their lighter fare: the Creamy Tomato Soup; and the Green Goat Salad featuring mixed greens, goat cheese, chicken, dried cranberries, almonds, house-made croutons and balsamic vinaigrette was a favorite. And shhh … did this mama go crazy over the signature S’more Donut (grilled glazed donut, graham cracker, chocolate pieces and marshmallow mascarpone)? You betcha! And for the kids? The classic Grilled Chee Donut and Mac ‘N Cheese are the winners!
Tom & Chee is expanding all over the tri-state! To find a location near you and to check out all of their tasty specials, menu items and more, visit tomandchee.com.