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The Foundry's "The Champ" grilled cheese sandwich

So, apparently YouTube has a food channel called Tasted. Who knew? And they do tons of programing, mainly in the Food Network/Bravo style -- that is to say, jaunty music, quick-cut editing and shows with names like Dude Food.

One such show, Star Chef Secrets, this week features Eric Greenspan of The Foundry on Melrose, talking about his award winning grilled cheese sandwich and demonstrating how to make it. This involves an alarming amount of butter.

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Erika Bolden

Beer pairing at Little Bear

Beer pairing has the same transformative effect on food as wine, but the transformation is entirely different. Pouring a liter of lager with your wings won't exactly result in a Michelin three-star meal, but superficial flavors will fall in line like Tetris pieces to build and unlock even bigger, more harmonious flavors. The depth and subtlety of some beers can't be released without a corresponding bite of curry, or piquant sauce, or pungent cheese.

The habit of ordering a drink before you've looked at a dinner menu can undermine your pairing possibilities. (Unless you're settling in for multiple rounds.) Anticipate your food cravings and order a beer for pairing to upgrade your dining experience from the tepid mediocrity of a Coldplay ballad to the irresistible fun of a Childish Gambino rhyme.

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T. Nguyen

The Heywood grilled cheese sandwich at Heywood Grilled Cheese Shop

The 16th-century writer John Heywood loved cheese. So, in addition to collecting a number of heady epigrams in his book of proverbs -- "Out of sight, out of mind," "Haste makes waste," and so on -- he also wrote verses about reading books and eating cheese. And thus it makes sense we now have Heywood Grilled Cheese, a shop that honors Mr. Heywood's love with high-quality specialty cheese in sandwich form.

The idea for the shop was, as co-owner Michael Kaminsky says, was a bit hazy. Kaminsky and his other business partners -- all former or current residents of Silver Lake who also work in the music industry -- signed the lease to the space next to Lark on the corner of Micheltorena Street and Sunset Boulevard, excited to open a shop in their favorite neighborhood but not knowing what, exactly, this shop would be. As one of the partners had a background in gourmet cheeses, the group decided to use their new space to reinvent the cheese wheel, so to speak, and offer grilled cheese sandwiches using the type of high-quality, specialty cheeses you would serve on a cheese plate.

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Brandon Buck

People's Choice Winner, Fully Loaded

What this year's Grilled Cheese Invitational brought in quantity was not only saturated fat and carbohydrates but flair, with a vegan twist. There was plenty of exhibitionism on display yesterday at the Rose Bowl -- from the bearers of the Kraft-singles skirts to the stilt walkers of March Fourth Marching Band.

Eyebrow-raising ingredients in the Missionary and Kama Sutra categories included quail egg, habanero pepper, SoyRizo, masala, squid ink and octopus. But the real shocker of the day was when the Frickin' Figgin Vegan Sandwich took first place in the Honey Pot (amateur) category. To veteran grilled cheese lover and founder of the GCI Tim Walker, a sandwich winning for sandwich's sake (which happened to be vegan) was "an event horizon at the Grilled Cheese Invitational." Turn the page for this year's results.

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Boska

Toastabags

It's difficult to decide what to say first about this new product, called Toastabags and created by the Dutch company Boska, a toastable sandwich bag that supposedly simplifies the process of making grilled cheese sandwiches. Because, you know, they're so hard to make already. So maybe we'll just quote @gastropoda, whose tweet was what led us to a discovery of the product in the first place: "One more reason my big fear is reincarnation: Evolving world too inept to grill cheese." Exactly.

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Drew Tewksbury

Previous year's competitor

Tomorrow marks the 10th annual Grilled Cheese Invitational, held this year at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Undoubtedly there are a few devotees out there who can attest to sandwich superiority, having frequented the event over the last decade. Competitor registration is closed and it's too late to be a judge, but for those of us stumbling upon the occasion for the first time, here's a look at what's between the bread.

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Rachael Narins

Grilled Cheese

What is a grilled cheese sandwich? It's comfort food. It's warm and retro-yet-now and endlessly customizable. It's something that can be lowbrow, high-end and everything in between.

How is it defined? For the purposes of this guide, we're saying a grilled cheese is a vegetarian sandwich that's served hot and consists of 80%-90% melted cheese on sliced bread that has been pan-fried or griddled. Plain and simple. If it's mostly pulled pork, or short ribs, that's not a grilled cheese -- that's lovely hot pulled pork or short rib sandwich with cheese. Is that good? Yes. No doubt. That just doesn't make it right for this list.

For those times you're craving rich-fatty-carbohydrate-heavy goodness, there are lots of local spots willing to feed your need; and we suggest one of the following. Having meticulously sampled them all (and then some) and gained a few pounds in the process (because we care!) we present the Top 10 Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches in Los Angeles. We still haven't quite figured out why it's called grilled cheese, when there's rarely a grill involved, but we're willing to let that one go.

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Kelly Bone

Grilled Cheese

Has any sober person ever pondered why grilled cheese sandwiches are called that, when they aren't typically made on a grill? They're griddled. It's a griddled cheese sandwich.

Griddled, grilled, baked or battered and deep fried, they're still utterly delicious and the focus of the 10th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational, sponsored by Cabot Creamery. Registration is open now and the event itself takes place Saturday, April 28, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Lot K of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

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Anna Woo

Molten Marshmallow Peep Guts

One thing is for sure: the husband and wife team of attorney Brian Beecher and schoolteacher Crystal Beecher, a/k/a, "The Mivens" won't ever tell you what the hell their secret ingredient, "Mivens" is, no matter how insistently you beg, threaten, wheedle and cajole. They'll just smirk, "Mivens are good and good for you."

Last Thursday night at The Foundry, chef-owner Eric Greenspan invited The Mivens, friends and fellow champions he met through the Grilled Cheese Invitational, to join forces with him as he let an eager crowd preview samples from the menu at his soon-to-open quick service restaurant next door, Greenspan's Grilled Cheese (opening date: "eventually").

The tasting menu featured four savory sandwiches created by Greenspan and four dessert sandwiches created by The Mivens.

Theories abound as to the actual composition of the mystery ingredient/running gag that Team Mivens uses to snag trophies at the Grilled Cheese Invitational year after year. Mivens is marshmallow peeps. Mivens is "your favorite thing." Mivens is crystal meth. Mivens is people.

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A. Trachta

The sexiest damn grilled cheese you've ever seen.

Sure, there are quick and dirty versions of the grilled cheese. You can melt something yellow between two buttered buns in less than 5 minutes. But where's the payoff there? Let's take it slow. Make it worth our while. If we learned one thing about Eric Greenspan in our recent two-part interview, it's that he's all about creating an experience. Nowhere is that more apparent than in his recipe for "The Champ" Grilled Cheese, named so because it took top spot in the annual Grilled Cheese Invitational in 2008.

On the following page, Greenspan shares his recipe for the ultimate melty experience. If this looks like more than you can handle, head over to The Foundry on Melrose and have him make you one. With short ribs, even. So live dangerously.

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