Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Just got back from visiting mom in Michigan. We visited a number of restaurants (she's always introducing me to her latest discoveries), but our definite favorite of the week I was there was a small sandwich shop called Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup. The name might fool you into thinking this was a modest little place with simple, homey fare. Well, you can go simple -- but not very simple.

Of course, their namesake foods are in evidence. There are two tomato soups always available: tomato bisque and tomato bacon. Both are fabulous, and as with all bacon-containing dishes, the bacon is thick cut and in very large "crumbles." The toasted cheese can contain up to three of your choice from their list of cheeses, including gruyere, bleu, or sharp cheddar. But this is just ground zero.

Soup comes in a 10-oz. "cup" or 15-oz. bowl, but for each visit, I opted for the three-soup sampler, which gets you three 6-oz servings of your choice of soups. On my first visit, I had Greek braised lamb soup, tomato bacon, and lobster bisque -- all superb. I also tasted mom's cabbage soup, which was also great. For my "grilled cheese" sandwich, I went with the option that included shaved prime rib, Roquefort cheese, garlic aioli, caramelized onions, and tomato.

If you're just eating soup, there is a bread basket filled with cut-up baguettes next to a bowl of unsalted butter (right near the pile of Charlie Trotter cookbooks).

On my second visit, I again had the three-soup option, with an incredibly thick loaded baked potato soup, flavorful blackened chicken with chorizo, and a silken celery root soup/bisque. This time, I got a salad instead of a sandwich: steak salad, which offers a perfectly cooked, thinly sliced strip steak atop Romaine lettuce, wild mushrooms, toasted hazelnuts, dried cherries, red onion, and tomatoes, tossed with a bacon Roquefort dressing.

For visit three, I had the dense, rich mushroom bisque, plus repeats of celery root and tomato bacon. Due to my enthusiasm, chef/owner Jeff also gave me a serving of their wildly thick clam chowder (essentially New England style, but with chopped tomatoes added), because he felt I really ought to try it. I also had one of their "comfy foods" -- mac and cheese, which was wonderful, but not quite as unexpectedly amazing as the soups, salads, and sandwiches. I ran out of time before getting to either of the two soft shell crab items -- a sandwich and a salad, or the slow-roasted pulled pork with warm brie sandwich, or the roasted vegetable, shrimp, and chevre salad.

But at least mom won't have to worry about where to take me for lunch next time I visit.

The really good news is that Jeff is considering opening a location in Chicago. But that could be a couple of years away. Until then, you'll have to visit the Detroit area. But if you're going, try to get to the restaurant early -- the place is small and it fills up fast.

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
32407 Northwestern Highway
Farmington Hills, MI 48334

248-626-6767

M-F 11-8
Sat. 11-7
Sun. noon-6

Nice post. Interestingly enough, I am in the process of making tomato soup right now to be eaten later with grilled cheese on cibatta.

Yeah -- in this cold weather, tomato soup and grilled cheese just sound right.

I did forget to mention in the original post that, while they always have the two tomato soups, the rest of the list of soups changes daily. Mom says the Wisconsin cheddar soup is amazing, but it wasn't part of the rotation during my visit.

They only have the sandwich and salad menu on their web site at present, because that's fairly static, but they hope to have the daily soup list in the future.

http://www.gcatsoup.com/