Growing up, Cleveland was the kid-swap zone, halfway between where my mom and I lived in Michigan and where my dad lived in West Virginia. Our customary meeting place was a Friendly's at Ohio Turnpike exit 10. I liked the Friendly's because I always got to have a mint chocolate chip sundae in a tall glass with a long spoon. I saw that specific Friendly's four times a year until I was in college, and never, in my recollection, another Cleveland restaurant.

Fast forward 20 years, and now I can drive myself back and forth between Mom's (now in Indiana The State) and Dad's (still in West Virginia). There's little Cleveland in my life now, except for that my college roommate Lisa lives there. Last Christmas - yes, almost a year ago! - Scheidt and I finagled a stop to see Lisa in the Land of Cleve as part of our holiday trip. Lisa, in her infinite wisdom, knew exactly what restaurant she wanted her food blogger friend to try: Melt, the grilled cheese restaurant.

Oh yes, you read that right. There's an entire restaurant in Cleveland devoted to capital-G Grilled Cheese. A restaurant so tasty and special that our the Burgh's own Pop City included it in a list of things that Cleveland has that Pittsburgh wants. I second that.*

Lisa's boy had a Monte Cristo, I had a grilled vegetable grilled cheese, and Scheidt ordered something that wasn't a grilled cheese because, well, his priorities are whack. But Lisa was the hands-down, no-contest unanimous winner with her Grilled Banana and Peanut Butter sandwich. The sandwich was the star at a brunch that Scheidt and I hosted a few weeks ago, and is almost silly-simple to make, particularly if you just buy the challah at the store.


Grilled Banana and Peanut Butter Sandwich
First tasted at Melt Bar and Grilled

I decided to make my own challah for this because the loaves at the store are usually too large for Scheidt and I, though they work perfectly well. The smaller loaf gives me control over the size of the sandwich. At Melt, it was gigunda, so if you want the authentic version, the store-bought size is fine, so long as your jaw is on hinges.

Quantities for this are infinitely variable and expandable. For the brunch, we used two of my small loaves, which made more sandwiches than 20 people could eat. Feel free to expand or contract to your eating habits. One sandwich will be enough for most appetites, even mine.

8 slices challah, 1/2 inch thick
2-3 ounces cream cheese, softened
2-3 ounces peanut butter, at room temperature
1-2 bananas, sliced no thicker than 1/4 inch
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons butter for the pan
Warm raspberry jam, to serve

To prepare the sandwiches, evenly spread four slices of challah with cream cheese and four slices with peanut butter. I'd say you want maybe 1/8 inch thickness - not bagel-schmear thick but also not too thin. Depending on the size of your challah loaf, you might not use all the cream cheese or peanut butter. Arrange banana slices on the peanut buttered bread so that most of the peanut butter is covered. Use your geometry skills or cut banana slices in half to fill the cracks. Put a cream cheese slice on each stack, and voila:

In a wide-bottomed bowl, lightly beat the two eggs. Mix in the cinnamon and vanilla.

Melt the butter in a large stainless steel skillet** over medium heat. Dunk each sandwich into the egg mixture, turning so that both pieces of bread are nicely coated, then put them in the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the first side is a French-toasty golden brown, then carefully flip. Cook 3-4 minutes or until the second side matches the first.

Serve piping hot from the pan with warm raspberry jam for dunking.

*The other thing is a restaurant owned by an Iron Chef. I second that, too. What up, Kevin Sousa! Get your Iron Chef on and represent!
**You could totally use a nonstick skillet, but I prefer to just use more butter.