Foods I miss: quesadillas, chicken parm, and GRILLED CHEESE. Yes, all of these food items can be made with gluten free substitutes, but it’s just not the same. Especially if you are gluten AND dairy free. When my friend and college classmate, Spencer Rubin, opened the Melt Shop, I was thrilled at his success, but disappointed that my food sensitivities would keep me from supporting his business. Fortunately, the Melt Shop caters to the nobread crowd and offers gluten free bread from Free Bread for your melt. Melt Shop melts FAR surpass my expectations, and I actually think these gluten-FREE melts are better than the gluten-FILLED melts of my childhood!…
What strikes me most about Melt Shop is how knowledgeable and aware the staff is when it comes to gluten allergies and food sensitivities. Upon mentioning I would like my melt with gluten-free bread, I was asked if I am okay with cross contamination, as the melts are all cooked on the same grill. Also, the coating on the tots IS gluten free; however, the tots are cooked in the same fryer as foods containing gluten, and I was advised that even though I can handle cross contamination I should avoid. I ordered the award winner (cheddar, brick spread, bacon, and cranberry & onion chutney), the grilled chicken (grilled chicken, havarti, roasted tomatoes & truffle mayo), and the burger melt (no cheese with pickles and caramelized onions), and couldn’t have been happier, or more full. The melts are literally amazing and neither my words nor pictures will do them justice. As I am dairy free, too, I admit I cheated a bit and indulged in the award winner and grilled chicken melts BUT the customer has total flexibility when ordering and I could have omitted any ingredient I needed to. My burger melt (nodairy) was essenetially a hamburger done Melt Shop style, and it was awesome.
The only items on the menu that 100% cannot be done gluten free are the orders using fried chicken. The worst feeling at a restaurant is when you are not confident that the restaurant understands your gluten sensitivity, and this is far from the case at Melt Shop. At Melt Shop, not only did I feel comfortable that the staff understood my restrictions, but on my order receipt a red “Gluten Free” was listed next to each item. Knowledgeable staff, INCREDIBLE food, and confidence that the Melt Shop team has truly done their research on gluten sensitivities; I highly recommend that everyone in the nobread crowd hurry their way on over to Melt Shop.