For all you Pace students who have been fed up with Kessel’s food in the past, listen up. The Meltdown is one of the new additions to the options at the dining hall. It’s a “grown-up” grilled cheese station that offers a variety of different breads and toppings at a super reasonable price. I mean, as we all know, $5.49 for Kessel is definitely a bargain.
Photo by Joseph Gonzalez
You might be wondering what grilled cheese station I’m talking about. Since when does Kessel have a grilled cheese station? The Meltdown was added over the winter break and is a welcome change to the cafeteria during lunch time. Grilled Cheese was previously only offered at the grill with very limited options to create it. Now students can be as creative as their hearts desire with their sandwich – between 11am and 3pm.
Photo by Joseph Gonzalez
Toppings vary from the classics, like American cheese and tomato slices, to things that you would never think to put on a grilled cheese, like salsa and cooked mushrooms. You might be thinking to yourself “whoa, that’s a lot of options to choose from.” Want to be super healthy? Get two slices of whole wheat bread. Want to add a little spice to your diet? You can pile on the pepper jack cheese. But don’t worry, they have premade combinations as well.
Photo by Joseph Gonzalez
Normally when I go to The Meltdown, I get the same order. Rye bread with salami, smoked Gouda and avocado slices (I know, I know, sounds pretty odd but trust me, it’s delicious). This time, I figured I’d switch it up a bit. I ordered whole wheat bread with provolone cheese, avocado slices, and caramelized onions.
Photo by Joseph Gonzalez
Rosa, who works at the station most days, was in charge of making my lunch this time. She melted it on this strange, large, circular grill. It’s a magic grill – with no clear heat source. Who cares because you get to watch your Gouda melt without having to wait in a line at The Melt Shop.
Photo by Joseph Gonzalez
When my sandwich was complete, the cheese was all melted and looked absolutely delicious, I took my lunch outside to enjoy it in the sunshine in front of Choate Pond.
gif courtesy of giphy.com
It was amazing and my taste buds were definitely thanking me. So thanks Kessel, for not screwing up grilled cheese and actually making it a station that I can regularly go to and still enjoy.