A classically prepared Monte Cristo with sliced white bread done French Toast style
By Mike Thayer
It’s been a very long time since I’ve had a Monte Cristo sandwich, I want to say at least three decades. The Monte Cristo is a perfect sandwich for brunch, but I’m thinking I had my last Monte Cristo at a Denny’s after closing down the bars at 2am with some military buddies.
If you’re not familiar with what a Monte Cristo is, it’s basically a kicked up ham, turkey and cheese sandwich on sliced white bread that’s dipped in an egg/milk ‘batter’ and either deep fried or cooked like french toast. Dusted with powdered sugar and served with side of raspberry jam, it’s a delicious combination of savory and sweet.
For this Monte Cristo outing, I visited Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen on a Tuesday for lunch. I’m too old for 2am outings at a Denny’s, let alone closing down bars.
Here’s the description of the Cheddar’s version of the Monte Cristo from their website: Smoked ham, smoked turkey, two cheeses, battered and fried until golden, with raspberry preserves and dusted with powdered sugar. Served with fries.
Cheddar’s does a wrap style Monte Cristo that’s battered and deep fried
Cheddar’s puts a nice spin on the Monte Cristo, instead of using the classic sliced white bread, Cheddar’s does a wrap kind of thing which is battered – not just a dip in an egg/milk mixture – and then deep fried.
Once the waitress brought me my plate, I couldn’t wait to take that first bite. Wanting to take in the savory notes, I chomped down on a portion without much powered sugar or dipping the wrap into the raspberry preserves. Sadly, it was under seasoned. While the portion of the meat and cheese was more than generous and nicely layered, this sandwich was a bit bland. The Monterey Jack and American cheeses were melted nicely, but didn’t provide the creamy, nutty, salty notes that a traditionally used gruyère cheese does. The texture of the batter was also inconsistent. Fried to perfection on two halves, the outer two halves (pictured) needed another 30 seconds or so in the fryer and were a bit doughy on the inside layer. Having my second bite dipped in the raspberry preserves, this did bring the sweet and savory notes together for the full Monte Cristo experience. But it’s like the restaurant puts this sandwich out there hoping the sweet notes – the powdered sugar and raspberry preserves – carries it. That didn’t work for me. The sweet outweighed the savory when there should be a balance, those flavors should complement each other.
I have to say I came away from this lunch a bit disappointed, or perhaps my memory of what a good Monte Cristo is supposed to be is a bit faded. We are after all talking a Denny’s at 2am 30-some years ago for comparison.
Costing me $10.29, I’m giving Cheddar’s Monte Cristo 3 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap stars. They’ve got a great concept spin on this sandwich – battered and deep fried – but execution errors with the frying on two portions and a lack of savory seasoning holds this sandwich back. For me, this sandwich is not a repeat buy.
$pend Wisely My Friends…
Food Review: The Monte Cristo Sandwich at Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen – Bachelor on the Cheap
A classically prepared Monte Cristo with sliced white bread done French Toast style
By Mike Thayer
It’s been a very long time since I’ve had a Monte Cristo sandwich, I want to say at least three decades. The Monte Cristo is a perfect sandwich for brunch, but I’m thinking I had my last Monte Cristo at a Denny’s after closing down the bars at 2am with some military buddies.
If you’re not familiar with what a Monte Cristo is, it’s basically a kicked up ham, turkey and cheese sandwich on sliced white bread that’s dipped in an egg/milk ‘batter’ and either deep fried or cooked like french toast. Dusted with powdered sugar and served with side of raspberry jam, it’s a delicious combination of savory and sweet.
For this Monte Cristo outing, I visited Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen on a Tuesday for lunch. I’m too old for 2am outings at a Denny’s, let alone closing down bars.
Here’s the description of the Cheddar’s version of the Monte Cristo from their website: Smoked ham, smoked turkey, two cheeses, battered and fried until golden, with raspberry preserves and dusted with powdered sugar. Served with fries.
Cheddar’s does a wrap style Monte Cristo that’s battered and deep fried
Cheddar’s puts a nice spin on the Monte Cristo, instead of using the classic sliced white bread, Cheddar’s does a wrap kind of thing which is battered – not just a dip in an egg/milk mixture – and then deep fried.
Once the waitress brought me my plate, I couldn’t wait to take that first bite. Wanting to take in the savory notes, I chomped down on a portion without much powered sugar or dipping the wrap into the raspberry preserves. Sadly, it was under seasoned. While the portion of the meat and cheese was more than generous and nicely layered, this sandwich was a bit bland. The Monterey Jack and American cheeses were melted nicely, but didn’t provide the creamy, nutty, salty notes that a traditionally used gruyère cheese does. The texture of the batter was also inconsistent. Fried to perfection on two halves, the outer two halves (pictured) needed another 30 seconds or so in the fryer and were a bit doughy on the inside layer. Having my second bite dipped in the raspberry preserves, this did bring the sweet and savory notes together for the full Monte Cristo experience. But it’s like the restaurant puts this sandwich out there hoping the sweet notes – the powdered sugar and raspberry preserves – carries it. That didn’t work for me. The sweet outweighed the savory when there should be a balance, those flavors should complement each other.
I have to say I came away from this lunch a bit disappointed, or perhaps my memory of what a good Monte Cristo is supposed to be is a bit faded. We are after all talking a Denny’s at 2am 30-some years ago for comparison.
Costing me $10.29, I’m giving Cheddar’s Monte Cristo 3 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap stars. They’ve got a great concept spin on this sandwich – battered and deep fried – but execution errors with the frying on two portions and a lack of savory seasoning holds this sandwich back. For me, this sandwich is not a repeat buy.
$pend Wisely My Friends…