Dateline: Century City. The race wasn't event close. After an intense April of campaign stumping and glad-handing in Clementine's National Grilled Cheese Month elections, Philly Cheese Steak was voted the big cheese, winning 36 percent of this year's record voter turnout. Now the hulking specimen of shaved rib-eye beef, onions, peppers and jalapenos has taken its oath of office and is seated in Clementine's current seasonal menu. Didn't get a chance to vote for Commander in Cheese? No matter, there's a bigger election coming up in November. Get thee to the polls!


Now that it’s April, the candidates are piling on the cheese. No, we’re not talking about the face-off between Clinton and Obama.

April is National Grilled Cheese Month. And in a town where oozing fromage already enjoys its own brand of celebrity—it headlines Thursday nights at Campanile and monopolizes the menu altogether at Culver City’s Meltdown—cheesy love has taken a competitive turn.

In honor of this most significant of election years, Clementine in Century City has conceived an elaborate monthlong electoral process to determine the hottest hot-pressed sandwich in the land. Each week, five different candidates are featured in a grilled cheese primary. Patrons fill out a ballot to order—or vote for—their sandwich of choice. Upcoming competitors include a “green party” candidate with roasted asparagus and four cheeses on olive bread; a chili and cheddar assembly from the “sloppy party”; and for John McCain proponents, an “aged party” submission of aged provolone, artichokes and fiery chili flakes. (Can’t conscionably support any of the contenders? You have the option of writing in and making your own combination.)

Find out primary results (white cheddar with bacon and turkey edged out mozzarella and fennel sausage in the first week’s race), review “partisan cheese measures,” and follow the campaign trail at meltthevote.blogspot.com. Voting will culminate with Super Cheesedays April 28-30, in which the top sandwiches from each week will compete for the honor of Sandwich in Chief.

On the home-chef front, the competition at the annual Grilled Cheese Invitational (GCI) heats up April 19 at the Crystal Springs picnic area in Griffith Park. Founded by a group of Burning Man devotees, this is grilled cheese by the people, for the people. Anyone who wants to make cheesy love can enter their sammich in one of four kinky categories: Missionary Position, Spoons, Kama Sutra and Honey Pot. (Uh, we’ll leave the details to your imagination.)

But it may be more delicious to judge than to compete. Simply show up; eat your way through the sandwiches; and vote on taste, presentation, Wessonality (style points) and SPAZ (the weird factor). Past winners have included a chocolate-cherry mascarpone, a fig quesadilla, and the heavenly Cheesus Christ. It’s all enough to make you want to scream the GCI slogan: “Bread. Butter. Cheese. Victory!”

Here are more ooey-gooey ways to observe National Grilled Cheese Month…or just celebrate it all year long.

101 Coffee Shop: no frills—cheddar and sourdough

S&W Country Diner: classic grilled cheese—tomato and bacon optional

Table 8: pulled short rib and Bel Paese on sourdough

The Foundry on Melrose: Taleggio with apricot-caper puree and braised short ribs on raisin bread (on bar menu)

Lucques: Cantal with roasted shallots on country white bread (only available on late bar menu)

Jar: ham and cheese with homemade pickles (on Sunday brunch menu)

Rachel Levin is a contributing editor for Metromix Los Angeles.

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