America's Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

The best grilled cheese sandwich is the gooiestgrilled cheese, says Laura Werlin, the James Beard Award-winning cookbook author behindGrilled Cheese, Please! "After you bite into it, the cheese should stretch out past your face as far as your arm will reach. Otherwise, it's just not right." While it's easy to achieve some level of crunchy, buttery excellence at home, chefs and restaurateurs are creating exceptional grilled cheese sandwiches across the country. Here, Food & Wine presents the Best Grilled Cheese in the U.S.

Grahamwich 

Chicago, IL 

Graham Elliot Bowles is known for playful cuisine at Graham Elliot, and the sandwiches at his take-out joint, Grahamwich, are equally inventive. The grilled cheese on sliced Pullman loaf features Wisconsin cheddar, prosciutto, tomato marmalade and cheese curds, which, when melted, add an extra soft, gooey effect.

The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen 

San Francisco, CA 

Heidi Gibson was an engineer with degrees from MIT. Then she won the national Grilled Cheese Invitational and opened this shop in the city's multimedia gulch. Tech geeks come for well-constructed sandwiches like the Mousetrap, with cheddar, Havarti and Monterey Jack on artisanal sourdough. 

Roxy's Grilled Cheese 

Boston, MA 

With respect to Boston baseball (and Fenway Park's famed left-field wall "The Green Monster"), Roxy's offers the Green Muenster, with guacamole and bacon. Here, too, mac and cheese is considered a sandwich filling for the Mac & Chorizo. In an ingenious twist, Roxy's brushes mayonnaise on the outside of sandwiches, rather than butter, before slapping them on the griddle. 

Clementine 

Los Angeles, CA 

Chef-owner Annie Miler got so excited about her bakery-café's 10th Annual Celebration of Grilled Cheese Month in April 2011, she offered 10 variations each week. A year-round favorite: extra-sharp white Tillamook cheddar on country white with bacon or roasted cherry tomatoes. 

Beecher's Handmade Cheese 

Seattle, WA and New York, NY 

This Pike Place Market fixture recently expanded to New York with a big boutique and production facility. Each location grills its signature Flagship cheese-a slightly nutty blend of cheddar and Gruyère cultures-with fillings like tomato and basil. Each location also uses local bread: In Seattle, it's from Grand Central Bakery; Harlem nonprofit Hot Bread Kitchen provides excellent loaves in NYC. 

Grilled Cheese & Co. 

Catonsville, MD 

This mini-chain now has three locations in Maryland. Regional flavor comes through in a signature Crabby Melt with Jack cheese on top of homemade "crabby dip." Among the current specials is the Hermanator, designed by NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace: provolone, turkey breast and pickles with honey-mustard sauce. 

Artisanal Fromagerie, Bistro and Wine Bar 

New York, NY 

Ever since Terrance Brennan met his first runny, robust Époisses in the early 1980s, he has dedicated himself to cooking with cheeses. During lunch at Artisanal, the menu highlights several in sandwiches like The Big Cheese, featuring Fontina, Taleggio, Gruyère and Emmenthaler, and the chichi Frenchie with Brie, mushrooms and black truffles.