292990 Fri May 30 12:22:51 -0700 2003 15 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1601240 Recent discussion at work (Food Network) about Patty Melts--somebody said they originated in New Jersey, but couldn't offer back up. Anybody know, or know a good source for informaiton? Fri May 30 12:22:51 -0700 2003 0 Miriam 1 1601241 The patty melt was featured in one of past couple of years' Saveur 100 issues. The piece included the original recipe as handed down to the originator's grand-daughter, IIRC. Fri May 30 12:31:35 -0700 2003 1601240 0 Bob W. 2 1601499 See the link. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/49102#245977 Mon Jun 02 12:09:18 -0700 2003 1601241 0 Erik M. 1 1601265 Is a patty melt anything else besides a cheeseburger served on toast instead of a bun? What are some of its other traits? Fri May 30 13:59:06 -0700 2003 1601240 0 foodpimp 2 1601272 Sauteed onions, no? And there should be two slices of cheese, both over and under the burger, and the cheese should be thicker. More like a grilled cheese sandwich with a hamburger patty in the middle than a cheeseburger. Ummmm ... patty melts! Fri May 30 14:27:33 -0700 2003 1601265 0 Ruth Lafler 3 1601276 Does any establishment ever cook a patty melt as a grilled cheese sandwich? In other words, do they place a cooked patty between two slices of bread and cheese (and the sauteed onions) and grill it up this way? Are the outsides of the bread supposed to resemble a grilled cheese sandwich in that they have become saturated with oil or butter? What I have described actually sounds good to me, but the few times in my life I have ordered a patty melt in lieu of a cheese burger, it seemd to only be a cheeseburger served on rye toast without the grilled cheese treatment, though it did contain the sauteed onions, as I recall. Maybe I need to find a place that serves a good one. Fri May 30 14:36:20 -0700 2003 1601272 0 foodpimp 4 1601282 A patty melt should definitely be grilled (and greasy on the outside) like a grilled cheese sandwich. A cheeseburger with sauteed onions on rye/pumpernickel toast is *not* a patty melt! I find it hard to believe that any place would go to the trouble of making toast to assemble an inferior -- I might even say *faux* -- pattymelt, when it's so much easier to grill it! Damn, it's noon (PDT) and you've just ensured I'm going to go in search of a patty melt for lunch! Fri May 30 15:03:16 -0700 2003 1601276 0 Ruth Lafler 5 1601488 That sounds about right but there is one piece missing - an oval shaped patty! If the "burger" is round, you're getting an inferior patty melt! And, as others have said, the bread needs to be rye, the cheese swiss, the onions sauteed and it should be cooked like a grilled cheese sandwich. Mon Jun 02 11:36:03 -0700 2003 1601282 0 Danny 3 1601283 Also the bread is not toasted, but grilled, and its gotta be rye. Fri May 30 15:36:23 -0700 2003 1601272 0 Chino Wayne 3 1601361 A little Russian Dressing, too, as I recall. Sat May 31 11:43:33 -0700 2003 1601272 0 Gary Soup 3 1601382 i thought the patty melt originated on thursdays as lunch specials in my elementary and junior high schools. no onions. burger? nah, more like mystery meat patty w/ cheese product. always needed mustard. Sat May 31 15:49:14 -0700 2003 1601272 0 mrnyc 2 1601275 On the menus at restaurants where I worked in Western Mass. it was a grilled cheddar on pumpernickel with a burger and fried onions inside. I don't know the origin or authenticity but it was the same in all the local restaurants about 20 years ago in the Amherst area. Fri May 30 14:32:07 -0700 2003 1601265 0 Daisy's 2 1601508 Growing up, my favorite meal at the fine dining establishment named Friendly's was the Swiss Patty Melt - burger, swiss cheese, rye bread, grilled onions. The sandwich was grilled, so the combination of the greasy bread, the greasy all-beef patty, the greasy onions, and the greasy melted cheese (Swiss doesn't melt like cheddar) made for a healthy and nutritious meal! Hahaha! And I would always wash it down with a Fribble (milkshake). I wish I could still eat stuff like that every day... Mon Jun 02 13:23:51 -0700 2003 1601265 0 Suzanne 3 1601585 Ah, the perfect description of a Patty Melt -- if your arteries don't shriek in horror at the first bite, it's not the real thing. Mon Jun 02 19:23:31 -0700 2003 1601508 0 Ruth Lafler 1 1601394 I have the Answer!...on the history that is Saveur Magazine's Top 100 List for 2001 had as #84 "Best Variation on the Hamburger" Their wriote up says it was created by William "Tiny" Naylor sometime in the 40's or 50's at his chain of Southern California coffee shops called Tiny Naylor's (they say he also may be the inventor of pop-up plate servers, refrigerated drawers, and the open kitchen) They describe it as a hamburger patty covered with melted swiss cheese and a heap of sauteed onions served on grilled rye bread. They have a recipe in the issues as well from his grand-daughter Jennifer Naylor who is chef at Granita in Malibu and serves the patty melt at Sunday brunch. Sat May 31 21:16:54 -0700 2003 1601240 0 WellFedRed 2 1601420 "served on grilled rye bread" That's kind of ironic. If you read my two posts below (in this thread) I was asking about what characteristics a patty melt ought to have, and I implied that the admittedly few times I've had one, it has come closer to resembling a cheeseburger on toast than the better-sounding version described by Ruth Lafler. The ironic part is that the first patty melt I ever had was at a Tiny Naylor's in Newhall, California back in the 1970s. As I recall, the sandwich seemed very much to have been a patty with melted cheese that had been PLACED on the bread, not grilled with it. If they grill their bread separately and then add the contents before plating, this may account for the toast factor that I seem to remember. Sun Jun 01 11:05:08 -0700 2003 1601394 0 foodpimp