74545 Fri Oct 21 14:04:10 -0700 2005 8 2 Los Angeles Area 0 409839 Two of us arrived just after 6pm, and were happy to see the place wasn’t crowded at all. Walked in with no reservation and asked if we could have a table in the middle section by the kitchen. This was no problem and we were seated immediately with big smiles. I ordered a glass of Muscadet, mainly because it was less expensive and I assumed even their cheap wine couldn’t be bad. Well thank heavens they happen to pour a taste in your glass for approval first, before filling it up. I thought it was dry to the point of sour—-just not what I wanted to drink with grilled cheese. I felt a little embarrased (as you can clearly see my ignorance of French wine) but asked if they would mind changing it for a Sauvignon Blanc which I thought wouldn’t be dry. No problem at all and my glass was whisked away and replaced. However while the SB was better, it mystified me—-it smelled quite heady and perfume-ey, yet still tasted on the dry side. Well good enough, so on to the food! Husband (aka the “curmudgeon” because he is not very adventurous in his eating habits) ordered the “classic” grilled cheese. I was giddy with choices—-everything on the grilled cheese menu looked delicious. But down at the bottom I see “sliders” and it mentions cheese, pancetta, avocado, grilled onions—-all things I like and not a word about beef. So dummy-me, I somehow assume these are simply a pair of grilled cheese sandwiches stacked similar to those White Castle mini-burgers. What the waiter sets down in front of me is, however, two small hamburgers with the named ingredients as Garnish. Doh...so when they said sliders they MEANT sliders. Well this has a happy ending because I thought these were the best little burgers I’ve had in years. Each was a little over 2” in diameter and a good inch thick. Well done on the outside, verging on rare on the inside and FULL of juice—-a bite or two and it’s running down my hands. Great little bun too. Somehow I get a visual of Gene Hackman in French Connection II-—where he’s in a carnivorous mood and describes this hamburger he wants—-juicy and with onions and dripping—-well that’s what I got. Huge yum for me. The curmudg was very happy with his simple grilled cheese and said so. When he has nothing to complain about, that’s big. Both plates came with a pile of lightly dressed greens and a huge order of fries. The fries were separately swaddled in a white cloth napkin but were barely warm. We asked for a fresh batch and again they were more than happy to accommodate and apologized. The next batch came in 2 minutes, perfectly crispy hot. I think Jar’s are a touch better than these but I still ate many, many more than I should have. The bill came to about $45 for our food and my wine. It wasn’t till drifting off to sleep last night, that I realized I couldn’t remember anything about the cheese on my burgers. In fact I’m not even sure there WAS cheese on them. Oh well I guess it says something good about Campanile’s that you can go there for one thing, end up eating something completely different and still be utterly satisfied. Sometime soon I will have to return for an ACTUAL grilled cheese sandwich, and make sure I follow through... P.S. This is my birthday weekend and my hopeful plan is to eat deliciously all the way through it based on hounds’ recs, reviewing as I go. Fri Oct 21 14:04:10 -0700 2005 0 tarabell 1 409846 ...such a good report. Love the Gene Hackman reference. How varied is the menu selection? There's more on tap than sliders and a gc sandwhich, I hope? Fri Oct 21 14:39:56 -0700 2005 409839 0 SoCal 2 409874 Below is the link. Click on the "menus" button, then the "weekly special menus", then scroll down to see a sample grilled cheese menu. I remember they had the gorgonzola one, the spicy lamb sausage, the baguettes, a different fish one and maybe a couple other different ones. Link: http://www.campanilerestaurant.com/ Fri Oct 21 15:37:19 -0700 2005 409846 0 tarabell 1 409914 Hi, and thanks for the review... Whoa, that must've been some glass of wine (how much ??), 'cause I'm trying to calculate how two sandwiches (sided with salad/frites) and one glass of wine add up to $45. Do they boost the price of the sandwiches toward the $20 mark because they come with sides?? Thanks... Fri Oct 21 17:06:24 -0700 2005 409839 0 silence9 2 409925 If you looked at the linked menu, the sandwiches run $14-16. So, $28-32 for 2 sandwiches, $6-7 for a glass of wine, $3 tax and $6 tip, and you are easily at $45. Fri Oct 21 17:19:18 -0700 2005 409914 0 DanaB 3 409926 Thanks... From time to time, my office's computer system/ (internet filter) arbitrarily prevents me from looking at such scandalous websites as a restaurant link and weather forecasts. That's why I posed the question and said thank you in advance... Fri Oct 21 17:26:29 -0700 2005 409925 0 silence9 1 409975 So glad you enjoyed it (and wonderful review, btw) I am usually adventurous, but the classic grilled cheese there is so amazing I can never bring myself to get anything else. Now I have a reason to at least try the sliders. Thanks! And keep us posted on the weekend - can't wait to see where you go. Fri Oct 21 19:25:45 -0700 2005 409839 0 Tom P 1 410081 Great report. I've been to Campanile a couple times for dinner but never for special sandwich night. Can't wait to try it, and can't wait to read your weekend reviews. Happy Birthday! Sat Oct 22 08:15:17 -0700 2005 409839 0 mikeop34 1 410452 Your experience with the sliders reminded me of my first and only grilled cheese night experience a few months back. I ordered a sandwich that caught my eye, despite the fact that the description did not actually name a cheese. I figured, well it's grilled cheese night, it must have cheese on it. It didn't. But it was delicious anyway, and now I have an excuse to go back. By the way, the sandwich was some type of cured ham on mini baguettes with butter and scallion oil. Scandalous! Mon Oct 24 20:00:22 -0700 2005 409839 0 Sasha