Dinner In @ Melt

Melt is only a little more than a stone's throw from our house, and as a mainstay on Northside's main drag - Hamilton Avenue - it does a great job mirroring the community ethos.  With a substantial number of vegan and vegetarian options, local sourcing of ingredients, and creative combinations, Melt is a solid lunch, dinner, and brunch option for just about anyone.  And Melt's even expanding their imprint in the neighborhood, recently launching Picnic and Pantry - "Micro Market & Specialty Foods" - where we bought our produce today!

The Food:  The menu when you walk into Melt can be a bit overwhelming - a large chalkboard is full of sandwiches, salads, and more.  You quickly get the idea that you're in for a treat, with interesting ingredients and thoughtful pairings, it becomes clear that flavor will not be lacking.

On this trip, we ordered 2 sandwiches, both of which come with a side.  The Joan of Arc is a concoction that includes Applegate Farms roast beef, roasted red peppers, roasted garlic, blue cheese, carmelized onions, and melted provolone cheese, all on a focaccia bread.  And then the Muffaletta - Applegate Farms turkey, roasted red peppers, olive tapenade, and provolone cheese melted on a focaccia bread.  We had a side of Rosemary Redskin Potatoes (that come with a homemade curried ketchup) as well as mixed greens with a dressing (which I didn't pay close enough attention to to explain).  The sandwiches were both solid.  I particularly liked the olive tapenade (regular readers may be learning that I am a sucker for nearly all things salty), and bites that were full of chewy provolone were especially yummy.  We added some of the salad dressing to the Joan of Arc because it was a bit dry, but the flavors were still tasty regardless.  On the sides, the potatoes are always well seasoned and flavorful.  The mixed greens are literally a small box of mixed greens - no nuts, berries, veggies, or anything else - so if you want super straightforward, this is the way to go.  Otherwise there are plenty of salads as entrees to choose from.

It should also be noted that Melt has Jeni's Ice Creams available.  They are terribly good.  I still haven't been able to get over the per pint price ($9.95), as much as I want to.  I am very willing to pay extra for better quality, and while they do use local Snowville Creamery, pints in Cincinnati are between $1 and $3 more per pint than the same product up the road at their Columbus stores (UPDATE: Pints are $8.50 to $10 each in Columbus - I was wrong on this initially, so actually while you may be paying $1 more in Cincinnati on some pints, there are actually many that are 50 cents cheaper. Thanks to Ryan for the comment below, and to friendly employees at Columbus stores for verifying. I apologize for the error, either prices have changed or I just plain had it wrong.)  However, I did just note that Picnic and Pantry has Jeni's macaroon ice cream sandwiches in their cooler and it's likely that I'm near a breakthrough.  Those things are ridiculous.  I am not going to walk over there right now and get one.

The Ingredients:  Melt has great information available about not just its ingredients, but also its practices at the restaurant in terms of packaging, recycling and more.  There are some places around town that are supplying their customers with a good deal of information about the source of their ingredients, but Melt is definitely at the head of the class.  It is simply awesome that owner Lisa Kagen has taken the time and space to write/explain for her customers about the sources of ingredients and how that ties in with the prices that are being paid.  We need more knowledgeable consumers to support thoughtful businesses, but it takes time and energy on both sides to make it happen.

If there was anything we'd love to see, it'd be a way to share more of this info on the menu board (which is already packed!) and the to go menu, so that folks don't have to dig much on the website to learn about Melt's great practices.  But, this is really a small thing.

Thanks for what you're doing, Melt - you're a model for other Cincinnati restaurants!

The Story, Setting, & Service:  We ordered to go, and at 5:30 it was a quick 10 minutes.  They get quite busy at more peak hours though, so add another 10 minutes or so into your expectations if you're planning to grab something on the fly.

The full name for Melt is Melt Eclectic Deli, and that is a perfect explanation.  With mix-matched decor that is comfortably hipster, even for the uninitiated, Melt's indoor space is fun, but can be on the cramped side of cozy when it's busy.  On the plus side, it makes you feel like you're in a big city!  They've also got a great outdoor space to take advantage of while this weather is so nice.

Service is consistently friendly at Melt, and you count on some love going into all your dishes.

Melt, like Take the Cake, Slims/Vout, and Honey, is another local option that we are blessed to have within such close proximity, and a place that we plan to be sampling from for a long time to come.  We're wishing them the best of luck with Picnic and Pantry as well, and hoping for another successful enterprise in the community.