Ever been curious about how a fine dining chef would re-create a classic grilled cheese sandwich? Celebrity chef Eric Greenspan, owner of Greenspan’s Grilled Cheese, created the opportunity to find out through the establishment of his Melrose restaurant and is now making his sandwiches more locally accessible.
Greenspan’s first West L.A. pop-up store debuted at Westfield Century City last Monday.
As a graduate of Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and the Cordon Bleu Culinary School in Paris, Greenspan has been trained both operationally and culinary to take on such an unconventional endeavor.
“I’m probably one of the very few fine dining cooks who sees the value in comfort food,” Greenspan said. “Grilled cheese is the perfect example of the classic stuff that I love.”
Although the simplicity of the grilled cheese sandwich may seem to leave little room for creativity, Greenspan has sculpted several different sandwich creations and will be featuring a couple of menu offerings exclusive only to the Westfield Century City pop-up.
Greenspan said the casual grab-and-go eatery would be highlighting the Westfield melt, which is made of sourdough, muenster cheese, beef short ribs, red onion, tomato, garlic, and lemon aioli.
Greenspan will also be featuring specialty beet and carrot latkes as another Westfield-exclusive option.
“I’ve always been a huge fan of Westfield Century City’s food court,” Greenspan said when asked why he decided on Westfield’s dining area as his location of choice. “It always has dynamic people and a great environment. I wanted to become part of the community in this way.”
Greenspan described the Westfield Century City food court as one “not typical of the average mall,” which compliments his unique takes on classic sandwich recipes.
“I think the Champ (raisin walnut bread, taleggio, beef short ribs, apricot caper puree, and dried tomato) will be the most popular sandwich,” Greenspan said. “It was on [Food Network series] ‘The Best Thing I ever Ate’ and it was even featured on the ‘Queen Latifah Show’ and ‘Extra!’”
As for Greenspan’s personal favorite sandwich, he described his preference as a “Cuban reuben sandwich,” which encompasses two of his favorite foods put together.
“I’m working on my health these days, though,” Greenspan said with a laugh. “So I’ve been liking our kale salad, which is one of our fresh and healthy options.”
Keeping to the quintessential L.A. health-conscious culture, the pop-up will be offering salads as well as gluten-free bread and vegan cheese available on request.
However, this isn’t to say that Greenspan will be skimping on the dessert options.
“Our Throwback Apple pie is one of my favorites as well,” Greenspan said. “It’s one of more popular menu items.”
From salads to sandwiches to desserts, Greenspan’s Grilled Cheese Pop Up will have a taste of a bit of everything of the restaurant menu.
The Food Network and National Geographic-famed chef expressed his excitement about the months to come.
“We’re really happy to be able to stay until April, which is Grilled Cheese Month,” Greenspan said.
Greenspan’s Grilled Cheese Pop Up will be open Monday to Friday from 10 am to 9 pm and Saturday to Sunday from 10 am to 11 pm in Westfield Century City’s second level Dining Terrace.
For more information, visit greenspansgrilledcheese.com or westfield.com/centurycity.
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