GRILLED CHEESE &
TOMATO SOUP
32407 Northwestern Highway
Farmington Hills
(248) 626-6767; gcatsoup.com
Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sunday, noon-6 p.m.
Soups: $4.50-S6 (sampling of three soups)
Sandwiches: S3.50-S8
Salads and other entrées: $6-$9
At Grilled Cheese &Tomato Soup, a sign on the door says, "Welcome to my
kitchen" — a message that sets the tone for the inviting, comfortable atmosphere
at this new Farmington Hills eatery. A small restaurant, with perhaps 10 tables and
counter seating at a picture window overlooking Northwestern Highway, Grilled
Cheese has a relaxed, informal air, perfect for a work-week lunch, a family meal or a
quick bite before a movie. Diners place their orders at the counter, but it would be a
mistake to label this place a cafeteria. With its dark wood floors, elegant dinnerware
and cooked-from-scratch food, Grilled Cheese offers a dining experience almost like
eating at the home of a friend — a friend who cooks fabulous meals that leave you
feeling warm and satisfied.
The starting point for the menu is, as the name implies, the classic combination
of creamy tomato soup and grilled-cheese sandwiches. The rest of the menu devel-
oped by chef-owner Jeffrey McArthur continues in the comfort-food vein. McArthur
provides 10 varieties of soup daily; tomato bisque and tomato with bacon are main-
stays, while other choices — like beef barley, smooth and cheesy loaded baked potato,
split pea with ham (McArthur's favorite) and a zesty gazpacho served with a dollop
of sour cream and fresh parsley — rotate in and out of the lineup. If you can't decide,
go for the three-soup sam-
pling, whose small portions
offer enough of a taste to
recognize a new favorite,
which diners can take home
in a pint- or quart-sized
container.
The grilled cheese variet-
ies range from basic options
like tuna with American
cheese or bacon, lettuce
10 • OCTOBER 2007 •
platinum
and tomato to more elaborate concoctions, with the pinnacle being shaved prime rib,
roquefort cheese, garlic aioli, caramelized onions and tomato. McArthur doesn't stop
at grilled offerings, however: He also presents a number of baguette sandwiches that
showcase his creativity and love for fresh, high-quality ingredients. Try the braised
beef brisket with gruyere, spicy cole slaw and garlic aioli or the marinated chicken
with fresh buffalo mozzarella, tomato provencal, field greens and red onion. A per-
fect accompaniment to the sandwiches are the super-thin, extremely crispy French
fries, tucked away in the "sides" section of the menu.
No self-respecting purveyor of comfort food could exclude macaroni and cheese
from his menu, and on that score McArthur does not disappoint. His Grandma's
Mac and Cheese (bottom left) is served piping hot and sinfully creamy. Other hot
entrees are equally reminiscent of home-cooked meals served with love on a cold
winter's night: chicken pot pie, meat loaf, beef stew and pot roast.
Even the salads, which are light and fresh, have soothing qualities. Choose from
among 10 varieties, including a steak salad with wild mushrooms, toasted hazelnuts
and dried cherries; a spinach salad topped with slices of tender duck and a warm
bacon dressing; and a lovely roasted vegetable, shrimp and chevre cheese salad.
And like everything else on the menu, the desserts are made on-site — except, as
McArthur points out, the Whoopie Pies, a chocolate-cake-with-marshmallow-filling
confection made by the chef's next-door neighbor.
McArthur has worked in the restaurant business for many years. He was head
chef at Birmingham's Midtown Cafe and also put in time at the Lark in West
Bloomfield and at Pontiac's Pike Street Restaurant. The sophisticated, upscale fare
at these restaurants might seem at odds with the menu at Grilled Cheese & Tomato
Soup, but McArthur longed to have a small place of his own where his customers felt
at ease and could eat home-cooked favorites while offering him ample opportunity to
explore creative ways of combining fresh ingredients. And, as McArthur says, "Who
doesn't like grilled cheese and tomato soup?" ❑