My eldest brother got me hooked on meatloaf sandwiches when I was little. It took him quite some time to convince me that they were good and I was reluctant to try one….but I eventually caved in. He took two slices of bread, placed a cold slice of meatloaf on one, covered the meatloaf with ketchup and then topped it off with the second slice of bread. To my surprise, it was very good! This has been my preferred way of eating leftover meatloaf ever since. That is, until recently…….
About a year ago, a friend and I made our first trip to Patterson’s Café, where I ate my first grilled meatloaf sandwich. Patterson’s Cafe, located in Oxford, OH, is one of those restaurants that serves only breakfast and lunch and then closes at 2:00 or 3:00 PM. Since, they serve breakfast all day, it was a difficult choice for me...I couldn’t decide whether to order breakfast or lunch. I love breakfast and whenever I’m at a restaurant that serves it all day, I usually choose that, but when I saw the grilled meatloaf sandwich on the menu, I decided to give it a try....and I'm glad I did. It's the best meatloaf sandwich that I've ever had! It’s served with a dill pickle spear (I love dill pickles and can never find any that taste as good as the ones that are served in restaurants), and a bag of potato chips….and is more than I can eat. By the way, Patterson's Cafe does make an awesome breakfast too.
It’s been a while since I’ve eaten this sandwich, so I may not have the exact ingredients, but I know it’s close. They use Texas Toast size bread....and I think it may be sourdough. I used a good white bread....in other words, no Wonder or Butternut....I now wish I had used whole wheat. I'm not sure what type of cheese they put on their sandwich, but I think it's Monterey Jack. ...so that's what I used.
Bread
Meatloaf slice(s) - I used Mom's Meatloaf recipe
Onion, sliced or chopped and sauted
Monterey Jack Cheese, sliced
Butter
Saute onion in butter until soft.
Butter one side of each slice of bread....just like when making grilled cheese.
Place cheese slices on unbuttered side of bread.
Place a slice of meatloaf on cheese.
Spread onions over the meatloaf.
Top with more cheese.
Place second slice of bread on top....buttered side facing up.
Grill....If you have a panini press/maker you may want to use it....I actually considered using the Foreman grill. I was afraid, since the sandwich was so thick, that the bread would burn before the cheese melted, but it worked out fine. It was a little difficult to turn over.
This was as good as the grilled meatloaf sandwich that I order at Patterson's Cafe....even Michael liked it and he's not much of a sandwich eater. He liked it so much that even though he put ketchup on his plate to dip the sandwich in, he didn't use it. I feel the same way, I omit the ketchup too...and I always have ketchup with meatloaf.
