11 Great Patty Melts from Around the Country
New York vs. Chicago pizza. Chicago-style hot dogs vs. Detroit Coney dogs. Texas vs. Cincinnati chili. Americans seem to relish creating regionally oriented rivalries around food. But there's one classic dish that is more or less above dispute: the patty melt.
We took stock of this iconic sandwich at diners and chef-driven restaurants from Brooklyn to San Diego. Some iterations are inspired by regional ingredients, like one featuring a New Orleans-style remoulade. Some focus on grass-fed beef. Others explore vegetarian territory. But even with these subtle tweaks, the patty melt retains its classic appeal. Who would mess with a beautiful, melty grilled cheese with a flat, griddled burger snuggled inside? Check out these 11 variations to see why we’re so smitten with this sandwich.
Josh Cohen1/11Portobello Melt at Jimmy’s Diner (Brooklyn, New York)
This version of the diner classic features all the traditional components—rye bread, swiss cheese, and griddled onions—but then subs a portobello-mushroom steak for the traditional beef. The "steaks," which are marinated in olive oil and thyme, are topped with caramelized Spanish onions and then melted Swiss. Two slices of bread are then griddled and spread with chipotle mayo, and the mushroom is nestled between the bread. Without the meat, is it really a patty melt? Josh Cohen of Jimmy’s Diner explains, “The way I look at it is as a juiced-up grilled cheese.” **
Anne Massoni2/11Porky Melt at Pork Slope (Brooklyn, New York)
The first patty melt came into Dale Talde's life around the age of 17, in an early-morning New Year's Day blur. “I was like, why have I never had this before?" the chef recalls. "It’s so genius, and I kind of fell in love with it after that.” When he became the man behind the grill, Talde decided to take the patty melt in a new, pork-driven direction. At Pork Slope, the patty melt features onions seared on the plancha and "cheddarwurst," a bratwurst sausage patty. More cheddar is melted on top, and the patty, topped with onions and cheese, is placed between two pieces of buttered, griddled Rockland County rye bread with a squirt of yellow ballpark mustard. **
Nadine Anderson3/11Patty Melt at Telepan (New York City)
Chef Bill Telepan describes the patty melt as a forgotten favorite, which he rediscovered on a trip to New Jersey to visit his parents. At his restaurant, Telepan, buttered, griddled Amy’s Rye Pullman bread holds a Rain Crow Ranch grass-fed beef patty, caramelized onions, and Cabot cheddar. If it sounds straightforward, that's because it is: “Rye bread, cheese, sautéed onions, and a burger. That’s it: Don’t let anyone tell you different!” Telepan says.**
Sean Liotta4/11Mayor Sourdough Patty Melt at Capdeville (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Chef James Eustis dares to defy the rye, deploying sourdough in its place at Capdeville, a British-inspired New Orleans "social house." Caramelized onions, smoked-chili ketchup and roasted-garlic aioli can make for a messy meal, but “the nice, dense sourdough was good for holding together all the other toppings,” Eustis says. Capdeville sources sourdough from Wild Flour Bread in New Orleans, cuts it thick, spreads it with butter, and toasts it. Warm caramelized onions top the burger patty, and melted gouda seals them in. (Photo courtesy of Sean Liotta)
5/11Texas Angus Patty Melt at Waffle House (Various Locations)
At the Waffle House, the patty melt is built one way and one way only: Texas toast, sautéed onions, American cheese, beef patty, cheese, onions, and toast (in that order). “The key of the patty melt is the structure of the sandwich,” says Pat Warner, the chain's vice president of culture. (And, yes, Waffle House has a vice president of culture. Insert your own joke here.) **
6/11Patty Melt at Whataburger (Various Locations)
“It has to be something that is craveable,” says Rich Scheffler, Whataburger's vice president of marketing and innovation, in reference to the melt, an "all-time favorite" on the chain’s menu. Buttered, griddled Texas toast holds two beef patties, grilled onions, and two slices of Monterey Jack cheese. The sandwich is also accompanied by the chain's creamy pepper sauce for a spicy spin on the American classic. **
Lindsey Becker7/11The Patty Melt at DMK Burger Bar (Chicago, Illinois)
“When I developed that recipe for the patty melt," says Michael Kornick, the chef of this burger bar, "my mindset was focused on three things: delicious rye bread—buttered and griddled—our grass-fed burgers, and then that combination of melted cheese and rich sauce.” DMK starts by grinding grass-fed chuck shoulder brisket for its patties, topping the beef with burnt onions and melted smoked Swiss. Leroy’s remoulade, a kicked-up Thousand Island, is then spread onto caraway-seed rye bread, and the patty is sandwiched between the bread and heated through on the grill. “Patty melts should be a little bit messy by nature,” Kornick says. (Photo courtesy of Lindsey Becker)
Jimmy Callahan8/11Organic Garden Patty Melt at Prohibition (Denver, Colorado)
Toby Prout, the chef of this 1920s themed tavern, branches out from the same old garden patty and explores a different way of catering to a vegetarian crowd. “It comes down to a real good patty as a base and gooey cheese melt on it,” Prout says. Prohibition's garden patty combines organic lentils, brown rice, zucchini squash, carrots, onion, and celery. After searing the patty on the flat top, it's topped with sautéed cremini mushrooms, caramelized onions, and roasted bell peppers. Finished with melted American cheese and house-made roasted-garlic aioli, and then pressed between thick-cut whole-wheat toast, this patty melt is built to make you forget about the missing meat. (Photo courtesy of Jimmy Callahan)
9/11ABC Patty Melt at The Flying Star Cafe (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
The Flying Star's chef, Jean Bernstein, sought to create a patty melt that would stay true to the old diner-counter experience, with some Southwestern flair thrown in. The restaurant's ground local, Angus-beef patties are accompanied by pepper-jack cheese, applewood-smoked bacon, and avocado, all piled on freshly baked rye from the restaurant's sister operation, The Flying Star Bakery. “The patty melt is almost like sacred diner retro," Bernstein says. "I think best not to mess with it but do it as best as possible."
Jessica Cohn Feinman10/11Patty Melt at Ms. Patty Melt Food Truck (San Diego, California)
If anyone can exemplify the '50s flair of the classic patty melt, it is the Ms. Patty Melt Food truck, a diner on wheels. Hand-ground Kobe patties are created at Trucked Up Productions’s Corvette Diner and served up on the streets. The patties are readied on the flat top and then sandwiched between fresh rye bread with grilled onions, melted Swiss, Thousand Island dressing, and smoked slab bacon. Executive chef Deborah Scott explains the appeal: “It’s fun for people who aren’t familiar with it because it’s a great sandwich that you don’t see every day anymore. It’s from the '50s, and it’s a very traditional, old-school sandwich.”
11/11Patty Melt at Short Order (Los Angeles, California)
Chef Christian Page’s sandwich at Short Order features a grass-fed beef patty topped with simple caramelized onions, a spicy remoulade, and Swiss cheese, and is sandwiched between two slices of La Brea Bakery rye. Then it's all grilled. “Ultimately, it is a very simple, very American hot sandwich,” Page says.
