Stop #38: Melt

Tony's Review: Oh Melt, I wanted to love this slinger so bad, I really did. You work so hard with what you have and you manage to make a slinger waffle using only a waffle iron to cook the ingredients, which is incredible in itself (I assume the chili is cooked off site somewhere and brought in). However, in the world of slingers, while unique, this one sucked.

Melt is a cool place in way south city, I think the neighborhood is the Patch, that serves waffles every which way. They just introduced the slinger waffle and a friend of the blog, Matt Harnish, was quick to notify us. I had been here once before and thought the waffles were ok and the slinger waffle follows suit. Featuring a pretty average waffle covered in homemade chili that was easily the best thing on the plate, topped with onion, eggs and two eggs cooked on a waffle iron which gives them a weird ass texture that isn't very pleasant. Again, Melt doesn't have the full kitchen to cook a proper slinger and they did their best with what they have. I'd put them in the top 10 for being creative but they will come nowhere near the top 10 in the flavor arena mainly due to the ok waffle and the space eggs.

Tim's Review: Like Tony, I really, really wanted to like this place. I only heard about Melt a month or two ago from a friend and it sounded like it could really be special. Maybe even shake up the top ten. A slinger with a waffle underneath! That's sounds amazing!! Unfortunately, it just didn't live up to its expectations.

I think there's a reason people don't normally cooked eggs on a waffle iron: it just doesn't work. One egg was undercooked and too runny, the other was burnt with a completely solid yolk. The chili reminded me of the last time I ordered one of those coney island dogs at Sonics. For some reason I got a mad craving for a chili dog and at the time the only thing open was Sonics. What a disappointment! I haven't been back to Sonics since. Then there's the sorry waffle, the secret weapon in Melt's slinger that was going to make this thing a hit. Probably one of the thinnest waffles I've ever had. It could be that I'm a little spoiled after eating at the Olivette diner, which serves up the Cadillac of waffles. Maybe it's true what they say about waffles: Once you go Belgian, you never go back.

Enough about Melt. On a slightly related topic, I went to the Shack the other day. A new spot in Mid-town, right in the middle of the SLU campus. The Shack-wich may be one of my new favorite sandwiches in town. I only bring up the shack because not only was it absolutely delicious, but I also noticed they had chili, burgers, fries, eggs...... all the ingredients for a top notch slinger. If anybody knows anybody at the Shack, make it happen!