Who doesn’t love grilled cheese? A friend’s mom recently told me about Melt Shop, which specializes in a variety of classic and creative grilled cheese combinations. I was able to make my way over to the Chelsea location during my lunch break — if you’re on the East Side, there’s also another one on Lex and 53rd.  Since I gave up beef and pork for Lent, I went with a couple of meatless options this time around: “The Classic” (American cheese on white bread) — simple and timeless — and “Truffle Melt” (Havarti cheese, arugula, black pepper and truffle oil on sourdough) — absolutely delicious! The staff were super friendly, and I loved the heart decorations on the takeout boxes for Valentine’s Day. <3  I’ll be back after Easter to sample a few more, like the “24 Hour Pork” (pecan and oak-smoked pulled pork with aged cheddar, dill pickle, and homemade barbecue sauce), the “Ham and Cheese” (imported Gruyere, smoked ham, homemade pickled red onions, and grain mustard on rye), and the “Aged Cheddar” with Vermont thick cut maple glazed bacon. Can’t wait!

Melt Shop: West 26th Street (at Sixth Avenue); 601 Lexington Avenue (at 53rd Street) 

Truffle Melt (havarti, arugula, and cracked black pepper drizzled with truffle oil on toasty sourdough bread)

The Classic (white pullman bread with american cheese)

Love the Valentine’s Day takeout box