Whether we want to admit it to ourselves or not, the grilled cheese sandwich was likely one of the first loves for most American children. Yes, parents rank up there as well. But grilled cheese sandwiches — with their gooey cheese center and their crispy, warm toasted exterior — stand supreme among inanimate loves.



Maybe it\'s the fact that a well-crafted stack of Kraft singles between two slices of Wonder bread marked the first real comfort food we Americans generally ever experienced. Moms around the nation would toast up such loving goodness on a plate whenever scrapped knees, bonked heads or hurt feelings entered our lives.



So now that we are adults, we seek grilled cheese sandwiches as a way to transport ourselves — gastronomically speaking anyway — back to those simpler, more loving times. And we, in turn, toast and fry up such goodness for our own children. We seek them on rainy days, served up with a side of tomato or chicken soup or when we are home for a day of television watching.



Then we seek them when we go out for dinner. Most restaurants have grilled goodness on their children\'s menu, but only a handful graduate it to the main menu. Those who do so do up grilled cheese right and proper — with a kick.



So I set out to test grilled cheese sandwiches around the South Sound and have determined winners in two categories: gourmet and ghetto.

Over the Moon Cafe

Over the Moon Café, just up the hill from Tacoma\'s Antique Row, scores the gourmet award for its gooey slab of heavenly food on a plate.



The quaint nook of a joint has offered its spin of the grilled cheese on its lunch menu since it opened more than five years ago. It is now on the dinner menu because popular demand won out.



"On some days it seems it\'s all we\'re selling," Chef Russ Dahler says. "We call them grilled cheese days."



The sandwich’s popularity spikes when the restaurant\'s tomato basil soup is the soup of the day. But don\'t think this hearty meal is simply Velveeta on whole wheat toast.



This $8.50 creation came to be when owner Deanna Bender was vacationing in Canada and found the recipe in a French countryside cookbook.



"That\'s what I do on vacation. I read cookbooks," she says.



This Croutes de Fromage comes straight from the mountains of Bura, France, and includes thick slices of freshly baked sourdough bread and Gruyere cheese and mellow and moist Swiss cheese that has been soaked in a sweet white wine sauce before grilling. It’s gooey city as the mountain of flavored cheese melts to perfection.



"We call it comfort food with a twist," Bender says.

Pacific Grill

Pacific Grill at 15th and Pacific Avenue has a similar creation, but it is served with a tangy relish that does its part to add a little something-something to the mix.



It might seem odd to think about it, but grilled cheese sandwiches can be highbrow and don\'t seem out of place in such swank abodes.

The Commons

The ghetto grilled cheese sandwich award goes to a restaurant on the other side of Pierce County.



Pacific Lutheran University\'s dining hall, known as The Commons, grills up the goo right.

"Grilled Cheese day is darn popular around here," Dining Services Operations Manager J.J. Stolz says. "We have it on our lunch menu twice a month. It always runs with Campbell\'s Tomato Soup — I always get at least one comment card from students asking to have grilled cheese every day. Generally, we go through around 450 to 500 sandwiches from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and there\'s always a lot of excitement at the check stand when the students walk in and see grilled cheese on the menu."



The cheese is just American. The trick is the bread — Texas egg bread, actually.



"This is a thicker bread than your normal sliced bread and gives a good, solid base to the sandwich," Stolz says. "They are then placed on the flat grill until the first side is at a nice golden brown, then flipped over to brown the other side and complete the melting of the cheese."



So really how good is this sandwich? Award winning good.



The university had the UC Championship Tournament last April. It\'s run with a bracket similar to March Madness but with university food so students can vote on their favorite meals.



The grilled cheese garnered the top votes all the way through all six rounds and came in a close second to the university\'s phad Thai.



"A nice testament to how much the PLU students really do enjoy the cheesy goodness of our grilled cheese sandwich," Stolz says.



Grilled cheese sandwiches are also served daily in PLU\'s coffee shop for change that most people could find in their couch. A grilled cheese sets you back $1.25 with a bowl of tomato soup running another $2.25. A large soda costs only 75 cents.



Other grilled cheese sandwiches worth visiting

• The Spar, located in the heart of Old Town in Tacoma, has a tasty bar food version.

• Moctezumas at Tyler and 56th has one on its senior menu.

• Southern Kitchen Restaurant at 1716 Sixth Ave. serves one up for $3.95, and the meal comes with fries or one side dish.

• Connie\'s Brickhouse Restaurant & Lounge, 1213 South 56th St., has a yummy one for $3.50.

• Paddy Coyne’s at Ninth and Pacific Avenue in downtown Tacoma offers two large wedges of buttery, cheesy goodness with tomato for $7.95.