The Daily OrangeHome-Cooked Meal
The Melt Shop provides a close-knit atmosphere and a meal for the worker's appetite
By Stephanie Musat
Posted: 10/21/09, 12:41 AM EST Section: Spice Rack
Jennifer comes and takes your order. Jon pokes his head around the kitchen door, waves hello, and gets back to work making food from scratch.
Then, with a ring of the bell, your meal is ready.
Jennifer Megnin and Jon Marantz run The Melt Shop, a hole-in-the-wall dive located on James Street (off Thompson Road), that specializes in steak sandwiches and homemade meatloaf, with a true emphasis on the American working-man's appetite.
Jon worked in a metal melting plant before opening up The Melt Shop. His restaurant is not far from his roots.
It's the kind of place where people will call you "hun." Jennifer knows your name. Jon knows how you like your burger. And the two in tandem make The Melt Shop a hub for comfort food and conversation.
The walls are covered with pictures and paraphernalia from metal melting plants. Jon's friend's hardhat is hanging on the wall. Its meals fit the atmosphere, it aims to satisfy an appetite earned after a day at work. They don't hold back. It's just hearty, feel-good food.
The restaurant is a reflection of what Jon has been through, and the food helps take patrons along for the journey. Getting three new faces a day is a good day for The Melt Shop. But it is really the regulars that have propelled the restaurant to its one-year anniversary celebrated this week.
Four men walked into the place. Jennifer welcomes them, like always. "These four gentlemen have come in every week for the past year for a meatloaf sandwich. Now, they've switched to the steak sandwich," she said.
Jennifer recommends the steak sandwich, an 8-ounce strip steak doused in gravy, but the homemade meatloaf is truly the man's meal.
When Jon prepares the meatloaf sandwich, he wraps bacon around the meatloaf and bakes it together, infusing the smokiness and saltiness of the bacon into the meatloaf. Add a toasted bun, some onions, cayenne pepper for a touch of heat and you've got sustenance.
The Melt Shop uses local produce and livestock, all of which is grounded and cooked on premises. Jon still checks the global metal markets before picking up the produce for the restaurant every day.
Then, with a ring of the bell, your meal is ready.
Jennifer Megnin and Jon Marantz run The Melt Shop, a hole-in-the-wall dive located on James Street (off Thompson Road), that specializes in steak sandwiches and homemade meatloaf, with a true emphasis on the American working-man's appetite.
Jon worked in a metal melting plant before opening up The Melt Shop. His restaurant is not far from his roots.
It's the kind of place where people will call you "hun." Jennifer knows your name. Jon knows how you like your burger. And the two in tandem make The Melt Shop a hub for comfort food and conversation.
The walls are covered with pictures and paraphernalia from metal melting plants. Jon's friend's hardhat is hanging on the wall. Its meals fit the atmosphere, it aims to satisfy an appetite earned after a day at work. They don't hold back. It's just hearty, feel-good food.
The restaurant is a reflection of what Jon has been through, and the food helps take patrons along for the journey. Getting three new faces a day is a good day for The Melt Shop. But it is really the regulars that have propelled the restaurant to its one-year anniversary celebrated this week.
Four men walked into the place. Jennifer welcomes them, like always. "These four gentlemen have come in every week for the past year for a meatloaf sandwich. Now, they've switched to the steak sandwich," she said.
Jennifer recommends the steak sandwich, an 8-ounce strip steak doused in gravy, but the homemade meatloaf is truly the man's meal.
When Jon prepares the meatloaf sandwich, he wraps bacon around the meatloaf and bakes it together, infusing the smokiness and saltiness of the bacon into the meatloaf. Add a toasted bun, some onions, cayenne pepper for a touch of heat and you've got sustenance.
The Melt Shop uses local produce and livestock, all of which is grounded and cooked on premises. Jon still checks the global metal markets before picking up the produce for the restaurant every day.
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