The Classic Patty Melt

 A diner classic is making a comback and in a big way.It's the patty melt and sudeenly New Yorkers are going wild for this vintage sandwich. To be nones tit';s a tasty departure from it's cousin the hamburger.

Pete Wells wrote about it in yesterday's New York Times  Wednesday Food section. He even included a recipe that's makes for an easy replica. MAny of the trenider eateries both in New York and on the West Coast in Malibu are making their versions of it. It's a classic beef patty(hoemamde  - not one of those frozen kinds), cooked and placed on butter  and fried rybread. Cheese is added along with carmelized onions. It's basically an old fashioned hot snadwich, soe =rto f like that other diner classic the tuna melt (this is tuna sald placed on toast then topped with cheese, usally American. It's then popped into the oven or broiler untile the cheese becomes all melty and bubbly). The famed Commerce Inn, a West Village restaurant that explores American farmhouse cuisine has added it to it's menu. S & P lunch, also in Manhattan gives it a bit fi Forties quaintess with a cherry lime rickey to drink.Revelie, alunceonette with French leanings serves their with a true New York classic - the egg cream. They also serve a vegan one too.

Mr. Wells gives the Commerce Inn's recipe which is probably the most authentic.You need good ground beef..It should be iberall salted and peppered on both sides  as you would do with a steak, Each patty should be bigger than the bread slice because the meat shrinks down when cooking. The onions should be thinly sliced and cooked with butter and rosemary. The bread should be  buttered and fried on the griddle. If you don't have a large enough griddle then use tow skillets instead.The cheese along with a mayo and Dijon . mustard mix should be spread on them. Smash the burgers with a spatula and then cover them with the onions Layer the meat and the onions onto the bread and then serve as hot sandwiches.  For a sub in  you can use sourdough which is what the first patty melts were served on . They were first created at Tiny's Waffle  Shop on Powell Street in San Francisco. Funny enough the sourdough wasn't popular and rye was put in in its' place.

Make a patty melt for a classic American taste. It's a gooey , tasty marriage of cheese and beef with onions and mayo. Nothing beats it.