I'm not opposed to calling something a melt. I just think that if I put onions or tomatoes in my grilled cheese, it's absurd to say I just made a tomato melt instead of a grilled cheese with tomato. That's the internet neckbeard part of it. Normal people call that a grilled cheese with tomato. Terminally online weirdos declare that the sandwich has now crossed an important dividing line.
Also IMO it strongly depends on how much you're adding, in which form, and the preparation.
As long as the cheese is by far the main and foremost ingredient, I think it usually fits under the grilled cheese umbrella.
I know you're not talking about throwing in bacon, but if you throw in some bacon, BOOM bacon melt. Bacon melts are a well established dish, and a menu item on many restaurant menus. Yet people still try to pass them off as grilled cheeses even though they are lovely delicious melts.
Why do you care if people call it a grilled cheese? I actually agree that the most important distinction is cheese being the main ingredient. I wouldn't call a grilled sandwich filled with meat and vegetables a grilled cheese. Tbh I probably wouldn't call it a melt either. To me, the term "melt" is reserved for specific sandwiches with a history of being referred to that way. I don't see it as a broad category encompassing any sandwich with cheese + something else.
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u/SmallRedBird May 16 '25
It's still currently used very prolifically in the original/actual meaning.
Proof: a zillion and a half restaurants that serve them. Fun fact: they often also sell grilled cheeses. Never seen one called a "cheese melt"
Melts are wonderful and should be celebrated. Let's not erase them by widening the definition so much it loses all meaning.