Nurturing my inner... big cheese on the go

Mall food.  Not exactly A Class fare, right?  Convenient is great when you're in a shopping hurry, but at what flavor-absent cost?  I expect more.  And I actually found it.  In the mall of my childhood, of all unexpected places.  (Mind you, the mall has been renovated since I was in stone-washed jeans and Reebok's high tops singing along to "Hungry Like the Wolf" on my portable tape player.  Though all these years later, I was still hungry!)

Cheese Boy Grilled Cheese To Go.  I checked and technically it is a franchise, but tragically there are only two locations thus far: CT Post Mall in Milford, CT (where I went) and South Train Station Concourse in Boston, MA.  I hope they open up more (I'd like to suggest one in Reston, VA for starters), but at least we can take some great ideas from their menu for now.

The sign and the ONLY reason I go to this
mall these days.

You can either get one of their standard, preconfigured options, like The Classic (Italian Bread & American Cheese) or Healthy Melt (Multigrain Bread & Light Swiss) OR you can create your own.  (Which, like duh, you knew I had to do.)  You pick a bread, a cheese and then toppings of meat and/or veggies.  But before I tell you what I got, here is the simple and sturdy, packaging:

I didn't even mind the buttery thumb print
on the box, for I knew the goodness it held
for me inside! (I watched them toast it.)

Note carefully that it seemed appropriate to get an apple juice with my grown up version of a third grade lunch.  Let's open the box and see what we've got.  Oooooohhhh....  Look at that golden, crispy exterior.

I want one right now.  Too bad I'm about 325
miles from the nearest location at present.

I ended up choosing their homemade Italian bread, Munster cheese, bacon and spinach.  And I tell you what - it was the BEST grilled cheese sandwich I've ever had in my entire life!  Without exaggeration.  Here is a closer look:

I was ready to eat a second sandwich. Mom
was lucky she already finished hers or I
would have snarfed down that one too!

I think it was a combination of things. For one, the fresh bread was phenomenal, not sliced too thick, and they must have used butter.  The panini type flat surface press they used gave it just the right amount of compression and toasted it slowly to an ideal shade of golden brown.  Inside of the crunchy crust was the right amount of melted, gooey cheese with fresh, tender spinach, and the bacon was super thin, precooked to perfection before it was sandwichbound.  Why have I never thought to make this combination at home?

This has set me on a mission.  (Well, yet another one anyway.)  1.) I don't own any kind of sandwich press, so I'm looking into this.  I too must now find a way to make my ideal grilled cheese sandwich in my very own kitchen.  2.) I think perhaps a test kitchen party is in order.  Wonder how many variations we all could come up with!  What would your perfect grilled cheese sandwich look like to you?  I just gotta know!