Matthew "Matt" Breslow is originally from New Jersey, New York. His family went on holiday to Portland as a child since he had uncles, aunts and cousins residing in the city. In 2007, he moved to Portland, and on April 20, 2009 opened the first GCG location on Alberta St.
Locations
The GCG uses unconventional locations for its restaurants. One location, which is located on Alberta St. in Portland, is an airstream-school bus combination. The kitchen is in the renovated airstream, while the old school bus has been converted to be a stationary place for patrons to eat. The tables are plastered with school photos "taken at the height of dorkdom". Outside of the bus are picnic tables that people can eat on as well. In Southeast Portland the GCG restaurant is inside a double decker bus, and the downtown location is a stationary food cart. The double decker bus is a 1954 former Mt. St. Helens tour bus that Breslow painted the sides of to resemble a large checkerboard.
Impact
GCG has become an example of "highly successful" food carts. Lonely Planet considers the GCG to be one of the top food carts of Portland. In 2009, the GCG won the People's Choice trophy at the Eat Mobile, Willamette Week's annual food cart contest. Rachael Ray recommended the GCG in her magazine, Every Day with Rachael Ray. Reader's Digest has also called the GCG "the best grilled cheese in Portland." The Zagat guide reviewed the restaurants, with each category out of a possible 30 points: The GCT scored 25 on food, 22 on decor, and 23 on service. With the success of the three GCG locations, Breslow decided to open another sandwich cart called the Shotgun Sub Shop, located in downtown Portland. As of late 2014, this cart has closed, however.
Menu
The GCG offers a variety of toppings not usually found on grilled cheese sandwiches. Some of these toppings include bacon, apples, blue cheese, Swiss cheese, jalapeño, artichoke, turkey, hummus, mascarpone, Nutella, banana, cinnamon, avocado, tomato, sauerkraut, ham, salami, chips, fried eggs and many others. Some original sandwiches include:
Cheesus: the Cheesus is the signature sandwich of GCG, which has been described as a "grilled cheese cheeseburger". On either side, instead of a traditional hamburger bun, there are two grilled cheese sandwiches. One sandwich consists of pickles and American cheese and the other consists of grilled onions and Colby Jack Cheese. The middle is traditional burger fare: lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard and a 1/3 lb burger.
BABS: the BABS is an acronym for Bacon, Apple, Blue Cheese and Swiss. This sandwich is served on rye bread. Breslow has stated, "This sandwich is on our permanent menu at the carts and is a top-seller, for its unique flavor combination of the tart blue cheese, sweer apples, savory bacon and nice mellow Swiss cheese to tie it all together. We serve it at the cart on marble rye bread."
Jalapeno Popper: The Jalapeño Popper has roasted jalapeños, Colby jack cheese, cream cheese and corn tortilla chips atop sourdough bread. 1859 magazine describes the experience as, "The crack of the chips and the spice of the peppers make for a delicious medley of texture and taste... Stick around to eat your sandwich, as a grilled cheese should only be eaten with the cheese nice and melty."
