At Crawford, for a little cheddar you can get a lot of cheese. On the first Saturday of every month, the College St. bar hosts a party on the lower level where grilled cheese sandwiches are being made (and served) on the dance floor. Entry is free before 11pm and $5 after that. The grilled cheese is always free.
The evening's MC, Fundament, organizes the event and loves to surprise the crowd when he starts handing out the freshly made sandwiches.
"Most people don't realize we're doing it," he said. "It's easy. And the novelty of grilled cheese is amazing."
The event originated in Montreal by two local DJs known as the "Moustache Men." Fundament was introduced to the idea and decided to bring it to Toronto two years ago.
Now, Crawford is the regular home of the party, featuring a guest DJ alongside DJ James Redi who spin a motown/hip hop/reggae sound.
The grill is set up at the front of the room that usually gets fired up around midnight. As soon as it does, there's a wafting smell of grilled cheese that fills the air. Sandwiches start popping up in the crowd on the dance floor.
Fundament always starts the night with six loaves of bread and "a ton of sliced cheese." But with a 24-hour Metro across the street, the grilled cheese never runs out. Crawford's got people saying "cheese" for more than just photo ops.
Writing by Amanda Cupido. Photos by Jessica Goebell.