Popular N. Idaho restaurant to open in Boise. Its specialty? ‘What heaven looks like’

A restaurant founded in North Idaho plans to open in Boise this summer.

Its specialty? A simple comfort food that we’ve all made at home.

But maybe not quite like this.

Meltz Extreme Grilled Cheese will make its debut in Idaho’s capital city in a freshly constructed building at 6565 W. Fairview Ave., according to the Boise restaurant’s new Facebook page. That’s the spot where Los Mariachis burned down in 2019.

The brand was founded in 2012 in Coeur d’Alene, where it operates a restaurant at 1735 W. Kathleen Ave.

Based on online chatter, Meltz’s rich, decadent sandwiches regularly blow minds. It rates 4 1/2 out of 5 stars on Yelp.

“This is what heaven looks like,” a reviewer recently wrote. (Just don’t look at your bathroom scale afterward.)

“Definitely a comfort meal,” points out another, “not for those nights when you want to fit into your little black dress. More of a sweatshirt and yoga pants and beer kind of night.”

Meltz lets you build your own sandwiches with all sorts of ingredients. Or you can select a signature masterpiece. Sammies are made to order and take 10 to 12 minutes in Couer d’Alene. They cost around $6 or $7 for a half, $12 to $15 for a full.

Perhaps the best place to start on the menu? The Oinker, one of the top sellers: sharp cheddar, barbecued pulled pork and mac ‘n’ cheese, plus bacon and buttermilk fried onions.

Meltz has won awards for its creations. The Potsticker Meltz was a winner at the national Grilled Cheese Invitational, according to the restaurant’s menu. It’s slathered with provolone and pepper jack cheese, pork, pepper, garlic, ginger, soy, scallion, sesame, fried wonton, sriracha-chili aioli — and comes with potsticker dipping sauce.

If the idea of that calorie assault melts your face in a good way, keep up with the progress of the Boise location by searching “Meltz Extreme Boise” on Facebook.

This story was originally published April 14, 2022 at 1:34 PM.