A grilled cheese tour of downtown Des Moines, Part 1.

UPDATE: Keller's Deli has since closed. Django has since closed and is in the process of re-opening at 1420 Locust St in late summer 2018.

At Keller's Deli one can find a simple, yet tasty application of the grilled cheese arts. Laden with Swiss, cheddar and provolone on your choice of Keller's toasty artisan bread, then spread with a roasted garlic and Parmesan butter.

The folks at Something Italian throws down an awesome Italian Grilled Cheese as a once-a-week daily special, pairing country Italian bread with fresh mozzarella, smoked gouda, havarti and asiago cheeses along with tomato and spinach leaves, and finished off with a pesto spread. It's a quattro formaggi overload! So sumptuously cheesy! The smoked gouda adds a dimension I'd normally associate with meat off the grill. Tomato, pesto, and spinach temper all that richness.

Django offers up a Grilled Cheese (for grown-ups) featuring white cheddar and Swiss with a mushroom-onion hash and a drizzling of white truffle oil on South Union Bakery's country bread. Centro serves up virtually the same sandwich but with fontina cheese. Both Django and Centro offer Niman Ranch ham as an add-on; bacon is another option at Centro.

More sandwiches in Part 2.