What’s better than a grilled cheese sandwich?  How about five courses of grilled cheese, each paired with a wine by a sommelier?

The table is set. We are at Three Sheets in Sandy Springs, a very hip establishment whose name appears as {three sheets} in all of their printed material. We don’t give a “sheet” how they market themselves. Let’s eat!

One thing we will say is that it’s very dark inside and you sit on comfy couches instead of the traditional tables and chairs. It is my birthday, and we are joined by our son Elliott and his lovely girlfriend Skye. Everyone at Three Sheets is enjoying the same special menu tonight. They bring out two courses at a time, along with two glasses of wine. Usually, these meals are done one course at a time, but by doing it in pairs, they save a lot of serving time. This makes you feel like you are eating more and waiting less. First to arrive is two white wines, both from California, a sauvignon blanc and a chardonnay.

These wines are paired with our first two sandwiches.

On the left is a smoked gouda with artichoke and zucchini on a baguette. It is paired with a sauvignon blanc that goes with the smokiness of the gouda. Closer up, it looks like this:

To the right is pepper jack, avocado, tomato and pickled onion on Texas toast. And you thought Texas toast was only for barbecue joints. The cheese made it a little spicy, but that was easily cooled off with the buttery chardonnay. I can tell you these things because before each course, the sommelier comes to our table and tells us what we are drinking and why. I couldn’t come up with those pairings for sure!

We are off to a fantastic start. Our next wines are reds to go with a couple of heavier courses.

That’s an Italian red and a California cabernet sauvignon. They are hiding two great sandwiches.

On the left is the mozzarella, sun-dried tomato and grilled chicken on a ciabatta. Think of it as the margherita pizza version of grilled cheese. Or the chicken parmesan version. Either way, it is one of our favorites tonight. The Italian wine with the Italian cheese is an obvious pairing. I still couldn’t have figured that one out though. The other course goes traditional southern. Pimento cheese, bacon jam and pickles are grilled together on a brioche. That calls for a heavier wine, which is why the cabernet is paired with this entry.

Our last course is a “dessert” grilled cheese.

Paired with a Paso Robles from California, mascarpone, Nutella, and pecans are grilled between two slices of pound cake.

Our favorites? Probably the Italian-inspired grilled cheese. The pimento cheese was a hit as well, because doesn’t pimento cheese make everything better? Did we have a headache the next day? Perhaps, but it was worth it. We had a lot of fun, and it was a special way to celebrate my birthday.