A Nashville restaurant that puts gourmet twists on grilled cheese sandwiches has made its Texas debut in Plano. Called Cheese Lab, the shop has opened inside Legacy Hall, the three-story food hall at the Legacy West complex at 7800 Windrose Ave.
Plano is just the second location for Cheese Lab, and its first outside of Tennessee.
Founded by restaurateur Youssef Koutout, Cheese Lab serves elevated comfort food built around artisan cheeses, premium ingredients, and inventive flavor combinations, a release says. The concept debuted at Assembly Food Hall in downtown Nashville before expanding to North Texas.
Rather than sticking to the standard grilled cheese, the menu features a lineup of “melty” sandwiches with creative fillings.
The Cheese Lab offers creative twists on grilled cheese sandwiches. Photo courtesy of Cheese Lab
Signature options include the Nashville Smokehouse Melty with slow-smoked brisket; the Pimento Mac ‘n’ Cheese Melty; the Pulled Pork Meltstorm; the Southern Heritage Grilled Ham Duo; and the Brie & Fig Grilled Melty.
Sure to be a Texas favorite: The Birria on Broadway Melty, featuring slow-cooked chuck roll beef braised in-house for six hours, Monterey Jack cheese, onions, cilantro, and consommé dipping soup.
The menu also includes loaded mac and cheese, house-made soups, crispy Cheetos Balls, and breakfast items such as buttermilk biscuits, breakfast burritos, and bagel sandwiches.
BBQ Brisket Mac n Cheese Melty.Photo courtesy of Cheese Lab
“At Cheese Lab, we took one of America’s most recognizable comfort foods and completely reimagined it,” Koutout says in the release. “Every sandwich starts with quality ingredients and is built to bring unexpected flavors to a classic sandwich. We’re excited to bring our second location to Legacy Hall and become part of the Plano community.”
Amanda McFarland, executive vice president of FB Society, which operates Legacy Hall, says the concept fits the venue’s focus on chef-driven dining.
Cheetos Ball.Photo courtesy of Cheese Lab
“Cheese Lab brings exactly the kind of creativity we look for at Legacy Hall,” McFarland says. “Their menu takes something everyone knows and loves and turns it into a new culinary experience. We think guests are going to have a lot of fun working their way through the menu.”
Cheese Lab is open 10 am-9 pm Monday-Wednesday, 10 am-10 pm Thursday, 10 am-1 am Friday-Saturday, and 10 am-9 pm Sunday.
Dining and Cooking