Mel's Country Cafe — Restaurant in Tomball

BRANCHING OUT - "A PERFECT FOOD FOR THOUGHT" "I am hungry, feed me; I am bored, amuse me." Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

I've been thinking about the perfect food.  Not necessarily my favorite or the best, but the most perfect. In my humble opinion it would have to be the Monte Cristo sandwich. It can be breakfast. It can be lunch. It can be dinner. It can be dessert. It can be a snack. There's nothing it cannot do. Which makes it perfect. I'll fight you on this (after I heal up of course).

If you don't know what a Monte Cristo is it is a ham, turkey and Swiss cheese sandwich that is battered and deep fried then topped with powdered sugar and raspberry jam. Sheer perfection (*chef's kiss) There's just a little something for everyone in there. Sweet, salty, meaty, bready, cheesy, fruity (pauses to drool a bit...)

Where do you find the best one? House of Pies is good, and Bennigan's kinda set the standard for a lot of us Gen X'ers. But I found a place up in Tomball that might very well make the best one I have ever had.

Mel's Country Cafe (24814 Stanolind Rd) is TOTALLY worth the drive north. I got the "Famous" Mel Burger - a triple cheeseburger with a full pound of beef and a half pound of bacon. I got it with a side of onion rings. That burger is redunkulous, y'all. You really gotta put in the work, but it's sooo worth it. The onion rings were simply magnificent. The best I ever had, you ask? Maybe, my friend, they just may be. The fry and crisp and batter were perfection. This boded very well for the Monte Cristo I ordered for dessert.

Now let's talk perfection y'all. I have already entered into record the opinion that the Monte Cristo is the most perfect food. In support of this I offer exhibit A:  Mel's Monte Cristo. If it were indeed possible to distill a mother's love into sandwich form and then fry it and coat it in powdered sugar it would have a name. And that name would be Mel's Monte Cristo, my friends. I'm usually not short on words, y'all, but I simply lack the ability to properly describe the sense of universal peace that washed over me as I took bite after delishes bite. It is simply unpossible to over exaggerate how divine this sammitch is. If you never make the drive up to Tomball to have one, St. Peter may not let you in the Pearly Gates because you obviously hate yourself and desire a life of eternal damnation.

Thoughts? What food do you think is "perfect"? I think you could maybe make an argument for quiche, but I don't think it could check every box the way the Monte...

UPDATE: Dropping one star. Disappointed. We went back after the fire. Awesome food, there is no doubt about it. It was extremely loud inside but that is just how it is. SERVICE was an issue. From the front hostess to our waitress to staff on the way out. The hostess at the front didn't really greet us. She seemed apathetic that we were there. Ok, so what. Then when they called us in, no one stepped us to direct us to our table. Finally, the person who was to take us to our table and was standing looking at us the whole time spoke up. Our waitress was forgetful, apathetic and not really engaged in what she was doing. There "assistants" or bus boys, I'm not sure which, that were very attentive when they happened to pass by. These guys refilled drinks and cleared plates. We'd ask things of our waitress, she'd acknowledge us, but then forget. We asked for to go boxes. She brought us a box with dirt and hair in it. Ok, so we asked for a new box. She brought us the same box. It was impossible to get the attention of other staff at times. When we left, I took a menu up front and went to hand it to a woman at the front. She couldn't be bothered to take it from me. There seems to be a bit of "you're lucky we're open" attitude and that is not a good look. When ticket prices are as high as they are the food and the service have to step it up.

Wow...what a breath of fresh air. Pure Americana and done right. This is the food you go out for. Many places taste like they just pulled the food of the Sysco truck. This place is a great down home cooking spot. The atmosphere is great. A great broad representation of the community. Everyone is nice and friendly. Our server and helper were great. The food was delicious. My kids had a great time and we got to see someone eating the Mega Mel Burger. You...

We love Mel’s before and after the “remodel”. I have to highlight one particular instance with Mel’s though. There was a Meal Train for a family in the community. I was cooking for my family and ordered the family on the meal train burgers from Mel’s online through their website. I completed the order then noticed it didn’t give me an order confirmation but instead a time change. I thought this was odd so waited a couple of minutes and called Mel’s. They asked if I had just called about this and I let them no I had not. They suggested I call door dash. I call door dash and they tell me sorry because it was done on Mel’s website there isn’t anything they can do. So I call Mel’s back and let them know. The lady was so sweet and said she would work on it for me, and make sure I’m not double charged. I let her know I still needed to place a delivery order. That I was in the middle of dinner for my family but promised a meal to our family we signed up to support. She handed me to the guy who does take out. He told me there was nothing he could do. I told him I understood deliveries go through door dash but I tried and I had my card debited and they don’t have an order for me. Anyway I asked if there was someone that could help me. Luckily Jeff got the phone. I cannot praise Mel’s enough. I understood it wasn’t their fault, just as much as it was not mine. It was a computer glitch. However it put me in a bind with trying to cook dinner for my own family and support a family going through a difficult time. Jeff out of the kindness of his heart offered to deliver this meal to the family for me. I was beyond grateful! I was so glad we were able to get this family taken care of and Mel’s once again provided exceptional service. Thank you Mel’s so much for always supporting...