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RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK Wich Craft's Patty Melt put a spell on me

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By Jon Dunbar
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  • Updated KST
Wich Craft's Patty Melt / Courtesy of Shuttle Delivery

Wich Craft's Patty Melt / Courtesy of Shuttle Delivery

I know I'm not a great food reviewer. For one thing, in order to properly review a restaurant, one really should visit multiple times and try multiple menu items.

But every time I visit Wich Craft, a small sandwich shop right outside the U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, I always order one thing: the Patty Melt. Each visit, I know I should try something new: maybe the Monte Cristo, the Meatball Sandwich, the Chili Cheese Dog Sandwich — or how about something from their all-day brunch menu? There's a photo collection up on the wall showing all the food, and every single one of them looks worth trying.

But I don't get many chances to visit, only a few times each year, and I know the Patty Melt will blow me away each time. So do I really want to risk missing out on it, in favor of another one of the shop's more than 20 sandwiches? After all, they can't all possibly be as perfect as the Patty Melt.

When researching this, I decided to try another patty melt at a restaurant much closer to home in Seoul, just to see if all patty melts really are this spellbinding. I won't say which restaurant it was, because no offense to them for not stacking up, but they couldn't hold a candle to Wich Craft.

Wich Craft's Patty Melt is basically like a grilled cheese sandwich with a hamburger patty mashed into the middle. Yet, its taste is more than the sum of these ingredients. They put a spice in it or something that makes it really pop your tastebuds. Even when I take it home and eat it when it's cooled off, it's still mindblowing. The fries served on the side are also top quality.

Next time I go, I should really try something else on the menu. But I will most likely get another Patty Melt.

Some more of the food at Wich Craft / Courtesy of Shuttle Delivery

Some more of the food at Wich Craft / Courtesy of Shuttle Delivery

Wich Craft is open every day of the week, starting from 11 a.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. on weekends and always running until 8 p.m. It is also available on Shuttle Delivery, if you're in Pyeongtaek.