If the French croque monsieur and the American grilled cheese had a child, it would be the Monte Cristo: a sandwich filled with cheese and sliced meat, battered and often deep-fried.

The sweet and salty deep-fried Monte Cristo is one of Saginaw Old Town Junction’s popular specials, but it’s only available for a couple of weeks at a time.

In its purest form, a Monte Cristo sandwich is tasty, but Tacoma-area chefs add tweaks and spins that turn the sandwich into a breakfast masterpiece. Here are five sandwiches to try.

And the Kevin Butler sandwich is a bacon double cheeseburger on two deep-fried monte cristo sandwiches. Mike: You really have to compress it to get it into your mouth.

This sweet and savory Monte Cristo sandwich is stuffed with ham, turkey, Gruyère, mayo, and raspberry jam on brioche bread and fried like French toast.

If the French croque monsieur and the American grilled cheese had a child, it would be the Monte Cristo: a sandwich filled with cheese and sliced meat, battered and often deep-fried.

Today's version is deep fried, although many prefer to fry their Monte Cristo in butter after dipping it in whipped eggs, like French toast. You may vary the type of bread you use.

What do you do when you can't decide whether to eat a ham and cheese sandwich, a fried turkey leg, or a powdered jelly doughnut? You eat a Monte Cristo. This artery-clogging devil of sandwiches is ...

If the French croque monsieur and the American grilled cheese had a child, it would be the Monte Cristo: a sandwich filled with cheese and sliced meat, battered and often deep-fried. (It is ...