A Cheesie Adventure - Part 1

I'd been in Chicago for a couple of days - seeing the sites, tasting the foods, and generally staying up late - when I was awoken early on a Saturday morning. The Cheesie Guy who was doing the waking informed me that I needed to report to the truck at 9am sharp if I intended to ride along for the day. I received directions from the house to Cheesie's Pub & Grub on Belmont - I was to take a walk down to the train station, hop the Brown Line, and ride the train to the Belmont station. I needed to plan on an 8 minute train ride, however long it took to walk to the station (about 5 minutes), plus the wait for the train. Half an hour should do it, he said.

Not one to be late (especially when there is cheese involved), I was up and out the door at 8am. I considered, for a brief moment, grabbing the umbrella or a sweatshirt as I descended the stairs to the street. No, I assured myself, it had finished raining here and Brandon might need his umbrella later. The weather had been sticky hot for the past 3 days and although it felt a bit cooler, it was still quite warm & humid. I'd be fine - famous last words.

The wait for the train was longer than expected. I'm not sure if trains run less frequently on Saturday mornings but they sure weren't in a hurry this day. To my relief, one arrived shortly after 8:30am and 8 minutes later, I stepped out of the station and onto Belmont street. Grabbing my phone, I dialed the Cheesie Guy who promptly popped out from the back alley - luring me towards this innocent looking beast, sleeping quietly behind the shop.

 

I was quickly introduced to Brad & Annessa who, along with Matt, were prepping the truck for action. The mission was to head to Evanston to Northwestern University for Dillo Day 2015. Bring on the fun!!!

A bit about The Cheesie's Truck - it's HUGE! Think large UPS truck huge. This truck is longer than most food trucks, that I've encountered, and hosts a full kitchen inside - complete with cold prep station, 2-window serving counter, pop cooler (that's soda to all my New England friends), full-sized grill-top (I wonder if there is an oven under there?), dual-sided warming pan, deep frier, and full-sized fridge & freezer. Did I mention the 3 compartment sink & second prep counter? This truck has it all!

Truck loaded and ready to go, Brad took the wheel. Navigation plotted - Annessa was to co-pilot. The key is to navigate around the low bridges so as not to be "that guy" who took his tall truck under a bridge too low. If you want to get your truck from here to there without a scratch, you call this guy (Hey, driving The Cheesie Truck is serious business!):

As we headed out, the weather took a turn for the worst - rain spat down and the temperature dipped 10 degrees. It was going to be a cold, wet, grey, chilly day at this outdoor music festival. 

Arriving at Northwestern University, we were guided onto the event field and settled the truck into place. So far we were one of 2 setting up. The other, the famous Giordano's Pizza. Well, wouldn't this be interesting? 2 trucks offering Cheesie goodness but who would have the best cheesiness?

Now I know what you are all thinking - get to the cheese! Serve up those sandwiches! Not so fast, my Cheesie friends! Do you know what goes into getting this tasty treat on wheels ready for your enjoyment? I didn't think so! Up first, unload the bread! That's right, flats & flats & flats of bread were riding along, just waiting to be filled & grilled. Next, hook up the propane. This truck won't grill on air, my friends. Speaking of grills, fire them up! And remember that cold prep station? Yup, load it up with all of the tasty fixins that you love in your sammies. Today's menu - the Mac, Tenderizer, Popper, Frenchie, Caprese, & Tots. As setup progressed, we were joined by Chris - our Grill Master for the day.

Now keep in mind, this is a kitchen on wheels. Standards apply here - cleanliness, safety, and ,of course, food safety - certain temps must be met & maintained. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that the warming pans were not coming up to temp. The truck erupted in a mad scramble to figure out what was going on. There was hot soup for dipping, mac & cheese for sandwich fillings, melted cheese and more to keep warm and a health inspection to pass. It was soon discovered that the burners on the warming pans had gone out. Odd... but wait! The burners on the grill, frier, and toasters were out too. A quick check of the propane tank revealed a stuck valve. No gas was getting to the truck. Would this be the end of the Cheesie story for the day? Were we to leave hundreds of hungry Cheese Heads without their coveted sammies? Stay tuned...