My Meal Cost: $16.40. Health score 92.0. Yelp 3.5 stars
Continuing my adventures while the Lovely Mrs. C is off with her family, I decided to take advantage of a fending for myself situation by partaking of the options at Food Truck Thursdays at the Fairplex, prior to going off to Old Stump Brewery to support the Pomona Valley Film Society's screening of The Outsiders, in their parking lot. It was to be a parking lot evening.
I'm not really a fan of these food truck roundups where you have 8 plus food trucks to choose from. It was easy when I was working in Downtown LA to come across an interesting food truck and sample something new or intriquing. But the idea of going from truck to truck trying to decide which one(s) to try is daunting to say the least.
On this particular Thursday there was quite a variety: Wasn't really in the mood for wings so passed by LA Wing Company; Me So Hungry looked interesting but not interesting enough to capture my dollars; Boba ni Taco could have been interesting but I had Mexican food for lunch; Deli Doctor promised New York style delicatessen dishes, but I just wasn't in the mood for pastrami and if I were I'd probably have gone to The Hat; Or should I opt for a unique quesadilla from the Cheddar Wheel truck, no; and B&W didn't seem to have their act together so I wasn't even sure what was on the menu which the owner said was "in the works;" the line for the really popular Cousin's Maine Lobster truck was a deterrent although it could have been an interesting choice.
So what did I choose? I decided on Richeeze, a grilled cheese and mac & cheese truck. I was swayed by an interesting menu item, Jalapeno Popper grilled cheese. This was what I look for in a food truck, an item that I've never seen before with the promise of something special. I also ordered their mac'n'cheeze nuggets. I added to that a can of diet coke (this is a truck after all).
So what is the ambiance for food truck dining? Why shaded tables on blacktop, of course, with thin plastic table cloths to make it seem like they might be clean (?). At least there were a lot of tables so that you didn't have to hover until someone else decided to leave. And they did a fairly good job of providing shade.
There was even a DJ spinning tunes and giving diners an opportunity to win prizes by answering such question as "At this year's fair, coming in September, what kind of insect can you get deep fried?" Someone won a prize for knowing that it was crickets. Sigh . . .
Also in the parking lot was a separate "Fair" booth selling beer as well as a kettle corn booth and a cobbler booth.
So how was the meal? The sandwich was excellent with melted pepper jack cheese, slices of Jalapeno, and tomato on sourdough bread. The menu says that they are stuffed jalapenos, but what I had on mine were just slices of jalapeno, not at all large enough to be "stuffed," but it still worked. I did somewhat expect the jalapenos to have some of the breading of a "popper" which would have added a nice textural element, but again, it was delicious with the cheese overpowering any spice, so for me the pepper level was perfect.
The mac'n'cheeze nuggets, which are mac and cheese formed in a ball, coated and deep fried, then topped with some more shredded cheese were heavenly with the creamy mac & cheese in the center oozing from a crunchy/salty coating. Mac & cheese hand food, what could be better?
The food trucks will be there for the next couple of weeks through Aug. 17 and then will take time off during the Fair, Sept. 1-24 (Sept. 1 is Pomona Day). Couldn't find the information on whether they return in October or if they don't return until next Spring, but this might be a good time to give it a try if you're interested.
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