Food Truck Fridays: Cheese E. Wagon

Cheese E. Wagon

There’s something beautiful about the concept of Cheese E. Wagon. They saw an ingredient that we all know and love (cheese, obviously), and decided to create a food truck that features many of the noble meals that cheese plays a vital role in. Cheeseburgers, hot dogs, tacos, quesadillas, cheesesteaks and of course grilled cheese are among the glorious cheese-based creations that Cheese E. Wagon offers. To further reinforce the cheese theme, the truck itself is painted like a giant block of cheese, complete with a grater. It was extremely challenging for me to choose what I wanted to review because I am a sucker for all of those foods. I ended up choosing one of their bestsellers, the Southwest Chicken Quesadilla, as well as a Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese.

Southwest Chicken Quesadilla

This quesadilla was full of pleasant surprises. The moment I opened the container I could tell this quesadilla was special by its vibrant red-orange color, due to the spicy seasoning that covers the outside of the tortilla. Adding chili-based flavors with a touch of barbecue, this seasoning rockets this tortilla ahead of the competition.

Once I bit into this gorgeously crisped tortilla, I was pleasantly surprised by its contents. Rather than just using one type of cheese in the quesadilla, Cheese E. Wagon blends cheddar, mozzarella, Monterey jack, and several other cheeses that I could not identify. Not only were these cheeses physically melted together, their flavors also combined to create a new “super-cheese” flavor that you have to experience to understand. I was tempted to go back to Cheese E. Wagon to ask if I could just buy the blend to use in my own cooking.

Although the cheese is the major player in this quesadilla, the other ingredients of this quesadilla are not to be forgotten. The chicken itself is deliciously simple, just perfectly grilled. Pico de gallo adds a nice fresh element to the richness of the cheese, and it is  used in combination with a roasted pepper sauce that results in a surprisingly sweet flavor. This sweetness contrasts well with the spice of the tortilla. This quesadilla is the perfect example of someone taking a classic dish and slightly altering its fundamentals to create something truly excellent.

Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese

I knew this was going to be good. It had pulled pork and grilled cheese, so it had to be good. But I was unprepared for quite how good it was going to be.

The pulled pork is extraordinary on all fronts. It falls apart in your mouth from extreme tenderness, but it isn’t overly fatty. It is so aggressively pulled that it only comes in small bites of deliciousness. Barbecue sauce drenches the pulled pork with its sweet and spicy flavor. A subtle slice of astonishingly well-melted mozzarella forms the bed for this celebration of porky goodness. I actually had a little trouble with the mozzarella because it just did not want to come apart (see picture above).

The bread that holds it all together deserves an award of it own. Perfectly buttered and browned, this bread should serve as a bar-setter that all other grilled cheese breads should look up to. In fact this whole sandwich has permanently raised my standards for all grilled cheeses. And I cannot wait to get another one.

Usually when I try two different meals from a food truck, I enjoy both but I have a favorite. This time however, I have no idea whether I liked one more than the other, simply because they were both insanely good. The rest of Cheese E. Wagon’s menu looked equally good, and I am going to be trying as many items as possible. Cheese E. Wagon has made it to the list of my all-time favorite food trucks. I will be back at Cheese E. Wagon very, very soon, and I hope to see you there.

-Will Constan