I’d never been to a Grilled Cheese Festival before, but the name alone evoked fond childhood memories. However, we coupled the experience with ciders.
I don’t remember what charity the event raised money for, but people were definitely generous, sharing extra food tokens with us as we arrived. We even saw other friends who’d arrived hours earlier and joined them in line for our first sample.
The friend who I’d come with immediately vetoed the grilled salmon and cheese quesadilla. Her palate didn’t include fish with cheese. Since I was starving at that point, I wolfed it down, not caring about the combination nor the fact that it wasn’t quite a “grilled cheese sandwich.” I later learned that that food truck had run out of bread since they hadn’t factored in other food trucks not showing up. Apparently, there were supposed to be anywhere from six to nine different food trucks providing some version of grilled cheese, but only three had showed up.
Next sample was the ol’ school grilled cheese served up from a renovated bus. Everything about it was absolutely delicious. Even my friend, who was far more particular about food than I was, enjoyed it and returned for seconds.
The first place winner, according to my palate, was the grilled brisket and cheese. Fortunately, I sampled the sandwiches in the order of increasing deliciousness.
The weather cooperated with the outdoor event until the sun went down. The temperature dropped way too low for my comfort, especially since I hadn’t worn a jacket. In all aspects of my life, I pack light and live uncluttered.
I joked with three other friends, who included checking out guys along with their pursuit of grilled cheese and drinking, why they couldn’t flirt with men who worked at the venue who could have turned on the heat lamps. I wanted to stay long enough to hear the band, but in the end, the plunging temperature motivated us to leave.
I’d stopped eating bread on a regular basis a few years ago. Although that event was an edible indulgence, I definitely planned to resume making bread scarce in my diet once again.