The mere mention of a grilled cheese food truck tends to evoke one of two responses:
1. How hard can it be to make a grilled cheese sandwich at home? Why should I bother tracking down a food truck to get one?
2. Damn, that sounds good.

Sure, you can make it yourself at home. But it can be easier, not to mention tastier, if you get it from the folks at ToastyMelts.

It’s our universal love and affection for creamy melted cheese on perfectly toasted buttery bread that has made the San Francisco food truck, Toasty Melts, so successful.

Business partners, Tiffany Lam and Alex Rando, started the Toasty Melts food cart in 2009 after being inspired by other popular carts like The Magic Curry Cart and The Creme Brulee Man. They also figured they could donate a portion of their earnings to the San Francisco Food Bank, where they were regular volunteers.

So why switch from part-time food cart hobby to full-fledged food truck? "Matt Cohen wanted us to come to Off the Grid, but we weren't that ambitious because we both had day jobs," says Lam. She was a project manager for Marin company, Republic of Tea, and has since quit to devote herself completely to Toasty Melts. Rando is still at his day job. "We heard rumblings last year that the permit process was going to change. So last September, we finally started looking for a food truck to transition to," says Lam.

Just this past March, they finally debuted their shiny new bright red food truck, ready to take on the already crowded food truck space.

But here's the kicker: neither of them have any professional culinary experience. None! And that’s exactly how they came upon the decision to focus solely on the simplistic grilled cheese sandwich.

"There's no way we could do something fancier. It was definitely something we could execute. If we could do it, anyone could do it! It was the most realistic food avenue for us to take. But it's also very versatile. We could be creative with the grilled cheese sandwiches and blend products to make different variations."

This simple sandwich requires no special equipment. They make the sandwiches on the truck's grill, cooking them up evenly to a perfect golden brown.

I tried their two signature sandwiches: The ABC, which has thin apple slices, bacon from Zoe's Meats and cheddar cheese; and the 3 Cheese, made up of smoked gouda, jack and cheddar cheeses. Both were served on Panorama bread, made locally in San Francisco. Most of the cheeses they use are from Kerrygold.

Both sandwiches had the perfect amount of toastiness: golden brown in color with the right amount of crunch. But the interior of the bread was also soft and pillowy with just enough buttery goodness.

The 3 Cheese stood out because it was amazing to me how distinctive all three cheeses were even when melted together. The jack cheese was smooth and creamy, the cheddar gave it the classic flavor, and the gouda provided a wonderfully sharp punch that made it stand out. I absolutely loved it.

I have to admit, though, that I wanted more from the ABC. The best thing about it was the thinly sliced apples, which gave the sandwich additional texture and a subtly sweet contrast in flavor. The bacon, unfortunately, was a bit dry and rubbery. I would've loved if it were more crunchy. And I longed for a cheese with a tad more flavor. The jack cheese just couldn't hold its own.

Regardless, their sandwiches are still worth going back for, especially if you’ve got a hankering for a good grilled cheese. They are fresh, contain quality ingredients, are perfectly toasted + gooey, affordable at $4-$6 a pop, and easier than making it yourself.

"Who would want to shred and blend three different cheeses for one grilled cheese at home? We also provide the novelty and the convenience," says Lam.

For now, you can find them at Off the Grid on alternating Mondays at Civic Center Plaza and on alternating Tuesdays at UN Plaza, along with possible regular stops in San Mateo and Brisbane. Lam wants to have a firm presence in San Francisco, though, despite the food truck permit drama that seems to happen frequently these days.

"We're going to continue to pursue all our permits for various locations in San Francisco. And Alex and I would love to expand our menu at some point. For now, it's just the one truck. My Dad owned a restaurant and I don't know if I really want to own a brick and mortar restaurant. This one truck takes every ounce of my energy!"

Toasty Melts
Off the Grid Mondays and Tuesdays & other various locations pending
Twitter: @ToastyMelts
Facebook.com: Toasty Melts

Outside of the Sacred Wheel Cheese and Specialty Market, on 51st and Shattuck Ave. in Oakland. Photo by Marlene Saroni

"Wait, there's still 10 cheeses here you haven't tried!" insisted Chris Howse, the enthusiastic, lavishly tattooed general manager of Oakland's' new Sacred Wheel Cheese and Specialty Market.

When was the last time you heard that over a cheese counter? Especially a few minutes before closing time, after you've already tried several dozen different cheeses, each handed over eagerly, complete with full description.

In my experience, 3 tastes is about the limit of most cheese-wranglers' patience. After that, there seems to be a tacit agreement that you'll pick one, pull out your wallet, and seal the deal, or else slink away to make room for the next dairy-loving freeloader in line.

Not at Sacred Wheel Cheese and Specialty Market, which opened early January in the rapidly foodie-izing district of Temescal. Here, the staff seems much more eager to discover your new favorite cheese, reveal their latest find, or simply blow your mind with a groovy but unfamiliar flavor or texture. Specializing in domestic cheeses from mostly small, farmstead producers, the emphasis right now is on mostly Northern California cheeses. But you'll also find wheels and wedges from Oregon, Utah, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire.

Going all-American was part of co-owner Jena Davidson Hood's plan to create an unpretentious, unintimidating, neighborhood-friendly shop, where anyone could drop in, taste, and learn, without being overwhelmed by an enormous selection or a wall of hard-to-pronounce names. And while Jena may have the most food knowledge, thanks to her culinary-school training and years as a chef with Michael Mina's restaurant group, she emphasized that "no one here is pretending they know everything. We really encourage tasting--we'll taste any cheese in the shop, because it's fun to learn with people."

Said Jena, "Now that we've been open a little while, people are starting to come to me," with handmade accompaniments. "I'd really like to see the shelves fill up with local stuff, tiny, small-batch products." Already, the shelves are stocked with hot-pepper jellies from Inna Jam; honeys from Five+Dime and Bay Area Bee Company; and baguettes from Berkeley's Bread Workshop.

Not everything will be local, however. Sacred Wheel is a family affair, and Jena, her brother Merrick Davidson, and her mother Bernice Davidson, all of whom work in the shop, are proud of their Virginia roots. "We grew up country," Jena laughed, "on a farm in Bedford County, so we wanted to bring a little bit of home here." In a green shelving unit (made by her husband, Brian Hood, out of an old truck bed) are all manner of edible Virginiana, including jars of sweet chow-chow and hot zucchini relish from Meadowcroft Farm and cans of she-crab soup and blue crab chowder.

Still, Jena is proud to be living "100% Temescal" lately. She and her husband, who did much of the carpentry and design work needed to turn the long-empty storefront into a homey and welcoming space, live just a few blocks away, close enough so that she can run home to walk their dogs at midday. Said Jena, "We moved here 5 years ago, but I think even if we hadn't, it would have ended up being our favorite neighborhood. We're hoping this will help make Shattuck less of a stepchild" to the more popular and already restaurant-lined Telegraph Ave. "I'm happy we got in when we did."

While the bulk of the business is in take-home cheese and products, there's also a short menu: a couple of soups, including chunky, beer-spiked "tomato PBR" and a daily special, like silky, creamy carrot and roasted garlic; and a simple, kid-friendly grilled cheese sandwich of Cowgirl Creamery's Wagon Wheel cheese on sourdough bread. On the second Saturday of each month, James Whitehead of Fist of Flour will be setting up his mobile pizza oven on the sidewalk outside, making pizzas with a variety of Sacred Wheel's cheeses.

So, it's clear: Temescal likes its cheese, the bigger and bolder the better. And what could be better than grilled cheese dunked in tomato soup? Well, how about mac and cheese washed down with beer?

A few blocks east of Telegraph, a lunchtime line is snaking from the counter at Homeroom, past the Kraft-yellow wall almost all the way to the door. As you might expect, woolly hats, trucker caps, goatees, and I hella (heart) Oakland tees are much in evidence. But despite the line's slow crawl, everyone seems to be smiling. And why not? Above the counter is a chalkboard reading A is for Apple, B is for Beer, C is for Cheese.

It's the last two that Homeroom is banking on, with a menu that's all mac and cheese, all the time, serving ten varieties (loaded with Vermont cheddar, Mexican chorizo, goat cheese, Prather Ranch hot dogs, and more--and yes, they do make both vegan and gluten-free versions) alongside a dozen draft and bottled beers. There's wine, too, a few veggie sides (broccoli with ranch dressing, roasted carrots, salad) and a handful of simple desserts (brownies, peanut-butter pie, homemade Oreos, ice cream floats made with housemade root beer or Old Rasputin stout). The mac and cheese, plenty of it, comes bubbling in wide ceramic dishes, while the beer arrives in Mason jars, a few ounces shy of a pint. Just enough for a pleasant little lunchtime buzz, especially over the ballast of all that cheese and starch.

In the kitchen, a wiry crew is sweating over the pots, shoulders hunched with the pressure. "Even working in a mac and cheese restaurant, I think I've lost 5 pounds since we opened," laughs co-owner Erin Wade. Less than a week after opening their doors on Valentine's Day, Wade and her co-owner Allison Arevalo are still getting their systems down, gearing up for an all-day schedule that will see them dishing up from 11am to 9pm from Tuesday through Thursday (and Sunday) and from 11am to 10pm on Friday and Saturday.

Like the crew at Sacred Wheel, Arevalo and Wade have made Homeroom into a community affair; with the help of their husbands and friends, they did much of the space's renovation themselves, giving the big, open space a sweet and quirky feel that's almost kitschy, but not quite. The chunky red coffee mugs, decorated with the Homeroom logo, are instantly covetable; the old-fashioned library card catalog, now a repository for customers' "buy 10 get one free" cards, is a nice touch, even if few of the 20something patrons here would remember ever using a card catalog for real. Still, there's no denying the moneymaking appeal of cheesy-good nostalgia, especially with beer and without homework.

The only thing missing? Some no-nonsense lunch ladies to keep the din down.

Sacred Wheel Cheese and Specialty Market
Address: Map
4935 Shattuck Avenue
Oakland, CA, 94609
(510) 653-1653
Hours: Tues-Sun: 11am-8pm
Twitter: @SacredWheelOak
Facebook: Sacred Wheel Cheese and Specialty Market

Homeroom
Location: Map
400 40th Street
Oakland, CA 94609
(510) 597-0400
Hours: Tues-Thurs: 11am-9pm, Fri- Sat: 11am-10pm, Sun: 11am-9pm
Twitter: @homeroom510
Facebook: Homeroom

To say that the grilled cheese sandwich is one of my favorite things in the world would be an understatement. And you know what? I'm not alone in that. I come from a generation that grew up on the beloved grilled cheese. The dish I came to love was simple and comforting: a layer of warm, melty American cheese embraced by two fluffy slices of toasted white sandwich bread, so crispy and buttery that it crackled like the top of a creme brulee at every bite.

Ok, so maybe I'm romanticizing a bit. I grew up on Kraft singles and Wonder Bread, and if I ate those things today, I doubt they'd taste as good as I remember. I grew up, and dammit, I wanted my beloved grilled cheese sandwich to grow up with me.

After years wandering in a grilled cheese arctic wasteland, someone stepped in to save me: Nate Pollak and Heidi Gibson, the "Big Cheeses" at a hot new South Park lunch eatery, the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen. Nate and Heidi matured the dish, taking it to a level of adult grilled cheese perfection that will completely overshadow any trace memories you have of thin Denny's cheese sammies that linger in your subconscious. Think gourmet cheeses, local produce, and a levain bread that would make Baby Jesus cry.

To give credit where credit is due, I was introduced to this place by my good friend Kirstin Jackson, the goddess of all things dairy. Whenever Kirstin tells me to jump at a new cheese dish, I listen. Kirstin and I met for lunch at the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen a few weeks ago, and I ordered something called the Butternut Buster. I had no idea what I was ordering, though I knew that I love butternut squash and cheese, so why wouldn't they go together?

A few minutes later my lunch showed up, and before me sat a sandwich that must have measured 4-inches thick. Between the thick, moist slices of toasted levain bread were layer upon layer of fresh sage butter, caramelized onions, roasted butternut squash, tender prosciutto, and some of the most gooshy, melty gruyere and fontina cheese I've ever eaten. I dove into the sandwich like a dinosaur eating a caveman, and before long I was covered in cheese, meat, and breadcrumbs. I swear, I don't think I took a breath through the first half of my lunch. For that two minutes, my life was nothing but a lambada of flavor, texture, and aroma.

The menu at the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen changes frequently, peppered with a series of tantalizing daily specials on top of their hometown heros. Here's a sample of their current lunch offerings:

• Piglet -- Tillamook sharp cheddar, artisan cured ham, apple mustard, rosemary butter
• Mushroom Gruyère -- fontina, gruyère, roasted wild mushrooms + gold potatoes, melted leeks, caramelized onions, thyme butter
• Jalapeño Popper -- chèvre, monterey jack, applewood-smoked bacon, apricot-jalapeño relish
• Club Turkey -- Tillamook sharp cheddar, creamy havarti, Willie Bird smoked turkey, applewood-smoked bacon, Sierra Nevada stout mustard, roasted tomatos, arugula
• Mousetrap -- Tillamook sharp cheddar, creamy havarti, monterey jack, on artisan sourdough (extra add-ons: applewood-smoked bacon, artisan cured ham, roasted tomato, and/or bread n'butter pickles)
• Moscone -- fresh mozzarella, fontina, roasted tomatoes, basil-lavender pesto, kalamata olive tapenade
• Smoky Tomato Soup -- house made with crème fraîche, croutons
• Stella's Cobb Salad -- chèvre, organic mixed greens, egg, organic cherry tomatoes, pickled red onions, smoked turkey, applewood-smoked bacon, buttermilk dressing
• Tilly's Veggie Salad -- fresh mozzarella, organic mixed greens, egg, organic cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, capers, croutons, champagne vinaigrette

Nate and Heidi even offer breakfast sandwiches:

• Classic Breakfast -- sharp cheddar, jack, cage-free egg
• Veggie Breakfast -- sharp cheddar, jack, egg, roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions, bell peppers
• Breakfast Piglet -- sharp cheddar, ham, egg, apple mustard, rosemary butter
• Farmer's Breakfast -- sharp cheddar, roasted potatoes, applewood-smoked bacon, cage-free egg, chive butter

Food allergy note: Guess what? The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen makes their own gluten-free bread, and all sandwiches on the menu can be served on this amazing bread for only fifty cents more. They even sell their bread by the loaf, and I guarantee you'll want to pick some up for reconstructing your own grilled cheese dreams at home.

What's my overall opinion? Get thee to the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen as soon as possible. Only open for breakfast and lunch, this place does mid-day meals right, and I can guarantee that the memory of your perfectly savory, perfectly grown-up grilled cheese sandwich will linger in your mind long after lunch if over. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you headed back the next day.

American Grilled Cheese Kitchen
1 South Park Ave. Map
Suite 103A
San Francisco, 94107
Hours:
Mon-Fri 8am-3pm
Sat & Sun 9am-4pm

You can also follow the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen on Facebook and Twitter.

Butternut Buster
Butternut Squash Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Caramelized Onion and Sage Butter
By Nate Pollak and Heidi Gibson

Makes: 1 sandwich

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons sage butter (see recipe below)
2 slices of country bread
3 tablespoons caramelized onions (see recipe below)
3 tablespoons gruyere cheese
6 thin slices prosciutto
3 slices of roasted butternut squash (see recipe below)
3 tablespoons fontina cheese (preferably a stinky Italian fontina)

Preparation:

Sandwich Assembly and Cooking
Preheat oven to 500°.
1. Spread a thin layer of sage butter on the outer side of each of the slices of bread. Lay the bread butter-side down on a cookie surface.
2. Spread a thin layer of caramelized onions on the inside of one of the slices of bread. Follow with a layer of gruyere, a thin layer of prosciutto, 3 slices of roasted squash slices, and a layer of fontina cheese.
3. Place the other piece of buttered bread (butter-side out) on top of the layer of fontina.
4. Place the sandwich on a baking sheet and slide into oven. Cook for 1 minute, until top slice of bread is toasted and golden-brown. Remove the sandwich from the oven, flip it over, and bake again until the new top slice of bread is also golden-brown and all cheese is fully melted.
5. Remove from oven. Eat and Enjoy!

To Make Sage Butter

Ingredients:
1 pound salted butter
2 large sprigs of fresh sage leaves

Preparation:
1. Cream the salted butter with a stand mixer or electric hand beater.
2. Pluck leaves off sage sprigs and chop them coarsely.
3. Add chopped leaves to butter and mix until evenly distributed.

To Make Caramelized Onions

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 white onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation:
1. Coat a skillet with a thin layer of vegetable oil, add the diced onions and salt, and cook on medium heat, stirring regularly, until onions are fully caramelized (dark brown color, sweet smell/taste, no more liquid in the pan).
2. Remove onions from heat and set aside.

To Make Roasted Butternut Squash

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Peel the skin off the squash and slice the squash into thin rounds (so you get thin squash "disks").
3. Spread the squash slices onto a baking sheet with a sheet liner coated in a non-stick cooking spray. Drizzle oil over the squash and sprinkle a few pinches of salt.
4. Bake the squash for about 10-15 minutes, rotating the pan half way through. Bake until the slices are soft and darken in color to a rich orange.
5. Remove from oven and set aside.

The 2nd Annual NorCal Regional Grilled Cheese Invitational was held this past Saturday at Dolores Park.

Half-Naked Juggling Guy in Boxer Briefs was present with an African drum on his back. As was Chick in a Hot Dog Suit accompanied by Boy in a Banana Suit. All in all, just another day in the Mission.

Hot Dog and Certified Organic Banana (Photo Credit: Kai Yu)

Really, days like this make me love San Francisco for what it is: the most eclectic bunch of people in one city, all bonded by a shared appreciation for some tasty eats, a little entertainment, and a patch of grass to sit on.

The Crowd Goes Crazy for Cheese (Photo Credit: Kai Yu)

The crowd at the Grilled Cheese Invitational was pumped up and full of exuberant cheering. The air was electric... and full of the intoxicating scent of sizzling butter and bread. The promise of melty cheese for the masses created a kind of aphrodisiacal nirvana that settled over our little corner of Dolores Park.

According to the official "Grilled Cheese Invitational Rules & Regulations" there were three categories of competition:
1) The Missionary Position: Standard bread, standard butter and standard cheese. No additional ingredients or flavorings allowed.
2) The Kama Sutra: Any kind of bread, any kind of butter, and any kind of cheese (or blend of cheeses) plus additional ingredients.
3) The Honey Pot: Any kind of bread, any kind of butter, any kind of cheese (or blend of cheeses), and any additional ingredients, but a sandwich that is sweet in flavor, or would best be served as dessert.

I was impressed with the creative license many contestants took with the "any kind of butter" option. I saw duck fat being used, pools of bacon grease and butter comingling in unhealthy heart happiness, and my favorite of the day -- coconut oil.
The Honey Pot category produced some entries that just boggled my concept of the grilled cheese. Take this for example.

Mushroom-Banana Grilled Cheese

Nifer, a volunteer ballot-collector decked out in her finest grilled cheese bonnet, models a Mushroom-Banana Grilled Cheese topped with whipped cream.

Nifer

She took a bite and declared, "It's weird... but I kinda like it."

Err... I'll trust you on that, Nifer. Mushrooms and whipped cream may be just a little too risqué for my taste. I'll save room for seasoned vets Laura Wiles and Katherine Scherbel's Baklava Grilled Cheese.

Laura and her Honey Pot Entry

Laura and Katherine took The Honey Pot category at last year's Oakland Regional Grilled Cheese Invitational and I could see why. They cook for the people. Katherine divulged that their strategy was to create something that possessed a familiar flavor people could identify with. The result was a round honey bun, fried in fragrant coconut oil, and filled with a nutty mixture of pistachio, orange zest, and cinnamon, ricotta and mozzarella cheese, and drizzled with chocolate sauce.

Baklava Grilled Cheese

Big thanks to the organizers of the Grilled Cheese Invitational. They may have made the world (or at least San Francisco) a better, happier, more fulfilled place with this cook-off. It's hard to not love life after spending your Saturday afternoon with over 500 of your fellow neighbors, paying homage to the almighty Grilled Cheese Sammich. The best sammich there ever was.

Grilled Cheese Euphoria (Photo Credit: Kai Yu)

Grilled Cheese wins at life (Photo Credit: Kai Yu)