The Queso Truck Arrives In Venice!

Guys. There's a queso truck! THE Queso Truck! I was so excited when I heard my friends and former neighbors, Cammy and Nick Miller, were kicking off a new endeavor in the form of a truck selling delicious queso, because knowing them, I knew it was going to be good!

You've read about Cammy here because she is one of the founders of the fashion label Show Me Your Mumu (which I love) and one of the greatest girls around town.  You've read about Nick here, because he's a writer/entrepeneur who has a line of cards and art at Urbanic, and is married to Cammy. The Millers teamed up with Cammy's brother, Beaux Hebert ("The Queso Kid", I'm told), and Cammy's high school friend and her husband, Katy and Carson Young, to bring Cammy's idea/wish to the masses.

Growing up in the deep South, Cammy and Beaux know their queso, and have taught Nick what's what The real deal. They also knew that you really couldn't find any awesome and authentic queso in Southern California worth really talking about. The Youngs knew the food truck business, after being one of the first to bring them to Atlanta (the Yumbii and YumDiggity trucks), so between them all, it was on. A family and friend affair, that everyone would love! And they do.

The cutest truck ever launched about a month ago and is already a huge hit, with long lines forming when it parks at The Brig, where I found it and got to try the deliciousness on a recent Friday. My admission to you is that prior to this glorious treat the best queso I'd had was probably the Velveeta and Ro-tel kind that people make for football parties - and I'm not mad at it. In fact, "The Classic" at The Queso Truck is exactly like that, but better (they don't use Velveeta). I was sssssstoked. If you're a little more adventurous, you can get your queso with chorizo, chicken and kale, and even truffles! Yowza.

I got mine with chips - because you do - but you can also get it with fries, tortillas, or raw asparagus for the halfway well-behaved. There's drinks and a Mexican chocolate queso dessert that now I have to go back to get, but really, it's all about the queso. And the great news is that this queso re-heats perfectly! I can only do so much queso at once, so I put the rest in the fridge without great hope of anything but coagulated sludge. The next afternoon we discovered that happy leftover container and zapped it a few seconds, and bam. Back in cheese heaven, just like that. Perfect. Maybe even better, as the flavors had chilled together overnight. I'm drooling on my keys here, pardon.

The Queso Truck is available to roll up to your fiestas (and it's so colorful and Mexican blanket themed that you want it there as decor! There's even merch!) and events, and your guests would be so happy, I promise. I'm so happy right now just remembering it ... I gotta go hang in The Brig parking lot until Friday. And I most likely won't be first in line. YUM.

The Queso Truck can be found via its social media places pictured, but mark your calendars that they dish up the queso on Fridays and Sundays at The Brig, Wednesdays at LACMA, and all over Los Angeles the other days. You'll love it.

Te amo, Queso Truck! Olé!!!

Holidays In Sheboygan

I had to miss a whole bunch of Holiday traditions here in Venice last week, as I was in Wisconsin on a shoot for the Johnsonville Sausage Company. I hated to miss the Venice sign lighting and the Snow Day at the Brig, and the Holiday Stroll on Abbot Kinney, but it was easier to miss when the entire time in Wisconsin was so charming.

We were in small town Wisconsin, rolling around between Sheboygan, Sheboygan Falls, Plymouth, and Kohler, Wisconsin mainly. As both of my parents were born and raised in Wisconsin, I speak the language. I get the folks. They are straight up salt of the Earth, and I loved it.

The Midwestern hospitality was on full display the entire time. By the end of our time in Wisconsin, I had made a slew of new friends, who gifted me with Johnsonville merch and so much cheese to bring back that we're good for a nice long while. Wine and cheese party at my house!

Christmas was also fully in the air, as all the little main streets were bedecked with wreaths and candle-lit lampposts. Shebyogan had a big holiday display in their downtown, synched to music, and their wonderful bakeries were stocked full with the happiest Christmas cookies and treats you've ever seen.

To be honest, I'd been a little disappointed in Wisconsin with the election last month, and couldn't at all believe that they would go for the "President-Elect" (I can't bring myself to type his name). I was shocked, and frankly, thought less of them. Then I was there, among the people, watching them watch Fox News above the bars, and realized that they're just getting the wrong information. Mainstream media has fed them all of this b.s. and fear, and they're swallowing it. They are wonderful, generous, hard-working people that care about their families and jobs, and I could tell they were skeptical of me too at first. Once bridges were built and laughs were shared, we all became fast friends and there were no differences at all, other than geography and the news sources we tune in to. We all want the best for each other, I think, and it's only fear that makes anyone act otherwise. They gave me presents, They made me a hot toddy when they didn't know how (even finding me a cinnamon stick), they let me take my drink back to my hotel and bring the glass back later, they loaned us napkins from their restaurant because we needed them for the shoot (Thanks, Brenda at Sweet Basil!), they gave us directions and recommendations, they told me their day was made just from meeting someone from L.A., they invited me to stay longer in town just so we could party together ... These were my People.

I'm grateful to be back in my Venice bubble, but I'm so grateful for the time I spent in beautiful Wisconsin with its truly wonderful people. The next time we grill up some Johnsonville brats, I'm going to appreciate them even more than I always have, because now I know the people that make them. They're my friends, no matter who they voted for ... and I bet they feel the same way, but opposite. As diverse as these States are, we really are United. Thank you for that important lesson.

On Wisconsin! Hi Venice!