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!!!

Snow Day - Venice Style

The annual holiday stroll was held on Abbot Kinney last weekend, and as always, the best part was the snow hill for sledding in The Brig parking lot.

Rare rain had threatened the fun all morning, and then miraculously cleared up just in time for the arrival of friends and neighbors who brought their kids out for a much-anticipated frolic in the even rarer snow.

Snow pants in Venice are hilarious, that needs to be said. But a bunch of kids had 'em on, and I guess were kept dry, though they were not at all needed for the warmth factor.

There was a good craft booth (manned by elves) where kids (and me) made ornaments out of this cool scratch-off paper, or crowns and antlers to don as they trailed after their parents in the shops before and after the fun.

Santa Claus was there - a pretty good one, in fact - and shy, thrilled little grommets lined up to tell him what they'd like and if they'd been good. It's always cute, there's no way around that.

Fire trucks stood guard, and the parking lot was crammed with the requisite Brig food trucks - again. The sun started to set and it did get pretty cold then, to be honest. That helped the snow keep from turning into a giant puddle in one second, and my little pal, Beckett, got his first sled ride. His Dad, Shane, is from Minnesota too, so this was a big moment, though Beckaboo seemed a little iffy about it. He'll learn.

Holiday lights came on, Carolers came out and that elusive "Holiday Spirit" feeling really was in the air. Even if I was still wearing flip flops. It's great that the Abbot Kinney merchants come together to put this on for the neighborhood, and it's looked forward to every year. Snow Day!

Fa la la la la, la la la LA!