Until I actually spent some time talking to the folks who run the Lilah’s Bakery food truck, I admit that I didn’t appreciate what made it special. “Grown-up grilled cheeses,” I thought. “Everyone’s doing grown-up grilled cheeses these days.” But now that I’ve spent some time with Mr. Tike and his team at the truck, I have a better understanding. These guys are like grilled cheese scientists. You get the impression that this isn’t a casual interest. There’s probably a notepad on Mr. Tike’s nightstand, where he jots down ideas for grilled cheese sandwiches that come to him in the middle of the night. The young man operating the griddle pulled out his cell phone to show me photos of his favorite grilled cheese sandwiches that he’s ever made. Seriously.
So far, the menu includes about 20 different varieties. The sandwiches range from commonplace (American cheese grilled on white bread, $3) to completely unexpected (the “Indian Melt,” a grilled cheese made on Indian naan bread with spicy chicken and Indian curry sauce, $7). If there’s a way to enhance or dress up a grilled cheese, they’ve probably thought of it. You can add bacon, grilled onions, a Parmesan cheese crust, cream cheese or sliced tomatoes. Delicious homemade tomato soup can be purchased by the “shot” for 50 cents, or by the cup for $3. A “shot” is just enough to dip every corner of the sandwich in – probably, again, not a coincidence. Grilled cheese-obsessed minds are at work.
Something else that I learned about the Lilah’s Bakery truck, which also struck me as kind of wild: Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night beginning at 10 p.m., they park the truck near the Texas Street Bridge in downtown Shreveport and deliver grilled cheeses all over downtown by bicycle. Somewhere in Shreveport, there is a man whose job is to deliver grilled cheese sandwiches by bicycle in the dead of night. That just makes me happy.
The Lilah’s Bakery food truck is an offshoot of the storefront location at The Outlets at Louisiana Boardwalk, which is perhaps best known for cupcakes, Mardi Gras king cakes and custom cake orders. The grilled cheese menu is available at the store as well as the food truck.
The best way to keep up with the location of the Lilah’s Bakery food truck is by liking them on Facebook or following them on Twitter. The truck’s phone number is (318) 564-2831, and call-in orders are welcome.
