{"id":10905,"date":"2017-05-21T09:43:43","date_gmt":"2017-05-21T17:43:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/?p=10905"},"modified":"2018-04-03T19:05:55","modified_gmt":"2018-04-04T03:05:55","slug":"2017-sacramento-grilled-cheese-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/?p=10905","title":{"rendered":"2017 Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

I started seeing friends on Facebook \u201cInterested\u201d in The Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival<\/a> almost a year before the actual event \u2013 which was held on April 8-9 in Southside Park off 6th<\/sup> Street in Sacramento. Being a huge fan of the grilled cheese, I of course clicked on the Facebook event to learn more.<\/p>\n

Enjoy cheesy deliciousness created by many of Sacramento’s great restaurants\u2026A festival for grilled cheese lovers\u2026 why yes, that\u2019s me! They had several ticket options, including a VIP option for the 8th<\/sup> that was for 21+ featuring specialty grilled cheese sandwich quarters paired with 4 oz. craft beer pours, hand selected to match. SO.MUCH.YES \u2013 Sign me up!<\/p>\n

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I had talked about going with friends and never got around to purchasing tickets and then the price went up and there were less than 10 tickets left before selling out. Whoops\u2026 my girlfriend Kristen and I scored the last two tickets and ended up paying $50\/ticket. The smart early birds got theirs for $35. Part of the ticket price went to support the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America<\/a> \u2013 a cause I was happy to support in honor of my late husband Ace.<\/p>\n

I managed to get a horrible cold the week leading up to the festival. I\u2019m talking 2 bottles of Robitussin and three boxes of Kleenex kind of horrible, but I didn\u2019t let that stop me from attending. It rained most of the morning and I was worried we\u2019d be stuck running from tent to tent. I wore layers and ended up taking off both jackets by the end of the day. The weather Gods were on our side and the clouds parted enough to let the sun shine through.<\/p>\n

Kristen scored an amazing parking spot just outside the park. The line to get into the festival was already 100+ people deep and we even arrived early. They were checking IDs, scanning tickets and only letting in small groups at a time. We got the lovely added benefit of being harassed by an anti-dairy industry protester screaming at festival goers while we waited. Sigh. I’m all for people that choose to believe in something enough to speak their mind about it, but when you are an a-hole to people that just want to enjoy THEIR CHOICE, it really does defeat the purpose and diminish the message you are trying to spread. <\/p>\n

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We were given food\/drink tickets, a wooden token for voting for our favorite, a 4 oz. glass for beer and cider and a plastic plate upon entering.<\/p>\n

\"Sacramento<\/p>\n

\"2017<\/p>\n

There were 10 booths to visit and Kristen suggested starting at the opposite end to the entrance \u2013 that turned out to be a great idea, especially since we got to start with a dessert grilled cheese and cider.<\/p>\n

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Land Park Sandwich created Mimi\u2019s Sweet Tooth \u2013 Cream cheese and Nutella on sourdough drizzled in chocolate with powdered sugar, which paired amazingly well with Hemly Cider Co.\u2019s local 5% estate grown pear cider.<\/p>\n

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Next up was Hoppy Brewing Company which had a sourdough, brie, apple, onion combo with good flavor, but it was a little dry and the cheese wasn\u2019t melted enough. <\/p>\n

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Ink\u2019s Triple Grilled Cheese \u2013 Cheddar, pepper jack and American cheese and bacon on parmesan bread was paired with Three Mile Brewing Co.’s Honey Blonde Ale. I enjoyed it and really appreciated the gooey cheese and bacon combo.<\/p>\n

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The Rind and Bike Dog Brewing Co. was up next. The Donut Grilled Cheese \u2013 Exsqueeze me? Did they say Donut Grilled Cheese? Why yes, yes they did. The Rind featured Marie\u2019s Donuts \u2013 a raised-glazed donut turned INSIDE OUT and then grilled with Point Reyes Toma Cheese, a jalapeno-parsnip spread and Fuji apple slices\u2026 paired with Bike Dog Brewing Co.\u2019s Milk Stout Beer. OMG \u2013 this was a freakin\u2019 amazing pairing and got me super excited for the day and all of the others left to try. <\/p>\n

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Pushkin\u2019s Bakery and 2 Towns Cider was our next booth. Pushkin\u2019s Bakery featured their Vegan Adult Grilled Cheese Sandwich \u2013 which I blogged about in my Brunch at Pushkin\u2019s Restaurant post<\/a>. Cashew pepper jack cheese, tomato and arugula served on gluten free focaccia bread. Like I said in my post, I was so surprised by the flavor, I loved it! \u2013 wouldn\u2019t classify it as \u201cGrilled Cheese\u201d but for sure an awesome cheese sandwich. I chose to pair it will 2 Towns Ciderhouse Bright Cider (hard apple cider) and Kristen paired hers with their Hop & Stalk \u2013 Imperial Hopped Cider. We were both happy with our choices and they had stickers and really interacted with festival goers \u2013 thumbs up to that!<\/p>\n

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Oak Park Brewing was up next \u2013 they had two choice pairings. I went with the smoked gouda, bacon jam and Granny Smith apples on sourdough paired with Steamphunk Saison and ZOMG \u2013 this was in my top 3. I loved it! Kristen went with the other pairing so we could taste both.<\/p>\n

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Sharp cheddar, American cheese, parmesan cheese skirt, on sourdough topped with Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam Brie bechamel sauce paired with Citra IPA. Wow\u2026 so creamy and delicious \u2013 both pairings were top choices.<\/p>\n

The GrilledCheezGuy & Yolo Brewing Company were up next. The GrilledCheezGuy is a catering, pop-up, and soon-to-be sandwich shop started at the Oakland Art Murmur in 2009. I am not absolutely sure what kinds of cheeses were used, I forgot to ask and there wasn’t any signage\u2026thinking one had to have been Gruyere. I was honestly too mind blown from the most amazing part of the sandwich – Kelly\u2019s Habanero Pepper Jelly<\/a> used on the OUTSIDE of the bread \u2013 this was also in my top 3 favorites and ended up getting my final token vote. Teamed with Yolo Brewing Co.\u2019s Nutty Brown Ale style beer\u2026 Yes and Yum.<\/p>\n

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Drewski\u2019s Hot Rod Kitchen and Track 7 were up next. We had already been waiting in line for 30 minutes when Drewski\u2019s crew started counting from the front \u2013 they stopped with four people in front of us and said that they had run out and didn\u2019t have any more pulled pork left. That was such a huge disappointment\/bummer. They still served up a classic grilled cheese, but I would have loved to try the original pairing. Track 7\u2019s Hoppy Palm  – American Pale Ale was the pairing choice.<\/p>\n

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I waited in the Bravo\u2019s Soup & Sandwich Shoppe\/River City Brewing Co. line while Kristen waited over at the Sonoma Coast Shuckers and Lagunitas booth. It was the longest line of the day and Bravo\u2019s was moving fast enough for us to switch places. It was GAME ON and we were winning!<\/p>\n

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Bravo’s served up Santa Maria rubbed Tri-tip, smoked gouda, cheddar, provolone and pepper jack on a jalape\u00f1o crusted bun. Super “Team Moist” and the smoked flavor of the meat combined with the cheeses and jalape\u00f1o infused puff bun was incredible. I found out later that Bravos and River City Brewing Company took the People’s Choice award. <\/p>\n

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Sonoma Coast Shuckers and Lagunitas did not disappoint. Sonoma Coast offered up two choices \u2013 Lobster Grilled Cheese paired with IPA or Rockefeller Grilled Cheese paired with Czech Style Pils or Aunt Sally Sour. One of the lobster beer pairing selections was crossed out, I think it was Davey Murray\u2019s Best Scotch Ale, would have loved to try that one. We both chose the Lobster Grilled Cheese and I went with the Aunt Sally Sour and Kristen went with the IPA.<\/p>\n

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We recently chatted with the owner of The Rind at another event and he said that they learned a lot being that it was the first festival and they plan to change some things for next year. Lots of booths ran out of food on the first and second days. I guess we were lucky in that we only experienced it with the last two booths and I\u2019ve had Drewski\u2019s from their food truck many times, which included their pulled pork.<\/p>\n

All in all it was a lot of fun \u2013 trying to juggle the glasses and plates with jackets\/purses, etc. was a bit of a struggle, but man\u2026 grilled cheese at every stop sure made up for it.<\/p>\n

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I told Kristen that I wasn\u2019t going to finish each of the 4 oz. pours due to being sick and already jacked up on cough syrup\u2026 then after finishing the last drop of the 5th<\/sup> pour,  I remembered saying that. Ha-ha. The fresh air, melting cheese, beer and cider magically made my cough disappear for a few hours and I welcomed it. I felt horrible the next day, but really enjoyed myself at the festival.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t attend Sunday\u2019s general admission \u2013 all age family part of the two-day festival, but that sold out too. The website has a newsletter link<\/a> where you can sign up for alerts for the second annual. They claim they will be back and better for 2018 \u2013 woohoo!<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I started seeing friends on Facebook \u201cInterested\u201d in The Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival almost a year before the actual event \u2013 which was held on April 8-9 in Southside Park off 6th Street in Sacramento. Being a huge fan of the grilled cheese, I of course clicked on the Facebook event to learn more. Enjoy cheesy … <\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[665,87],"tags":[803,806,804,805],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10905"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10905"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10918,"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10905\/revisions\/10918"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}