Papi Queso chef shows us the perfect grilled cheese—oh, and we have an opening date

Fans of award-winning grilled cheese sandwiches will no longer have to wait for food truck Papi Queso to post its weekly location schedule. The popular streatery will open its first physical location, a stall in Optimist Hall, on October 1. 

Papi Queso has a grilled cheese for every mood. The Optimist Hall spot features a griddle that can hold three times the amount of grilled cheese as the one in the food truck. That means that customers won’t have to wait as long for menu favorites such as the Lobster Mac or the pulled pork and mac n’ cheese-filled Pig Mac. The stall has counter seating for guests to enjoy their grilled cheese sandwiches and chat with co-owners Brian Stockholm and Shelley Odom. 

Can’t wait for the new location to open? Co-owner and chef Brian Stockholm gave CharlotteFive 3 tips to making mouth-watering grilled cheese sandwiches at home.

“Its simplistic in nature, but it’s really hard to execute,” he said. “It’s all about temperature controls. Cook it at the exact same time so that all the ingredients get cooked at the exact same time. Three hundred fifty degrees on an electric grill at home—that’s the perfect temperature.” 

(1) Butter the bread, not the pan.

Choose a high-quality, European-style butter. Expensive butters do not contain as much water, which will leave the bread soggy. Use soft, room-temperature butter to obtain an even spread on the bread. Scrape off the excess butter so that it toasts just the bread. 

(2) Have fun with ingredients.

Add flavor to your grilled cheese sandwich by adding sun-dried tomatoes, moistened mushrooms or spinach. Season it up a bit with dashes of salt, pepper and herbs. Sprinkle sea salt on the bread when the sandwich is finished to give it the perfect crunchy-salty crust. 

(3) Use multiple cheeses.

To make a much more flavorful sandwich, the key is in the cheese. To create the perfect grilled cheese sandwich, combine several textures of cheese: creamy, melty and flavorful. The nostalgic ‘Lil Cheesy’ sandwich is the modern-day version of a childhood classic. The sandwich is loaded with a classic blend of cheddar, provolone and American cheeses. Not only does combining cheeses taste amazing, it provides the perfect Instagram-worthy cheesy stretch when you pull the sandwich apart. 

The Papi Queso food truck will take a break for a couple weeks after the stall at Optimist Hall opens. No worries to foodies on the go, the truck will go back to its regular rotation in November. 

Want even more grilled cheese secrets? Be on the lookout for a grilled cheese class hosted by Papi Queso at Alyssa’s Kitchen in South End in February 2020.

Papi Queso

340 E. 16th St

Instagram: @papiquesoclt

This story was originally published September 26, 2019 at 9:25 AM with the headline "Papi Queso chef shows us the perfect grilled cheese—oh, and we have an opening date."