While making breakfast burritos for her family during the pandemic, Michelle Tomerlin had a revelation. After 15 years of running a housecleaning business, she didn’t find it challenging. She wanted to open a food truck. Burgers and tacos are her favorite foods. Since there are so many taco trucks in Vancouver, she decided to create a burger truck called Smashed Cheese.
During the time it took to gut and outfit a former FedEx truck and obtain permits, Tomerlin perfected the recipes for her burgers, fries, sandwiches and soups. Angus beef for her burgers is ground twice to get the right texture. Her hand-cut Idaho potato fries are fried two times. (The first step cooks the inside, and the second dip in the fryer gets the outside perfectly crisp.)
Tomerlin designed the truck to fit her model of fresh food. The truck doesn’t have a freezer or a microwave. The short menu reflects Tomerlin’s life story with references to places she’s lived, including Phoenix.
When I visited Smashed Cheese in a parking lot on Northeast Minnehaha Street where St. Johns and St. James roads converge, I was struck by the freshness of everything I tried.
If you Go
What: Smashed Cheese food truck
Where: 6113 N.E. St. James Road, Vancouver
Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Information: 360-605-3074; www.smashedcheese.com
I ordered the Basic B burger, a quarter-pound smashed burger topped with cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickle and mayo ($8); the Garlic Bacon Smash burger with provolone, bacon, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, mayo and roasted garlic and onion jam ($11); The Cheesiest grilled cheese with cheddar, mozzarella, provolone and American cheese ($8); a large order of fries ($5); and a side of tomato basil bisque ($1.50).
The food came out quickly. The burgers were stellar. The fries were astonishingly good — tender inside, crispy outside. The prices were also very reasonable.
“My goal is to charge as little as I can, giving as much as I can,” Tomerlin said.
The side of tomato basil bisque, scratch made every day, provided a perfect dipper for the golden, toasty, extra cheesy grilled cheese. I will definitely order an entire bowl next time.
Tomerlin is launching more soups, including butternut squash and apple bisque, chicken noodle, and kielbasa and potato for the cooler months.
“I’ve been working on recipes for two years,” she said. “My family is tired of eating soup.”
