ENUMCLAW, Wash. — Perched on a picturesque farm in Enumclaw, locals line up to eat at what the owner fondly calls, "a toaster on wheels."
"It's a '64 Airstream, one year older than me. When I got it, it had turquoise interior paint and a linoleum floor, and that was it," said Melissa Claire, owner and chef behind the food truck, The Cast Iron Queen.
"Everything is homemade on my food truck, even all of my dipping sauces are from scratch. There's nothing like it, homemade just tastes better."
Claire knows a thing or two about food and travel. When she's not wearing her chef's apron, she's a flight attendant, crisscrossing the skies. But she's happiest being grounded in Enumclaw, where her family farm provides a perfect backdrop for her hungry customers.
"I fly Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays, and I prepare food Thursday and Fridays and then sell it Friday, Saturday, Sunday," said Claire. “We have a lot of families that just roll in with their kids right through our gate here, and we're just trying to build a community gathering place."
But it's the food like her Nashville Hot Chicken Sammy, that keeps people coming back for more.
"It's a buttered and grilled brioche bun, and then it has a fried chicken Patty that's been marinated and breaded, and then it has homemade slaw, spicy."
If you're not counting calories, Melissa, Biscuits & Gravy are hard to beat.
"I make some really good gravy. I have a secret ingredient that makes it stand out above any and all others," said Claire. "I actually had a man a couple of weekends ago say, 'Honey, don't tell my mama I said this, but your biscuits and gravy are the best biscuits and gravy I've ever had. And I’m from the South.' So, that says a lot."
With reviews like that, it's easy to see why you voted The Cast Iron Queen the Best Food Truck in Evening's 2024 Best of Western Washington viewers poll.
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