Good News

Doing good and helping others is Ashlee Kleinert’s bread and butter – literally.

Over a decade ago, Kleinert attended a national conference for event planning where a speaker mentioned food trucks were a new trend on the block. Although Kleinert didn’t have any prior experience with that business, she took the idea and ran with it. Or, drove with it.

A Dallas food truck owner with a recipe for great sandwiches and giving back now has an assist from the Dallas Mavericks.

The Dallas Mavericks is launching a new initiative with an impactful food truck concept in Dallas.

Ruthie’s For Good is a food truck business that serves as a fresh-start employer for individuals previously touched by the criminal justice system.

The Mavs will team up with Ruthie’s for community events throughout the season, including Snacks of Kindness, which supports non-profits and different groups by providing delicious meals while spotlighting their community work across North Texas.

Find out why Ruthie’s Food for Good is teaming up with the Dallas Mavericks to make North Texas a better place.

Named after Kleinert’s grandmother, Ruth, Ruthie’s was one of Dallas’ first trendy food trucks. Over the years, Ruthie’s has expanded to four food trucks and can be found on numerous local “best grilled cheese” lists.

In 2011, Ruthie’s gourmet grilled cheese truck began rolling down the streets of Dallas. It was early in the city’s food truck renaissance, with most well-heeled Dallasites preferring to dine in a traditional brick-and-mortar versus eating while standing.

Taking advantage of a break in the rain on Friday afternoon, Ruthie’s Food Trucks fed 150 staff members and families at the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center (DCAC). Known throughout Dallas for their famous grilled cheese sandwiches, Ruthie’s also has a reputation for giving back to support their local community.

Ruthie’s Food Trucks has been synonymous with good food and good deeds in North Texas. They continued their mission of providing for their community Friday by feeding 150 staff members at the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center. It’s part of their community relief efforts following the historic winter storm.

My family has a love-hate relationship with mac and cheese. It’s by far the most requested food by our picky eaters, who would willingly eat it morning, noon and night if we didn’t care about nutritional value. But as any parent can attest, the more you pressure your kid to expand their food palate, the more they dig in their heels.

If there’s one thing Dallas has plenty of, it’s fantastic sandwiches. And a good grilled cheese can honestly make your day. A “best” list for the cheesy comfort food has been done to death, so for this National Grilled Cheese Day, here are some unexpected options as well as some great food writers’ favorites.

Paige gets to try Ruthie’s all new grilled cheese sandwich made with giraffe cheese.

From classics to unique twists, we’ve rounded up the best grilled cheeses, so you don’t have to do the digging! Keep this guide handy for the days you’re craving some childhood nostalgia or for National Grilled Cheese Day, April 12! It may be far away, but you can never be too prepared.

You can’t go wrong with bread and cheese. Even if you’re dairy or gluten-free, there’s plenty of alternative options, because the future is here and grilled cheese is forever.

April 12 is unofficially National Grilled Cheese Day. This is where we would talk about the origin of the holiday, but the history eludes us and we can’t find a clear answer on where, why and when this American classic was recognized on this day. The world works in mysterious ways.

Bread, cheese, bread. Seems simple enough, right? While many might argue that their own homemade version of grilled cheese is best, everyone knows a sandwich made by someone else is the best tasting one out there.

From simple classics to meaty renditions and even a sweet option, these 15 spots serve up some of the best melted cheese sandos in town. Just don’t call it a kids menu item.

Last month, inspired after watching Jon Favreau’s Chef (a warm hug of a movie that you should definitely watch if you haven’t seen), I wrote about where to hunt down the film’s food focus: the Cubano. But that superior sandwich isn’t the only thing Favreau’s character cooks up. In one scene, which you should never watch if you’re hungry, the chef makes one of the gooiest grilled cheese sandwiches ever captured on camera.

Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe food trucks have changed their name to reflect a partnership with Cafe Momentum, the non-profit that works with at-risk youth. The food trucks, now emblazoned with the new moniker, Ruthie’s Fueled by Cafe Momentum, will function as a landing place for youth who have completed the downtown program and want to pursue a paid fellowship.

“We’re thrilled, we’re just so excited,” says Ruthie’s founder Ashlee Kleinert…

In 2008, I walked into the Dallas County Youth Village for the first time. My friend, Jerry Silhan, was the executive director for Youth Village Resources of Dallas at the time, and he asked me to come to the juvenile residential treatment facility (an anaesthetized way to refer to a prison for kids) to teach a group of young men to make ice cream for a competition featuring local college culinary school students…

Café Momentum is giving teens who were in the juvenile justice system the chance at a paid fellowship starting this month.

A trailblazing Dallas food truck has changed its mission and formed a partnership with one of the city’s most renowned restaurants.

Formerly called Ruthie’s Rolling Café, the new Ruthie’s Fueled by Café Momentum will partner with Café Momentum, serving as a mobile extension and furthering its mission to provide at-risk youth opportunities for job training, employment, and mentorship…

Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe has teamed up with Lyda Hill Philanthropies to providing free meals to federal employees in North Texas for the duration of the partial government shutdown.

On a dreary Tuesday morning, there is a bright spot parked outside the Dallas offices of Homeland Security Investigations and US Secret Service. Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe, a food truck known for its award-winning grilled cheese sandwiches, passed out more than 100 free lunches to federal employees who have been affected by the government shutdown. Though they haven’t been paid in over a month, more than 95% of this Dallas office is considered essential and has continued to show up each day for work…

Secret Service agents and other Homeland Security employees working without pay in North Texas will be treated to free grilled cheese sandwiches from Ruthie’s Rolling Café Tuesday, as part of the food truck’s new initiative “Operation Feed the Feds.”

The rolling restaurant, in conjunction with Lyda Hill Philanthropies, will be traveling to federal buildings starting this week to give free meals to federal workers affected by the longest government shutdown in U.S. history…

Before you break out the ‘new year, new you’ mantra, cozy up to this edition of the Local Yelp filled with ooey, gooey greatness. Baby it’s cold outside, so why not coat your stomach with hot, melty cheese sandwiched between two crispy pieces of bread? Diet starts tomorrow.

Here comes the bride. No wait. Here comes the food truck. With the holiday season comes a large spike in engagements. Now, brides-to-be have several months to plan for their June wedding. Instead of ordering steak dinners for guests, weddings are now home to many food trucks.

Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe is no stranger to weddings. From the valet line to the main course, Ruthie’s chefs serve up hundreds of gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches each wedding season — all year round for that matter…

Recognize this food truck? It’s Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe! You may have seen one of their three food trucks roaming around the DFW area, but if you haven’t… here’s all you need to know.

Ruthie’s Food Trucks was one of the very first food trucks in Dallas and have since, made a BIG name for themselves. Ruthie’s is known for their mission to impact the local community and non-profit organizations, incredible service, and of course, their gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches.

Ruthie’s Rolling Café has three trucks to serve the DFW area, offering gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches with a twist. She uses her grandmother’s tried and true cheesy recipes and serves them with love.

The Boss is by far their most popular sandwich, with brisket and cheddar on sourdough bread. If you want a traditional grilled cheese, you can’t go wrong with the Plain Jane. They also have gluten free options, so no one needs to be left out!..

A popular food truck on the SMU campus is Ruthie’s Food Trucks. They are on campus Tuesday and Thursday during lunch to serve quality comfort food. Customers can choose from a variety of cheese, meats and sauces for their grilled cheese. You can also find this iconic food truck for National Grilled Cheese at Klyde Warren Park.

On the morning of July 8, 2016, news cameras gathered outside the Dallas Police Department’s downtown headquarters following the deadly police shootings that shocked the country the previous night. Amid the frenzy, a brightly painted food truck and purveyor of grilled cheese sandwiches—Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe—scooted past the barricades and crime scene tape to feed officers who had worked through the night after the tragedy.

“We were their nourishment for that morning,” says Ashlee Hunt Kleinert, owner of Ruthie’s. “When you feel helpless, a lot of times what you do is bring a meal. The beauty of a food truck is that we’re a restaurant on wheels—we can get up and go.”…

The results for our grilled cheese food truck contest for 2017 are in. So we want to send out congratulations to Dallas, Texas based Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe for winning Mobile Cuisine’s 2017 Grilled Cheese Food Truck of the Year! After counting the over 9,000 total votes submitted in the poll Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe is our winner.

Okay, this is a style blog, but today is a slight departure into something I feel compelled to share. While out shooting this comfy sundress and my killer new hat from the Brooklyn Hat Co., I found myself at a popular spot in Dallas called Klyde Warren Park. If you happen to be in Dallas, I highly recommend checking this park out. Not only is the people-watching pretty spectacular, but the food truck selection is really great. In fact, my favorite food truck of all-time (and one of the very first to roll into Dallas,) is located there. Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe.

If you’re wondering what Ruthie’s is making in that colorful red truck, it’s grilled cheese sandwiches. Oh, but not just any grilled cheese. We’re talking gourmet, crazy delicious, best in the world grilled cheese sandwiches…

Dallas-based Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe is taking its recipe for grilled cheese food truck success to the East Coast, announcing the opening of its first franchise in Newark, Jersey.

Ruthie’s, known for serving up a variety of gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, was founded in 2011 by Ashlee Kleinert.

The new franchise, which opened on Oct. 2, will be owned and operated by Whitney Pillsbury and June Leadbetter, and kicked off its first week by rolling into Military Park in Newark.

Congratulations to Dallas, Texas’ Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe for winning Mobile Cuisine’s 2015 Grilled Cheese Food Truck of the Year!

Ruthie’s is a Dallas-based food truck company offering gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches made fresh-to-order. Their customers can choose from a wide variety of cheeses, meats, veggies, and sauces to add to their scrumptious grilled cheese. In addition, they offer gluten free bread for those patrons with dietary restrictions. Ruthie’s owns and operates three food trucks which allows them to roll to more than one location for lunch or dinner as well as serving at private events…

Ruthie’s food trucks are a veritable swarm. There’s four of them, proving that DFW’s hunger for grilled cheese sandwiches can never truly be satiated. Perhaps most popular (and rightfully so) is The Boss — brisket dressed in barbecue sauce, bathing in an obscene amount of cheddar cheese, smushed inside expertly buttered and grilled sourdough toast.

The bright blue Kindness Truck, as it’s known, is emblazoned with the words “Do all things in kindness” and makes regular stops to serve free food to groups like emergency workers and veterans. As the truck’s website says, “The goal is simple … put a smile on people’s faces and joy in their hearts by combining delectable comfort food with a community purpose.”

Ashlee Kleinert, founder of both the award-winning food truck Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe, which specializes in grilled cheese, and the nonprofit Executives in Action, which provides business guidance to charitable organizations, explains how the idea came about. “We decided to take one of our trucks and move it over to the nonprofit side, and we came up with this idea ‘random snacks of kindness,’ although it could also refer to acts of kindness, like taking in donations of food or blankets,” she told TODAY.

Ruthie’s Rolling Café (location varies) can be found out by the flagpole on most Thursdays and in various locations in Dallas. Ruthie’s offers the best build your own grilled cheese in Texas! When you see them on campus remember to bring your The Campus Coupon Book, because there is a buy one get one free coupon you can use.

— Daily Campus Staff

While the official arrival wasn’t til 10 on Saturday, January 31, the parking lot adjoining the treasured Meadows Foundation neighborhood was busting with SUV’s carrying red wagons. The force fueling this drive was Community Partners of Dallas and their effort to set a new world record for the biggest red wagon parade — A Wagon Holds Promise. They had decided that it would be the closer for their 25th anniversary year…

As adults, kids and pooches arrived, they were bundled up for the chill. Nearby Ruthie’s Rolling Café was providing hot chocolate with peppermint…

When Ashlee Hunt Kleinert told her father four years ago that she wanted to start a food-truck business, Ray L. Hunt couldn’t believe what he was hearing. At first he thought she was talking about those vehicles that visit construction sites and sell frozen and prepackaged foods. Hunt, heir of oil tycoon H. L. Hunt and CEO of Hunt Consolidated, knows the energy business inside and out. But a restaurant on wheels? What was that? And why would anyone stand in line instead of going to a brick-and-mortar restaurant for a nice meal?

Kleinert’s father wasn’t the only one who wondered why the mother of three wanted to get into the food-truck business. A graduate of Southern Methodist University, Kleinert had never taken a business class. Still, the energetic blonde had founded an events company (In Any Event) and co-founded a nonprofit (Executives in Action). She was inspired to get into the business after hearing at an events convention that food trucks were projected to become a hot new trend.

There is a lot more than cheese in these grilled cheese sandwiches. Ruthie’s makes your mouth water with its own description. “Just imagine two pieces of thickly cut fresh bread (drenched in butter or olive oil) grilled to a light golden brown, stuffed with a delicious artisan cheese of your choice.” There are a couple favorite sandwiches, but most people choose to create their own with a variety of fillings and sauces to choose from, as well as several breads and cheeses. Ruthie’s schedule is posted on their or Ruthie’s page on Facebook and on Twitter @RuthiesRolling

At 9:00 a.m. on a recent Thursday in Addison, Texas, Taylor McDaniel climbs into the nine thousand pound food truck. He turns the ignition and the engine roars, bringing the vehicle to life. A reverse warning beep echoes against the concrete walls of the large garage as he carefully backs into the parking lot. The 33-year-old manages Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe, a fleet of three food trucks that serve gourmet grilled cheeses and French crepes in Dallas. His boss, Ashley Kleinert, the mother of SMU students Tyler and TJ Kleinert, started the business to commemorate her grandmother Ruthie, who was known for the delicious melt-in-your-mouth grilled cheeses she would make.

Over the past couple years gourmet food trucks have swept through Dallas like an epidemic. They’re in CVS parking lots, on college campuses and outside bars waiting to feed hungry partiers after last call. With dozens of trucks, and each boasting a different theme to mirror the food it serves, these mobile kitchens offer Dallasites an on-the-go yet better than fast-food dining option. But as patrons are placing their orders or enjoying their meals, many have little idea of what goes into making these things work.

“The Boss” | Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe
A generous scoop of smoky barbecue brisket sits between layers of thick, hot, melting cheddar cheese. The 10-napkin wonder is held together with two pieces of sourdough bread. Born in the USA? Oh, yeah.

Ruthie’s grilled creations satisfy hot-sandwich cravings with varieties like the Turkey Trot with turkey, bacon and cheddar, the Pizza Please with pepperoni, pesto and mozzarella and The Classic with American on sourdough.

Where to Find It: Ruthie’s is another of the KWP brigade, but they also hit up SMU a lot.
Dish to Get: The Boss. BBQ and cheddar is a classic. Pro Tip: Add some onions for extra brilliance.

You can get a grilled cheese from this food truck in pretty much any incarnation. In addition to the five sandwiches on the menu, you can dream up your own, choosing from different breads, cheeses, meats, and other toppings (try the “slob” sauce). The most popular versions are the Boss (barbecue brisket with sharp cheddar on sourdough) and the Italian Hippy (chicken, grilled tomatoes, pesto, and mozzarella on multigrain wheat).

The road’s seen its fair share of food history — In-N-Out planted America’s first drive-thru on I-10 and Francisquito, and the world’s first Caesar was created along the Appian Way, when some starch-starved traveler asked “Et tu, crouton?” For history even cheesier than that crouton line, hit Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe.

Named after the grandmother of the owner (he also runs shindig-planning co. In Any Event), this big pink grilled cheese truck — Dallas’ first — is the result of 8 months of research and auto-manipulation, with an assist provided by a vet from Twisted Root, a restaurant that always has a hilariously implausible story for the urologist. The checklist-style menu forces you into so many tough decisions, you’ll swear the truck’s named after Bader Ginsburg: start with breads from Empire Baking Company (SF-style sourdough, “Hippie Health” multigrain, jalapeno cheese, classic white), then check a cheese: sharp cheddar, American, pepper jack, or mozz. The meat of the matter’s covered by turkey, ham, bacon, or chicken, while your choice of drenchings ranges from pesto, to Ruthie’s “Secret” Slob Sauce, whose tendency to drip will make your slob-ness not-so-secret…