These dudes started my fascination with lot food porn last summer at Cuyahoga Falls outside of Cleveland when my best friend pretty much made out with a Gouda Mac covered, hot sauce slathered Philly cheese steak- see Exhibit A below:
Somehow I hadn’t seen the Gouda Boys yet all summer though they had also been at the Worcester shows. I found them on Sunday afternoon in the blazing heat at SPAC and was so excited that I definitely freaked them out a bit. I chatted with Mike at the grill as he flipped pieces of bacon and ladled from a vat of their signature Gouda sauce.
Of course these guys met working at one of my favorite places ever – Trader Joe’s. The head of the team conceived of the operation and they took the show on the road with Phish over the last couple summers. In a sea of mediocre falafel and heady veggie or just greasy options on lot, the Gouda Boys are pretty much killing it selling good cuts of meat cooked to perfection, covered with bacon, and dressed in Gouda. You can get your Philly steak “Gangsta Style” covered with Gouda Mac or “Scarface Style” with bacon. Or both.
They are also obviously hilarious. One guy was wearing a goat mask at the grill in the 100 degree heat. Heckling is encouraged and one night they harassed fans leaving the show by yelling “Get your free pepperoni water here, kids!!” to confused and intrigued looks.
This summer they started a pizza operation making fantastic pies and they travel with a real pizza oven. Gotta love these guys. They also call ahead to butchers along the tour route to pick up their meat on tour. As well as steak they do chicken and you can just get a big bowl of Gouda Mac topped with meats.
I ordered a bunch of meat and veggie pies for the WaterWheel crew to taste test and everyone agreed it was the best pizza on lot (and some of the best in general) of the summer.
The Gouda Boys are legends because they make delicious food and they love to eat, they love the music and are loving life. Pretty sweet summer job if you can swing it. Everyone needs to have a Gouda Mac Philly Cheese Steak before they die.
Fest Food 