Rylie Horrall | Lifestyle Editor
Grills Gone Wild is located near the Donut Bar, behind the New Life Ministries church. The food cart, owned and operated by Toto Hall, opened last month on Oct. 17.
The first food truck she had started was an espresso truck about 20 years ago; from there, her business grew and evolved into the food truck that’s currently in Monmouth.
Hall had lived in Monmouth back when Western was still known as the Western Oregon State College. She had decided to open a food truck here in town after hearing about the food annex from an old friend, and thought the location held a lot of potential and great people.
The food truck’s menu consists mainly of grilled sandwiches, many of which contain bacon.
“I love sandwiches and I love bacon so I decided to design bacon related sandwiches,” Hall explained.
Grills Gone Wild also carries a diverse selection of fries, gyros, desserts and various other dishes. The reason for the large variation and occasional changes to the menu is because Hall likes to modify the menu according to what her customers are craving.
“I (have) specials weekly or so and keep modifying my menu to bring food(s) locals want to eat,” Hall said.
The signature dish for Grills Gone Wild is the deep fried peanut butter, banana, marshmallow and Nutella dessert sandwich, which can’t be found on the menu, but can usually be made if prompted. The dish Hall recommends to first-time customers is either the garlic parmesan fries, or any sandwich that has bacon on it.
In addition, Hall is in the process of expanding the gluten-free options available on the menu. Currently, Grills Gone Wild has gluten-free burgers, Philly cheesesteaks and cheesy melt sandwiches. Hall is attempting to find gluten free pita bread for chicken gyros as well, and tries to carry gluten free chicken tenders when she can.
Once winter season rolls around, Hall hopes to add soup as well to the ever growing menu.
When asked if she had anything else to add, Hall had a sentiment she wished to share.
“I love this small town and I hope to find more hungry patrons I can serve and hopefully make them happy or happier one bite at a time.”
Grills Gone Wild is open on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 12–6 p.m. The food truck can be found on Facebook by searching “WouHoo Grills GoneWild,” and is in the process of getting other social media accounts set up.
Contact the author at rhorrall17@wou.edu
Photos by Mikayla Bruley
