‘Do what you love’: Bay Area woman turns love of cooking into lucrative lunch wagon

TAMPA, Fla. - Truckin' around the Tampa Bay Area is one woman's dream come true.

The Melt Machine is a food truck, but it's also the kitchen Megan Toribio uses to cook hand-crafted cuisine.

"We do grilled cheeses, specialty grilled cheeses, we do brisket melt, Philly melt, we also do quesadillas," she said as she rattled off parts of her menu.

Toribio is taking over the Melt Machine and making it her own.

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"I always loved cooking," she admitted. "They always say, 'Do what you love, love what you do!'"

Melt Machine food truck manager Megan Torbio serves up gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and melts. 

A grilled cheese sandwich may conjure up images of mom's kitchen, toast and American cheese slices, but to Toribio, it is so much more than that.

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"You hear sandwiches and you’re like, ‘Oh, I can get a sandwich from Publix or make it at home or whatever’, but…I love what I do and I feel I put the effort into it and that’s what really makes it taste good," stated Toribio. 

Melt Machine brisket melt with cheese is a top seller for the food truck.

There is a nostalgic side to the food because people identify with a grilled cheese sandwich as a comfort food.

"It's different you know, it caters to all ages," she admitted, "I don't think you really have a lot of people around here serving what we serve…It’s different from your casual sandwich. It’s nice and thick and holds all the meat in. I don’t think you really have a lot of people around here serving what we serve."

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The customers love it, and she's open to suggestions from her clients.

The Melt Machine Food Truck has a base of loyal customers. 

"We're kind of fairly known, but the people who don't know us they get to try our food and they come back for more," she said with a smile.

LINK: To learn more about the Melt Machine and planned locations where it'll be, visit its Facebook page. 

LINK: To see where the Melt Machine is on most days, use the Street Food Finder.