A grilled cheese sandwich made with macaroni and cheese? This comfort food-esque dish sounds too good to be true, but it’s a menu staple at Mama Nita’s food truck.

“For our menu, we picked something different to cater to kids and give back to the locals,” says chef Patrick Bunda, who co-owns the business with Rick Santos. “Everybody does something with rice, so I wanted to get away from that and do something with grilled cheese. We try to incorporate a lot of smoked meat (in our menu items) and keep prices reasonable — the highest-priced menu item we have is $12.

“It’s all about simple taste, the flavor and how you cook,” he adds. “Things that I want to eat — that’s what I’ll cook for people.”

The food truck’s menu varies with the different events it participates in, like Taste of Mililani, which is every fourth Friday of the month. At that event, Mama Nita’s featured dishes like its signature hickory-smoked bacon with mac and cheese grilled cheese ($11), kalua pork quesadilla with crispy corn tortilla chips ($12) and fresh guava barbecue kalua pork grilled cheese ($11). The truck also debuted a new item — Asian-style hoisin plum chicken grilled cheese ($11) with American, mozzarella and cheddar cheeses.

“It’s almost like char siu chicken and is made with hoisin plum sauce,” Bunda explains. “With every event, I try to see what people want.”

The quesadillas come with fresh tortilla chips, chipotle sour cream, house-made pico de gallo and the truck’s signature Nita sauce. Meanwhile, all sandwiches are made with local sweet bread and come with seasoned tater tots.

Mama Nita’s can be found roaming around Waialua, but follow the biz on Instagram (@mamanitas) for updates on its location.

“The food truck is actually named after my aunt — her name was Juanita,” Bunda says. “She was raised on the North Shore, in Waialua. I always thought about doing a food truck, but never got the opportunity (before) to do this, but here we are.”

Mama Nita’s

Various locations
(follow on social media for updates)
Instagram: @mamanitashi
How to pay: Cash, credit card or Venmo
How to order: In person