Cincinnati native Fallon Horstmeyer is a passionate woman — passionate about quesadillas, that is. This spring, Horstmeyer opened Turophilia Quesadillas, a food truck that is semi-permanently located in the parking lot at the corner of Eight and Vine streets downtown. “Turophilia” means the love of cheese, but the love is really expressed in all of the ingredients that Horstmeyer uses to create her unique, delicious quesadillas.
While an Anthropology student at UC, Horstmeyer used to take whatever she could find and turn them into funky, fresh quesadillas for her friends. She was determined to start up a downtown food truck and was able to eventually dig up a 1967 Airstream in which to house her quesadilla creations. Renovating the now sleek and shiny Airstream took 10 months, but the return is that she is now able to spend all her time creating new recipes and serving up her instant classics to the city 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Friday.
Horstmeyer is constantly trying to improve not only her ’dillas but also the services that she offers to her customers. Recently she has added several side dishes, including a side salad and hummus and chips. She is also looking into seasonal dessert quesadillas and cookies. Credit cards will soon be accepted, and look for an online ordering service to be able to speed up the process of picking up your lunch in the near future.
CityBeat: What was your last great meal and where did you eat it?
Fallon Horstmeyer: Buona Vita Pizzeria in Dayton, Kentucky. It’s owned by two brothers and located in an old bank. You can eat in the vault if you want, and I really like the Pizza Bianca — it’s a sweet little gem.
CB: Why quesadillas?
FH: A tortilla is amazingly versatile. You can put just about anything in it and it will be delicious, and it also lends itself to so many great ethnic ingredients.
