Growing up in Cary, my parents didn’t buy pimento cheese, so when I first ordered a dish featuring the spread, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was just hoping for a decent snack to stave off my salt cravings.
What I encountered was an indulgent spread with a depth of flavor often missing from late-night bar bites. Homemade steak fries, perfectly cut, stayed crispy under piles of melted pimento cheese. Topped with chopped bacon and served with jalapeno ranch, the meal reached a pinnacle of perfection I personally feel deserves spotlights and angelic choirs.
This month, pimento cheese gets a spotlight in the form of Cary’s eighth annual Pimento Cheese Festival, held on April 11.
Since the free festival was launched in 2018, it’s grown massively, last year drawing in more than 20,000 people to Downtown Cary Park.
Organizer Ryan O’Quinn, the downtown park program specialist for Cary, is expecting a similar crowd this year, with people coming from as far away as Virginia, South Carolina, and Tennessee to enjoy savory sandwiches, scones, and milkshakes.
Yes, that’s right: milkshakes. For years, one food truck has been putting a pimento cheese twist on the classic summer treat, serving “a creamy blend of vanilla ice cream and pimento cheese topped with whipped cream and dusted with Ritz crackers,” according to the festival website. I love pimento cheese, but really?
Really, says Artie Blume, owner of JAM Ice Cream.
“It’s been very popular,” said Blume. “Obviously, you get a couple of side eyes, like, ‘Well, that’s pretty weird sounding.’ But, you know, one of their friends will get it, they’ll try it, and they’ll love it!”
Pimento cheese ice cream has been a staple at the festival almost since its start. In spirit, it’s a little like dill pickle lemonade, the viral food trend that swept through TikTok last year. Mostly sweet, a little salty, and with a strong hit of pimento flavor.
This year, the TAPS Creamery Curveball is also on the menu: a sundae made up of vanilla soft serve ice cream, apple pie filling, graham cracker crumb, caramel drizzle, a smidge of honey, and a dollop of pimento cheese. Unlike other festival vendors, dessert trucks aren’t required to serve pimento cheese items. But “to me, seeing that ‘if you’re able to’ [instruction] was 100% a challenge,” said TAPS Creamery owner Michael “Chez” Cheslock.
Cheslock already had a specialty sundae on the menu featuring pretzels, so he leaned into that salty-sweet vibe. Then, he hit on the idea of apple pie and cheddar cheese, a classic (and delicious) combo traditional in New England.
“The pimento cheese is an accent to the sundae,” Cheslock explained. “When you’re going for that bite, you’re gonna get the apple pie, the graham cracker crumb, vanilla, and pimento cheese all in one. You get that sweetness up front, but then that saltiness of the pimento cheese definitely comes through in the back.”
Beyond pimento cheese
When it comes to quirky regional food festivals, there’s nowhere better than North Carolina. Beyond Cary’s ode to pimento cheese, there’s also the North Carolina Pickle Festival in Mt. Olive, the Cheerwine Festival in Salisbury, and the NC Okra Fest in Whiteville, to name a few.
And as people from across the country look for fun weekend getaways (or novelty food trips), North Carolina often makes the cut. At one past pimento cheese festival, a family (complete with matching T-shirts) journeyed from Ohio to try the Southern staple, said O’Quinn.
This year, in addition to some sweet experiments, all the usual savory suspects remain on the menu. The festival offers several variations on pimento mac n’ cheese and grilled cheese. Also abundant are pairings with BBQ, brisket, fried chicken, sausage, pretzels, and fries.
‘The festival is also continuing its tradition of international fusion food, with options like pimento chicken tikka, loaded plantains, and pimento pupusas (a traditional Salvadoran dish of thick stuffed tortillas).
With 33 food trucks, eight restaurants, and at least as many local breweries, it seems like there really will be something for everyone—there are even a few vegan options. The pimento cheese sculpting contest will also be back, and visitors can also enjoy live music, activities for kids, and a “pimento cheese lounge” with a DJ. There will also be a Puppy Cup, in honor of the upcoming World Cup, where a soccer-themed playpen will feature puppies from Peak Lab Rescue that are available for adoption.
Each year, judges award a trophy to the best pimento cheese from among the marketplace vendors, said O’Quinn. This year, food trucks will also be able to compete in their own contest, where visitors can vote on their favorites using QR codes. The winner will have their name etched into a Stanley Cup-style trophy.
“They’ll get their pictures, they’ll get the glory,” said O’Quinn. “And then their name will be on that trophy forever, and we’ll continue to add to it.”
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Both the Savory and Sweet Make an Appearance at Cary’s Annual Pimento Cheese Festival