Many of the cities and towns of the Bay Area don't have much left from their earliest settlements. The land is precious and expansion often pushes out the old to make way for the new, especially in a region that has been occupied for hundreds of years. While the recorded history of the Fremont ties itself to Mission San José, one portion of what is now Fremont, Niles has it's history built around a massive flour mill that serviced the farmlands on the other side of the foothills that the town butted up against.
Originally called Vallejo Mills, a small settlement sprung up at the end of a canyon, who's other end lead out through Sunol and into the south end of Pleasanton and into the San Ramon Valley, where massive farms grew wheat and other crops and the town acted as a depot for these supplies thanks to an extension that fed off the Transcontinental Railroad. Within a decade that traffic somewhat dried up thanks to a shorter line that came over the top of the bay through Benicia, but the railroad was still a vital lifeline for years to come. The town didn't die, but it did change it's name thanks to the Central Pacific railroad, who renamed it Niles after Addison Niles in 1869. Originally a lawyer for the Pacific Railroad, Addison Niles became an Associate Justice in the California Supreme Court and served from 1872-1880, passing away a decade later in 1890.
Niles eventual claim to (current) fame is that it housed one of the first movie studios on the west coast, EssanayStudios who shot hundred of films in Niles Canyon and the surrounding areas from 1912 through 1915. Some of these films included Charlie Chaplin's The Tramp which thrust his most famous character 'Tramp' into the spotlight and Broncho Billy the first western cowboy star. The studio moved south to Los Angeles in 1915 but they opened the door for west coast movie making, not only in the Bay Area but for the everything that came to be in LA soon thereafter.
Niles still has it's main street with many of it's original buildings that are now mostly antique shops, though a number restaurants and other stores are also on the main drag. In town on a lazy Sunday afternoon, I wandered the antique shops not knowing what I'd find (a crazy personalized Hot Wheel with a kids face on it and a 20 year old X-Men coloring book were bought for friends) and as I walked back down the street towards my car, I passed by Bronco Billys Pizza and the sign I saw in front of the restaurant just called for me to have a late lunch/early dinner of appetizers. I've had mac n' cheese bites before, but always from the comfort of my own home with varying levels of success. I hadn't had mac n' cheese bites at a restaurant in years,
The Review
Brand:
Bronco Billys Kids Meals Mac & Cheese bites
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| A few tables are outside and are great spots to eat if the weather is good or it's busy inside. |
Price:
$3.99 at Bronco Billy's
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| Marketing 101, mention mac, get me as a customer. This was also what I saw as I walked back towards the car, the other side, if facing me mentioned something much more mundane that wouldn't have made me stop. |
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Preparation:
*Hey, you're antiquing, or maybe you're in town to ride the Niles Canyon Train, or explore the Secret Sidewalk. Either way you're hungry and need some mac n' cheese. Bronco Billys can help.
*Mosey on into the pizza parlor and sit at an open table or at the bar. A server will be along shortly to give you some menus and take your order.
*Ask for an order of the mac & cheese bites. While they will give you a bunch (my order had 10!), you may want to think about some actual
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| I didn't think to take a picture of the pizza until I was mostly done with the 'slice' (Bacon and pesto sauce for those who care to know). This slice covered this whole plate and can really best be described as a personal pizza on steroids. |
*Depending on how busy the place is, your food may take 10-20 minutes to come out. If you've got company, have a conversation. If you're solo, watch some TV or play some games on that smart phone you've got hiding in your pocket.
*As I was sitting at the bar, I needed to make some space for my plates. Before I knew it my server was sliding two good sized plates down in front of me full of food.
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| Oh no! That bite is bleeding out, better send it to the trauma center in my belly! |
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| Cross section to show all those cheesy noodles! |
*Commence with the nomming!
Taste:
Placed in front of me, I got a nice fried cheese/bready smell. The outsides were crispy and crunchy and were a bit oily to the touch. The breadcrumbs stayed on the bites very well and did not flake all over the place. The insides were very cheesy and the noodles while probably overcooked, didn't affect the bites as you noticed the cheesy inside, not the noodles, which just helped fill the bites.
Final Score:
Fried foods are dangerous because fat is often what makes food good. Like most any finger food, you really don't feel like you can stop at a servings worth (which was probably just two or three, even though they gave me TEN) because the don't fill you up. While these were some kind of food service appetizer (meaning not made from scratch in the restaurant), it didn't matter. They were very tasty. Make sure to eat these when warm. As they get cold, they lose tastiness and that's just does not make for a good meal.
Nutritional Information:
As with anything breaded and fried, it's bad for you. The more you have, the badder (not in the 80's Michael Jackson seminal album Bad kinda way) it is for your mid-section, heart and everything else. Because this is served with french fries it's even worse. Avoid the fries and save those calories for the mac bites. Eat a few, save the rest for a take home box. They'll reheat just fine in the oven.
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