Danny Dines: The Dough Box

I am 27 years old and in the prime of my life! Do I go to nightclubs or Coachella? No, I just play with my dogs, eat Uncrustables and watch “Seinfeld” with my mom.

However, from time to time I like to hit up a nice brewery or cafe (any place with internet) and write movie screenplays on my laptop. Just last week, I wrote a screenplay for a movie about a kid who gets a Babe Ruth autographed baseball stuck in his neighbors backyard and then his friends — ah man, that’s just “The Sandlot.”

Anyway, this week, I found myself at Sandia Bar in Corrales enjoying a nice wheat beer, and I saw the coolest food truck outside: a towering pizza food truck on a classic Chevy.

“It’s all from my husband. He had this crazy idea of building a pizza truck on a 1952 Chevy,” said Sonia Willoughby, who owns The Dough Box along her husband, Shaun Willoughby.

The Dough Box is one of the hottest food trucks on the scene and currently serves its signature pies in Rio Rancho and the surrounding areas.

“I’ve been an Albuquerque police officer for about 21 1/2 years; I am retiring later on this year, and we opened this in July of last year,” Shaun said. “It’s been a dream of mine for well over a decade.”

The Dough Box is a family-owned business that offers “brickin’ good pizzas.” Their menu includes 10-inch pizzas, specialty pizzas and gold bars.

“I am 46. When we were kids at APS and Rio Rancho schools, all of the lunch ladies would make us ‘gold bars,’” Shaun said. “And that many years ago, they were about 35 cents, and they were everybody’s favorite.”

A gold bar is a classic dessert item that is a peanut butter mixture coated with chocolate.

“We have recreated the gold bar. We are using a very good recipe; they taste just like they did when we were kids,” Shaun said.

After drooling at the menu for a bit, I finally decided to order two of their specialty pies: The White, and the Jalapeno Popper. They also gave me a gold bar to try.

I know what you’re thinking: “You’re going to eat two pizzas Danny?” Well, in my defense: I skipped “second breakfast,” and I am still going through the pain of a breakup. Now, I didn’t go to medical school, but any doctor would tell you the cure for a broken heart is pizza ... or tacos or cinnamon rolls. The point is, you never pass up an opportunity to eat a jalapeno popper pizza.

The first pizza came out, and it was glorious! The White pizza is made with olive oil, ricotta, provolone, Romano, mozzarella, roasted red peppers and basil. It had a nice crust and cheese pull. The ingredients were fresh, and the cheese was creamy and had tons of flavor. In all, the pizza had a nice home vibe and was very satisfying.

Next came the jalapeño popper pizza. Their jalapeño popper pie is made with red sauce, cheese, jalapeños, cream cheese and bacon.

First bite in, and I was like that food critic from “Ratatouille” who was just in awe when eating delicious food. It was savory, cheesy, spicy and gone in five minutes.

Honestly, for any pizzerias out there, step your game up and add a jalapeño popper pizza to your menu.

Finally, it was time to try the famous gold bar. The sweet treat was, at the same time, crispy, crunchy and soft. It had such a rich and delicious putter butter filling and a nice thick exterior of chocolate.

I’d love to go back in time just to eat those in school every day for 35 cents. Would the bullies stuff me in lockers again? Probably, but at least I would have a gold bar until a custodian finds me. Shout out to Walter, by the way!

The Dough Box was a wonderful experience with some great people running the ship. If you ever see their towering red food truck, stop by and enjoy some great pizza.

“Our biggest compliment is for someone to come by and say, ‘Hey! So and so told us to check out the Dough Box, they told us you got great pizza.’ We love that,” Sonia said.