Here in Auburn, there has been a food truck invasion.
We awoke one morning to find our town studded with trucks vending food of all sorts: meatballs, mac-ncheese and every kind of taco imaginable. They experienced immediate, explosive popularity. The food truck culture enchanted us.
Places that were once barren suddenly became home to quick, cheap, delicious treats that were being served on wheels.
The atmosphere is unrivaled: with music blasting through the speakers and enthusiastic young employees, the trucks have the feel of a roving party that also happens to serve delicious food.
Auburn students think in herds and, other than the immortal Nike short, nowhere is this more evident than with our food truck choices.
Tex’s Tacos
If you are frequently late to class, be made aware that it’s not uncommon to find your path to class blocked by a mob of hungry students clamoring at the window of the taco truck.
Tex’s Tacos has developed a cult following among students because of its stunning digital rapport on Twitter and an uncanny ability to slap a seemingly random series of ingredients (pineapple on tacos, lime on fries) into several of the most delicious dishes to ever grace the rolling plains of Dixie.
Be wary: Tex’s is not recommended fare if you’re with someone you want to impress. You will inevitably attempt to swallow your taco in one gulp. It won’t be pretty.
Mighty Meatballs
Though the occasional soul may elbow his or her way out of the taco mob and over to offer a word of condolence to the entrepreneurial spirit found inside the meatball truck, I have yet to see a single student actually order something.
It’s hard to trust a man serving meatballs out of a truck if your friends haven’t endorsed it. What else could possibly keep you from enjoying a piping hot meatball on a warm day?
Kona Ice
They play a lot of Bob Marley. Or at least that’s what I thought, until I realized I was actually hearing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” being played on steel drums.
Game day customers, be wary of the swarm of bees that also decided 12 sugary liquid dispensing spouts on the side of a truck was a good idea.
Honeysuckle
Although the Honeysuckle truck is home to some delicious flavors of gelato (salted caramel, moonpie and blueberry cobbler), it is served in a cup that is roughly the size of a thimble and still costs more than a pint of ice cream at your local grocery store.
According to an inside source, the truck has been pulled from campus due to insufficient profits, a report confirmed by the perpetual lack of a line.
Momma G’s
There’s a subtle difference between trucks that double as restaurants and restaurants that also happen to have trucks. Momma Goldberg’s is the latter. For ardent fans of Momma G’s, it’s a poor substitute for the original.
Nachos with drip cheese instead of classic steamed nachos? Auburn is home to generations of amateur chefs who have tried and failed to replicate the nachos recipe. We know the real thing when we taste it.
I get bored easily, especially with on-campus dining. Food trucks have the same allure the ice cream truck had when we were children, because we know there’s something delicious awaiting us if only we have the right amount of wit and cunning to track it down.
It’s the thrill of the hunt that keeps customers coming back for more.
We are OK with exerting a little more effort to find an eating experience that gives us good stories in addition to great food.
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