Ray’s 13th and berks
Ray’s lunch truck, located at 13th Street and Berks Malls, is still one of the best on campus, though funnel cakes have sadly left the menu.
British chef Ben Proftka said Temple students now crave the grilled chicken sandwich.
“They call it our ‘killer chicken,'” Proftka said. “It’s not on the menu like that, but that’s what everybody knows it as.”
Overnight, the chicken sits in a secret marinade then is grilled to order. A few dollars later, you’re inhaling one succulent sandwich.
Ray’s opened its aluminum windows almost four years ago.
Even with its extensive menu including platters, sandwiches and steaks, the most expensive item comes in at $5. Tables and chairs nearby make it an ideal spot to kick back in the shade with some tasty grub.
Open 6 a.m. to around 3 p.m., Ray’s is a top choice for a hearty lunch on-the-go.
– Brianna Barry
David Kim’s
12Th and berks
While it’s only been on Temple’s campus for a mere two and a half years, the new hot spot for Asian cuisine is David Kim’s Japanese & Korean Food truck located across from Gladfelter Hall and next to the
Engineering building.
The most popular dish is Japanese tepanyaki, which is a mix of fried veggies like broccoli, bean sprouts, carrots, onions, and mushrooms topped on a bead of rice or noodles for $4.85.
“We use a special homemade sauce,” Kim said. It’s poured over the tepanyaki that comes with a choice of beef, chicken, tofu, or shrimp and sprinkled with sesame seeds. To give it a kick use the hot sauce that
comes in a little container.
The tepanyaki is a big portion, so try a rice bowl for $4.25 if you want a smaller size. If you want to skip fried food, try the handmade sushi. The most popular rolls are spicy tuna for $4.85 and dragon rolls
for $5.95, add a miso soup for $1.
Go a traditional Korean route and try the lunch box of the day, which offers a variety of Korean dishes like bulgogi, barbeque beef, or the spicy chicken and fishcake stir fry.
David Kim’s truck is open from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mondays through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. You can even call ahead to avoid the wait.
– Kaitlyn Dreyling
The Creperie at TempLe
13Th and norris
The taste of authentic French crepes won’t cost an arm and a leg anymore.
For under $5, The Creperie on Temple’s campus offers a variety of made-to-order
crepes with fillings of your choice, a drink and, more importantly, service with a
smile.
Located at 13th and Norris streets, their menu includes sweet crepes for $3.25, consisting of fruits and toppings of your choice. The honey banana is a classic favorite with cinnamon, powdered sugar and caramel.
The savory crepes, priced at $4.25, contain meat and veggies. The pizza crepe is the top seller with everything you would find on your favorite pizza wrapped in the deliciously thin pastry. If you want to change it up a bit, substitute a tortilla
crepe for the original and make it a French-Mex.
So next time you’re walking by and the aroma entices you, stop by The Creperie
at Temple. They’ll be there 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
– Marian Tison
Fame’s Pizza
12th street
Fame’s Pizza truck, located at 12th Street between Gladfelter Hall and the Biology-Life Sciences building has been a mainstay on Temple’s campus for more than 17 years. Owners Dee Amzboski and Emo Tahiri are Albanians from the former Socialist Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia.
Fame’s, which offers wraps and panini-style sandwiches in addition to pizza slices, sets itself apart from the rest of the pizzerias on campus by using only the best ingredients. It uses a mozzarella cheese
that is both low-moisture and part-skim. Also, all its dough and sauce is made on-site.
“For our buffalo chicken pizza, which is the most ordered item, we use all white meat that I clean … myself and spread on a cayenne pepper-based hot sauce which is much healthier,” Tahiri said.
“Let’s face it – students can get pizza from a lot of different places on campus,” Tahiri said. “You have to give them something better or they’ll go somewhere else.”
After 17 years going strong, Amzovski and Tahiri show no sign of leaving Temple’s campus any time soon.
“It’s a joy working with the students. We love interacting with the Temple community,” Amzboski said.
Fame’s is by far the best pizza on campus. Try the veggie slice and you’ll agree. There are so many toppings that it’s hard to see the cheese and its thin, crispy crust adds the perfect texture.
Fame’s Pizza is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays.
– Cody Glenn
Avsar
Broad Street and Montgomery Avenue
It’s not exactly “Field of Dreams,” but close enough.
“If you give good food, the people come to you,” said Mike Pamuk, who owns Avsar Lunch Truck along with his wife, Nefize.
The Pamuks had moved from Turkey separately, with Mike emigrating in 1962 and Nefize joining him 23 years later. For the next 10 years, they would be working beside each other from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. every school weekday.
Like most freshmen who came before them, the Pamuks packed and moved to start the semester – together this time.
“We’re husband and wife, but she’s the boss. I’m the cook,” Mike Pamuk chaffed.
Formerly at the Pamuk Prince, the Pamuks sold the truck and started anew at Avsar Lunch Truck, located near the corner of Broad Street and Montgomery Avenue. They didn’t forget to bring the same great food with them.
Known especially for its grilled wraps, Avsar Lunch Truck does not disappoint. Customer favorites include the buffalo chicken wrap, as well as Pamuks’ signature dish, the grilled chicken kabob wrap, which oozes with peppers, mushrooms and Turkish influence. All wraps are $4.50. Busiest hours are between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with its main breakfast dish, the bacon, egg and cheese croissant, $2.50, still lingering on the tips of patrons’ tongues.
– Steve Wood
Ernie’s
13Th and Montgomery
Taso “Ernie” Arsenlis, owner of Ernie’s Lunch Truck, does more than just serve food to the Temple community.
“I never get tired of being here,” Arsenlis said. “I never have a day like, ‘Oh, I have to go to work.’ Never. I am like a soldier. Everyday I’m ready for war. Everyday I’m ready for [my] job.”
Emigrating from Greece in 1976, Ernie and his wife Elizabeth have been serving fresh food to Temple students and faculty since 1982.
Ernie and his wife wake up at 4 a.m. everyday and drive from Upper Darby to Center City to prepare for their long
day at Temple. According to Ernie, their average workday is 18 hours long.
“The hours are terrible, he said. “You have to be Greek to work these kinds of hours.”
Ernie’s Lunch Truck provides quality items that are prepared daily for his customers. Not once has he had a costumer return a sandwich.
“All the menus are fresh, from the grill. Nothing from yesterday. All fresh, every morning.”
– Max Levine
The Fresh Fruit Truck
13Th and berks
The Fresh Fruit Truck, which sits outside of Paley Library, is one of the few trucks on campus that isn’t open the whole year. But for those months when the truck is operating, students love the extra-large fruit bowls at extra-small prices.
Owners Bachtach and Por Ung, who are also husband and wife, have been arriving on campus every weekday since 2004 at 7 a.m. and staying until 6 p.m. to serve students.
Each fruit platter comes with any combination of watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, grapes, pineapple, strawberries and oranges. And any order, regardless of the size, comes with a banana. The prices range from $2.50 for a small platter to $3.50 for a large platter.
The Ungs keep the truck open only when fruit is typically in season, to ensure the fruit they serve is fresh. Usually, that means that the truck closes for the winter sometime in November. But often, the off-season is determined by the weather.
“Sometimes when there’s no snow on the ground, we stay open through December,” Por Ung said.
– Emily Catalano
Mike’s Steaks
13Th and berks
Want to spend every day in a tiny truck cooking food with your in-laws?
That’s not exactly a good recipe for most people, but Julia Plaku and her son-in-law Geni Pando do exactly that at Mike’s
Steaks.
The two have owned the lunch truck for the past three years. Plaku and Pando, who moved to the U.S. from Albania, worked in the restaurant business before opening their truck, a business move they enjoy to this day.
Mike’s Steaks, located at 13th Street and Berks Mall, is normally open between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. Plaku and Pando’s specialties include steak and grilled chicken sandwiches along with souvlaki and inexpensive breakfast sandwiches.
If you’re looking for a fantastic breakfast or lunch with a smile, Mike’s Steaks is a sure bet.
-Colin Lenton
Eppy’s
13Th and montgomery
Temple was built on founder Russell Conwell’s “Acres of Diamonds” in 1884. Once the last beam was situated and the dust settled, Lan Hong was doling out a banana granola fusion of yogurt.
This is not exactly true, but after hearing Hong refer to long-retired professors that frequented his operation of more than 18 years, it’s hard to think there ever was a time Temple was without Eppy’s.
Luckily, we don’t live in those times.
“We grow along with Temple,” Hong said.
Leaving Vietnam for Philadelphia nearly 25 years ago, Hong, 42, of Chinese descent, spent six years finessing the spicy meatball at an Italian restaurant. Hong brought the cookbook with him in memory.
It’s just hard to say which one.
Spaghetti. Hoagies. Yogurt. Oh my.
Eppy’s is host to an eclectic array of meals, befitting the fickle wants
of the moodiest college student. With Hong and wife Tiem Ma, 43, at the helm, the students always win in selection and value.
Located on Montgomery Avenue and facing the Student Center, Eppy’s offers a heaping of spaghetti for $2.25. As if you needed another reason not to eat at the Student Center, a cup of yogurt, filled with
chunks of ripe banana and granola, costs you $1.50 for a small and $2 for
a large.
Its most scrumptious sandwich is the B.L.T., which leaves you wanting
more and, at only $2.65, with money to do so.
– Steve Wood
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