Food Fascination

Let’s face it – Philadelphia loves its lunch trucks. Giving business people a quick solution to the midday munchies – and providing countless others with an affordable on-the-go option – lunch trucks are as much a part of this city as two of their menu mainstays – cheesesteaks and soft pretzels.

They’re so engrained in Philly’s culture that three years ago, the “Philadelphia Daily News” published a list of its own top 10 street eateries and “The Temple News” did the very same thing. Now, we’re doing it again.

In case you haven’t yet noticed, this issue features a special pullout section highlighting the best lunch trucks on Main Campus.

From Diamond Street to Cecil B. Moore Avenue, and from sushi to pizza, we’ve scoured the campus and have rated the very best.

But aside from what our lunch trucks have to offer on the inside, they certainly give campus something else – character.

Scattered about Main Campus, our lunch trucks are all colorful and unique in presentation and product. And you can’t help but walk by a lunch truck. Whether it’s on your way to class or just meeting up with friends, you’ll undoubtedly pass one wherever you go.And if you’re hungry along the way, stop to grab a bite.

Don’t be bashful, either – the people who work these trucks will treat you like family.

Sure, there are a couple exceptions to this rule (we’re not naming names) but most proprietors know their best customers by name and by order.

Once they get to know you, a 10-minute wait for a cheeseburger with fries platter won’t seem like a chore.

Adding to the lunch truck experience is its absence on the campuses of other Philadelphia universities. Aside from the University of Pennsylvania, where lunch trucks thrive, they’re almost non-existent.

Good luck trying to get a hot dog and a soda anywhere else but Temple.

So there aren’t this many lunch trucks at La Salle University? Nope.

How about Drexel University? Try again.

Saint Joseph’s University in Bala Cynwyd doesn’t have them either. And the Main Line community near Villanova University wouldn’t stand for them.

Lunch trucks are a part of Temple University, and not just on the surface. Their presence on campus is deeply rooted.

Ernie’s at 13th and Montgomery streets and Richie’s, an outdoor dining facility near Anderson Hall, have long contended that their respective establishments have been at Temple the longest. (For the record, they’ve both been here at least 30 years.)

The last time “The Temple News” listed its top 10 lunch trucks was 2003. A lot has changed about the university since. We have a new president, a new men’s basketball coach, and the TECH Center.

But what’s remained a constant has been – and just might always be – Temple’s lunch truck community.

Bon appetit.