By Vallari Gupte | TheShortHorn.com
Students are driven toward alternatives for on-campus lunch Monday on the Central Library mall. Dallas-based food truck Ssahm BBQ is the first food truck to make a stop at the Central Library location.
Oh Kwon loves eating.
“I told myself if I learned to cook, I would never starve,” Kwon said.
Kwon now has a food truck which specializes in gourmet Korean tacos. His truck, SsahmBBQ, was on the Central Library mall for the first time from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday.
SsahmBBQ is one of three food trucks that will be on campus this semester. SsahmBBQ, Gourmet Grilled Cheese and Easy Slider will set up their food trucks on a rotational basis from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Central Library mall Monday through Thursday, said David Albart, University Center operations director.
Aerospace engineering freshman Sara Walker said she liked the “asian flair” to her beef tacos. Normally tacos have ground beef, lettuce, cheese and tomato, but these tacos were different, she said. The sauces and spices are what drew her in, she said.
“It smelled great,” Walker said.
Walker said she wanted to see a food truck on campus and today, she did. A food truck is more appealing to her, she said, because it is a restaurant on the move.
“You don’t have to go to them. They come to you,” she said.
Criminal justice sophomore Kevin Trinh had tacos for breakfast and a burrito bowl for lunch from the truck.
Marketing sophomore Yuyun Cheng and anthropology senior Cynthia Jimenez pass time with Ssahm BBQ gourmet Korean tacos Monday on the Central Library mall. Sunshine and Ssahm BBQ make an enjoyable lunch for the first day of the spring semester
“This is really good. Good portions and spicy,” Trinh said. “I like spicy.”
Trinh said the food at the truck was better than eating his usual burger at the food court in the University Center.
Students can walk from the University Hall, Science Hall, Life Science Building and the Central Library to grab a bite, Trinh said.
“You don’t have to walk all the way to the University Center,” he said about the truck’s central location.
Albart said previous feedback from students showed a demand for a food place in a central part of the campus.
The food truck idea is a way to test out the campus food market, Albart said.
Albart said the schedule and types of food trucks will depend on the response and feedback from students throughout the semester.
