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Food truck guide: by location

General food advice for newcomers (Maya):
  • The most worth-the-price thing at the Nosh (36 & Market) is the soup. It's I think $3.00, it's pretty good, and it comes with a bagel or a piece of fruit.
  • The crepes at Houston Hall are really good.
  • The coffee at the GSC is free. And if you sit there long enough, other free food might show up as well.
  • Market bet.34 & 36 St.
    Spruce bet. 36 & 37 St.
    38 St. bet. Spruce & Chestnut
    37 & Walnut, near the gym
    34 & Walnut, opposite IRCS
    34-Spruce-South junction plaza
    40 Street trucks

    Note that each review may include comments from several sources, so the different instances of "I" may refer to different people.


    Market Street between 36th and 34th on the south side of the street.

  • A small Pakistani food truck - (Lukasz) probably the cheapest food truck on campus; their Meatball Sandwich Special (meatball hoagie, pack of chips and a can of soda for $2.60 (!) rocks). they also have coffee for 50 cents a cup -- not exactly the best coffee I've ever had, but who cares if it's early in the morning.

  • "Greek" truck - (Lukasz) Some 30 yards down the street, there is a huge food-truck that claims to have a Greek touch to it. however, they serve generic American food, i.e., hoagies, salads, and breakfast. hoagies are OK, but not extraordinary, and one has to wait at least 5-7 minutes for the order (they're slow and the truck is popular among science center employees)
    (Ron) Mysterious no-name Greek truck on Market St. The chicken gyro has LOTS of fresh chicken and decent tzatziki sauce. Might be enough for two!

  • There's also a Mexican food truck - (Lukasz) I've only eaten there once (burritos), and never returned there. mind, however, that I'm no fan of Mexican food, so perhaps we should have someone more familiar with the cuisine to check it out. my burrito wasn't bad, but it wasn't big enough for lunch, and with a soda i must have spent something like $5 on it, which is usually mu lunch limit and for which I expect to eat a lot.
  • Spruce bet. 36 & 37 St., both sides

  • Magic Carpet (at 36 St) - (Maya) Magic Carpet is just great, as far as I am concerned, no matter what you order. The wraps are an exceptionally good deal, as are the small "dinners".
    (Aaron) In my experience, not bad, but more expensive than Falafel Expert (on 40th) and not as good as it.
    (Elsi) Yummy sandwiches; I found this to be a good way to eat a lot for a very limited amount of $$, i.e. good food-price ratio.
    review from CitySearch:  Fly by this University City lunch truck for the tastiest vegetarian fare around.
    Cheap eats include pita sandwiches (for $3.50), such as the Magic Meatball, a top-secret recipe of tofu meatballs, red sauce, cheese and salad, and the Sloppy Jason (named after the owner's eldest son), a twist on a Sloppy Joe made from veggie chili, tofu and cheese. "Meal Deals" such as the Seizan, a seitan peppersteak with rice and veggies and the Adriani (named after Varvoutis' younger son), made of vine leaves, rice and veggies range in price from $3 to $3.75. Other favorite dishes--like peanut satay-- appear as daily specials.
    (Ron) A favorite of vegetarians. I'm always impressed at what they manage to put together with a bare minimum of ingredients (brown rice and veggies, tofu meatballs, etc.), like the "Bella Donna", but this meat eater finds most of their dishes short on taste. Go early to get their specials such as curry or peanut satay, which always sell out by 1 p.m. or even earlier.

  • The Original Le Ahn (North side) - (Sophia)  I'm addicted to their vegetable-tofu soup & veggie-roll combination. This is actually one of the *few* Chinese food places that use vegetable stock in their soups.
    (Augustin) The vegetables usually have a lot of bite, and their Lo Mein is rather good (available for an extra 25 cents for every meal). The hot and sour soup is excellent, as are dishes such as Hunan chicken (crisp meat). And it's interesting to watch them prepare five orders at the same time.
    (Ron) Very friendly Chinese Vietnamese brother-and-sister team prepare your food in record time. Nothing spectacular, just the usual boring brown sauce over standard Chinese American fare with steamed vegetables, but the lo mein is decent. Even at the peak of lunch hour, I've never had to wait more than five minutes in line. A Williams Hall staple.

  • The Real Le Ahn - (Ron) Bitter rivalry with the abovementioned Le Anh dates back years. These folks have a wok, so they can prepare very tasty stuff like eggplant chicken (a favorite of mine and Gene's) with real spices, but it's just one old woman working alone so be prepared to wait a while. A good break from the other Le Anh when you've got a bit of extra time.
    (Sophia) Their vegetarian dumplings (fried) are absolutely divine!

  • The Crepewalk - (Ron)  Relatively new crepe truck, run by a friendly Greek American couple (I think they're a couple). Very similar menu to the old "La Petite Creperie" (now in Houston Hall), with the usual chicken- or meat-and-veggie packed crepes and a veggie crepe too, plus a selection of sweet crepes with Nutella, strawberries, etc.

  • Greek Lady Olga (at 37 St) - review from "top ten carts" in Philadelphia Daily News:
    Background: The Dimopoulos family actually earned two spots in the top 10. The 37th and Spruce cart was started up by mom Olga Dimopoulos in 1985. The second truck was added a year ago, and employs University of Pennsylvania students during the school year.
    Specialty: Greek Lady specialties include gyros, grilled chicken breast, lamb and salads.
    Customers: University of Pennsylvania students. Lots of them.
    Why customers raved: Fresh food, clean trucks, amazing gyros.

  • (John L.) Mexicali is great, and their burritos can fill you up for very little money (especially if you just stick to the bean burrito).
    (Maya)  A bean burrito at the burrito truck (two trucks down from Magica Carpet) is one of the best food deals around--I think it's something like $2 for quite a lot of food.

  • Taco Pal -- Mexican food - (Augustin)  Their Quesadillas are especially good. Also they have sometimes specials such as chilli chicken, which is highly recommended.
    (John L.) TacoPal, the next-door neighbor of MexiCali, is not quite as good, in pretty much every way.

  • Khan's Hot Dog Cart - (Ron) Friendly man from Pakistan who reportedly speaks Pashto. Decent Philly steaks and other grill staples. An old favorite of Tom's.

  • Hemo's - (Ron) Run by a very cool guy from Alexandria and his friend, this cart has developed a real reputation among undergrads, and justly so. Excellent grilled chicken sandwiches and cheesesteaks. I swear by their chicken cheesesteaks, which I get almost every week.
  • 38th Street trucks

  • Tikka - (John L.) has excellent Paneer sandwiches and salads. Their other dishes (the ones that are served on rice) are nothing special at all. Don't get the achar, but the samosas are quite good.
    (Sophia) I LOVE their chick-pea thing they serve on rice! I highly recommend this truck.

  • Holy Land on Wheels (38th and Spruce)- the only kosher food truck on campus.

  • Greek Lady Olga (mega-truck at Locust) - review from "top ten carts" in Philadelphia Daily News:
    Background: The Dimopoulos family actually earned two spots in the top 10. The 37th and Spruce cart was started up by mom Olga Dimopoulos in 1985. The second truck was added a year ago, and employs University of Pennsylvania students during the school year.
    Specialty: Greek Lady specialties include gyros, grilled chicken breast, lamb and salads.
    Customers: University of Pennsylvania students. Lots of them.
    Why customers raved: Fresh food, clean trucks, amazing gyros.

  • Yue Kee Mobile Kitchen (between Locust and Walnut) - (John L.) Yue Kee is slow, but the Vegetarian General Tso's Chicken (GT's Wheat Gluten) is very good.
    (Ron) I got a bad vibe from waiting 15+ minutes with a relatively short line while the woman working there (who barely speaks any English) took orders every minute on her cell phone and occasionally turned around to chop something with a very large knife. Finally I got my veggie General Tso's chicken...and what a disaster! It looked like bits of fried Wonder bread, with a few pieces of broccoli and huge, badly sliced chunks of onion. I was so disgusted, I ate the broccoli (and a couple pieces of the "chicken") and threw the rest out. I NEVER throw out food so you can imagine how revolted I was. Then I made a beeline for Le Anh and got their not especially tasty but filling and oh so quickly prepared standard Chinese fare. Yue Kee must die.

  • Kim Sen (Chinese/Thai) - (Augustin)  They have a lunch special for 3.50$, i.e. some choice of a small list of dishes plus soup or soda or egg roll. To recommend warmly: General Tso's chicken; Crispy Orange chicken. Waiting time usually not too long. Relatively large menu
    (John L.)  The Chinese truck that is closest to the Millenium Bridge is alright quality, and the prices are probably the best you'll find. You can definitely eat your fill for $3.00 or less if you get their cheaper items.
    (Ron) I haven't been there in a long time, but their Singapore Noodles always impressed me. Hot but not too spicy for the weak-stomached, with generous amounts of beef, chicken, pork (I think), and shrimp in any combination. Also popular with undergrads.

  • KoJa (Korean/Japanese food)(North of Walnut, west side of 38) - (John L.) KoJa has good food, but it is not for the faint of heart. I got a noodle dish and asked for "less spicy," and was unable to eat more than a quarter of the meal. Still, though, the quality of the food is quite good.
  • Food Plaza at 37 and Walnut, near the gym

  • (John L.) The "Indian Lunch Truck" is terrible. no taste, too hot. don't go there.

  • Kim's food truck - (John L.) probably the best Chinese food around. Not quite as cheap, though, I think.
    (Michael)  Kim's has excellent wonton soup for $1.25 (!) and pretty much everything else is excellent and the price is right. That's why there's always a long line, even in the rain!

  • Food Plaza at 34th and Walnut

  • Magic Carpet (at 36 St) - (Maya) Magic Carpet is just great, as far as I am concerned, no matter what you order. The wraps are an exceptionally good deal, as are the small "dinners".
    (Aaron) In my experience, not bad, but more expensive than Falafel Expert (on 40th) and not as good as it.
    (Elsi) Yummy sandwiches; I found this to be a good way to eat a lot for a very limited amount of $$, i.e. good food-price ratio.
    review from CitySearch:  Fly by this University City lunch truck for the tastiest vegetarian fare around.
    Cheap eats include pita sandwiches (for $3.50), such as the Magic Meatball, a top-secret recipe of tofu meatballs, red sauce, cheese and salad, and the Sloppy Jason (named after the owner's eldest son), a twist on a Sloppy Joe made from veggie chili, tofu and cheese. "Meal Deals" such as the Seizan, a seitan peppersteak with rice and veggies and the Adriani (named after Varvoutis' younger son), made of vine leaves, rice and veggies range in price from $3 to $3.75. Other favorite dishes--like peanut satay-- appear as daily specials.
    (Ron) A favorite of vegetarians. I'm always impressed at what they manage to put together with a bare minimum of ingredients (brown rice and veggies, tofu meatballs, etc.), like the "Bella Donna", but this meat eater finds most of their dishes short on taste. Go early to get their specials such as curry or peanut satay, which always sell out by 1 p.m. or even earlier.

  • (Tanja) There's a breakfast and lunch truck by a nice Asian couple. They have bagels with egg, cheese, and other stuff for breakfast. Cheap from $2.25. For lunch, the only thing I ever ate there is their spaghetti with tomato sauce, which are just the cheapest food around ($2). I like them. Also, Tom said the meatballs (that you can have with them) are decent.

  • Other trucks on that corner are by far not as popular or as good - and there is also competition from foodcourt across the road.
  • Food Plaza at 33rd-34th-Spruce-South St. junction

  • (John L.) The best fruit salad vendor is the one at 34th and Spruce. It is not the one with the word Fresh in its name.
    (Elsi) Very good fruit platters; much cheaper fruit than what the food courts offer; fruit is usually very fresh.

  • Hong Kong - (Ron) Another decent Chinese truck, popular with (surprise) HUP employees. I've only been there a couple of times, but wasn't disappointed with their soup or chicken.

  • Punjabi couple - (Ron) Friendly husband and wife run a truck with no name that used to sit right in front of Williams until all the trucks on that side of Spruce were banished to the parking lot in '98. Good standard grill fare.
  • 40th Street

  • Rami's - Falafel Expert (near Locust) - (Aaron)  Middle Eastern cuisine. Friendly service, good falafel, thumbs up.
    (Ron) Sammy, born in Beirut, named this truck after his son. The man lives up to the name on his truck as the "falalel expert": along with Saad's at 45th and Walnut, he makes the best Lebanese food this side of the Schuylkill. His falalel is less oily and just as tasty, and his kafta (ground beef) and lamb sandwiches are just divine, though as Lukasz notes, you might not want to carry them around too long before eating. Veggie combo strongly recommended. And Sammy is the only (semi-)native speaker of a modern Aramaic language around Penn, so stop by and greet him in his parents' native tongue with a "shlomo a`layxu!" (` = `ayn).
  • Reviews from other sources:
    It would have been impossible to visit each cart, but here are the results of the ones we were able to sample. Ralph's on Walnut Street stands out from the slew of cheesesteak carts. The bright red truck will catch your eye, but the authentic South Philly steak and chicken cutlet sandwich speak volumes on their own. Rami's, on 40th between Walnut and Spruce, serves up nearly authentic Middle Eastern fare. Rami's hummus with pita ($3) is exemplary, as is the vegetarian platter ($4), which includes falafel, baba ghannoug and tabouli. Both also stood up to an hour-long walk between purchase and eating. A lamb gyro ($3.50) didn't fare so well, becoming soggy after the trek, while the lamb was a bit dry and mealy. Le Anh's Chinese on Walnut produced mixed results. General Sao's chicken was spicy-zippy, but a bit slimy; shrimp with cashews was excellent, the shrimp of excellent texture, the cashews firm and tasty. We only wished there were more of it. When nationalities mix, the human gene pool can only benefit. Such is the case with Taco Pal on Spruce. Operated by two kindly Indian gentlemen, the Taco Pal cart serves up Mexican fare for a low, low price. Tacos ($1) are a bargain.