Imagine this scene. It’s midnight, you’re hungry as hell, and you’ve got to rush to a weekend party. You check Summerfields; the wait time is upwards of thirty minutes. What do you do?
Have no fear, the food trucks are here! Every Thursday and Friday on Pine Street, a variety of food trucks appear between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. There’s the ice cream truck, the Southern Bell truck, serving staple foods from the South, and Mamoun’s Falafel Cart. They all cater to different tastes, but are there in case you need delicious food for a cold Wesleyan night.
First, there’s the ice cream truck. To be honest, you can skip this one. You’re not six years old. In the cold of night, is ice cream the best option? No. Instead, you should probably give your attention to the other two food trucks. Both of them are much better options.
Southern Bell has classic Southern food. I’m from the South, so this place has a nice personal touch. It’s like an island of delicious soul food. There’s a variety of the classic favorites; the best are the fried chicken and the shrimp. Their mac and cheese is comforting, and the cornbread is simply a delight. However, the main draw at this food truck is definitely the banana pudding. It’s perfectly sweet, while not being too cloying—the perfect dessert to gorge on as you’re running around. The only problem is that it’s a bit messy to eat, but nobody cares about that.
Mamoun’s Falafel Cart serves a wide variety of delicious foods. This place has a lot of competition, especially with Parsley and Shah’s both being local Middletown restaurants, but the food is still great. I know that a lot of people here are from areas with incredible Middle Eastern cuisine, but I still urge you to try this place out.
The highlight is definitely the falafel wrap; it’s probably the best place in town for their delicious fried chickpea balls. The falafel from Summies and WesWings don’t stand a chance. If you’re not that hungry, you can just get the falafel on its own, maybe with a side of hummus, which makes a nice midnight snack. However, the best order you can get at Mamoun’s is the falafel wrap with mozzarella sticks inside. The wrap has a perfect balance of savory falafel, vegetables, and crispy fried mozzarella that’s truly amazing. If you could only go to Mamoun’s once, get this order and you won’t be disappointed.
Wesleyan’s food trucks are a cornerstone of late-night dining that are not to be underestimated. You should definitely pay them a visit while it’s still not too cold out. I hope these food trucks will stay for the foreseeable future.
Atharv Dimri is a member of the class of 2029 and can be reached at adimri@wesleyan.edu.
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