Between classes, jobs and a social life, students are pretty much always busy. Sometimes there just isn’t enough time in the day to sit down and eat a meal.
That’s where food trucks come in. They offer fast, delicious food at low prices to accommodate the average student’s busy schedule and budget. Lansing is home to several different food trucks, such as Eat at State On-The-Go, El Oasis, Grand Grillin and Good Truckin’ Food.
“Everything comes from the university, so it’s fresh from the source.” — Lansing resident Rachel Burns
Students can usually find Eat at State On-The-Go parked at the rock on Farm Lane or outside Wells Hall.
Physiology doctoral student Satyaki Sengupta said he orders a multitude of different things at MSU’s food truck, depending on what he’s hungry for. Sometimes, he orders a burger and fries, and other times he opts for a salad.
“I like their tacos, sometimes their specials, burgers ... those are my favorites,” he said.
Sengupta said he would definitely recommend people check out MSU’s food truck.
Burns said when she goes to MSU’s food truck, she usually gets french fries and the smoked cheddar cheeseburger. Priced at $7, the burger features a patty, beer cheese, thick-cut bacon, ketchup, cucumbers, iceberg lettuce and tomato on a Breadsmith bun.
One of the food truck’s popular spring lunch entrées is the traffic jam grilled cheese. Between two slices of sourdough bread is fontina cheese, tomatoes and red onion. The sandwich costs $6.
“To me they’re the best thing here ... I’ve brought a ton of people there in the last few years.” – MSU alumna Linda Beach
El Oasis can be found at 2501 E. Michigan Ave. in Lansing.
Manager Francisco Gutierrez said if students are looking for authentic Mexican cuisine, they should definitely check out the food truck.
“(Our best sellers are) small burritos and taco dinners. It’s three tacos with your choice of meat and a side of beans and rice,” he said.
Beach said when she visits El Oasis, she typically orders the vegetarian tostadas, which come with refried beans, onions, lettuce and guacamole. She said she absolutely loves the food there.
“The more I ate there, the more I kept trying new things. I fell in love with next wrap I tried.” – philosophy senior Jordan Ueberroth
Grand Grillin can usually be found serving customers across from the Capitol in Lansing.
Owner Vicki Ueberroth said the food truck is most well-known for its “Vicki chicken,” which is boneless, skinless seasoned grilled chicken. All of the wraps available, which are priced at $5, feature this chicken.
One of the more unique wraps offered is the “fiesta,” which has romaine lettuce, colby jack cheese, corn, tortilla chips and, of course, Vicki chicken.
Jordan Ueberroth, who works at Grand Grillin, said he ate at the food truck long before he started working there.
He said he used to always order the barbecue chicken wrap, but then he decided to try more of the menu.
Grand Grillin also offers a variety of signature sauces, including apple cider vinaigrette, fiesta sauce and oriental sesame.
“They offer hamburgers and cheeseburgers and different kinds of sandwiches. It’s kind of like American food, but ... they kind of twist it into ... their own ways.” – kinesiology sophomore Anissa Martinez
Good Truckin’ Food, located at 500 E. Oakland Ave. in Lansing, aims to put a unique spin on common food.
“We don’t have typical wings and fried foods and that kind of stuff, so we try to keep things different and fresh,” co-owner Zach Corbin said.
Kinesiology sophomore Anissa Martinez, whose family friend is a co-owner, said she plans on going to the food truck this summer, but so far she has only visited the restaurant version of it, Good Truckin’ Diner.
She said a lot of the food offered at the restaurant is the same as what’s available at the food truck, but the restaurant has a couple of more options.
Martinez said she loves the food and could eat it all day, every day.
Corbin said one of the more popular options available is the “super trooper,” a sandwich with smoked pork, ham, barbecue sauce and macaroni and cheese on sourdough bread.
