No matter how lovely Salt Lake City and the U campus may be, we all reach the point where we yearn for something new. However, not all of us have the luxury of skipping town every time this desire strikes. Luckily, there’s always one thing that never fails to transport me to another time and place, and that is food.
U students don’t have to look any further than the Marriott Library plaza to find a taste of adventure. At any given time there are at least three food vendors parked in the courtyard, wafting smells simultaneously exotic and mouthwatering. During the school year I also spotted a food truck parked near the student services building serving up some pretty amazing-looking waffles. These vendors are only a few of many food outlets scattered across campus, but there’s nothing that feels quite as exciting. Sitting down to a steaming to-go box of curry beats a bowl of Panda Express orange chicken any day in my book.
I only recently discovered this tasty haven from the daily grind. Of course I had walked past the food trucks many times on my treks across campus. Though the smells that reached me were enchanting, I had always been in too much of a hurry to veer off for a bento box. So I set off to sample what the vendors had to offer, something other than my usual bagel sandwich and coffee. I was not disappointed with heaping servings of yellow curry and chicken tikka masala on an ample bed of rice from Tandooria paired with a Thai iced tea from Cafe Trang. The food and drink together cost me about ten bucks and was enough for my friend and me to fill up and take home a little leftover curry. The food was delicious and felt as if it were prepared with real passion, and the Thai iced tea was a perfect companion to the hot curry — not too sweet, as some Thai iced tea can be.
Throughout the course of our small feast I saw people sitting down all around me to enjoy various food truck items. I lamented how full I was as I observed them biting into
delectable-looking bahn mi sandwiches and digging into rice bowls piled high with chicken, pork and shrimp. I went to investigate the other menus and plan my next food getaway. Cafe Trang turned out to be the source of the bahn mi sandwiches served on fresh baguettes. Bento intrigued me with their bento boxes offering up veggies and various meats or tofu. I have concluded that I will have to go on many food adventures to run the gamut of offerings. To top it off, all of the food was reasonably priced, especially when the hearty portions are taken into account.
If you’ve been hurrying past library square without glancing around, I suggest you slow down next time and follow your nose.
@TheChrony