LUNCHIES
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2014
PAGE L4
Halal trucks are hard to miss at Temple. The colorful, graphic-heavy carts litter the streets, beckoning curious chowhounds. Halal food, or meals that have been certified according to Islamic Sharia law, might not be the first food students thought they would try before coming to Temple. But Halal trucks are often some of the busiest on Main Campus, and the wide array of businesses offering Halal hints at Temple’s demand for the trucks. For this issue of Lunchies, we’ve included seven of the most prominent Halal trucks on Main Campus. -Claire Sasko, Lifestyle Editor ILLUSTRATION ADDY PETERSON TTN
EBI LUNCH TRUCK
ALI’S MIDDLE EASTERN
MOST POPULAR DISH:
MOST POPULAR DISH:
Lamb and chicken dishes
Lamb kabob platter HOW LONG BEEN AT TEMPLE:
HOW LONG BEEN AT TEMPLE:
27 years
3 years
HALAL KEBAB KING MOST POPULAR DISH:
Chicken or lamb over rice or Falalfel
HOW LONG BEEN AT TEMPLE:
KEBAB GRILL
FAMOUS NEW YORK GYRO MOST POPULAR DISH:
MOST POPULAR DISH:
HOW LONG BEEN AT TEMPLE:
HOW LONG BEEN AT TEMPLE:
Chicken over rice
Chicken Tika
3-4 years
4 years
3 years
MOST POPULAR DISH:
MOST POPULAR DISH:
Any dish with chicken
Lamb or chiken gyros and cheesesteaks
HOW LONG BEEN AT TEMPLE:
HOW LONG BEEN AT TEMPLE:
2-3 years
30 years
CHAMPION HALAL
PHILLIES GYRO
PHOTOS CLAIRE SASKO | DONNA FANELLE TTN
Albanian chef opens Italian cuisine truck Temple’s Best, located on 13th Street across from Tomlinson Theater, is under new ownership and now offers fresh Italian food. EMILY ROLEN A&E Editor Flamur Kalemaj said he was born in the kitchen next to the stove. Kalemaj moved to the United States from his native country of Albania six years ago to be a chef. He said he has been cooking for 20 years. A few weeks ago, Kalemaj started his first week cooking in a food truck. “I was born in Albania, but I love Italian food,” Kalemaj, a partner and chef in Temple’s Best Italian Sandwiches, said. The truck, which sits across from Tomlinson Theater on Norris Street, specializes in Italian sandwiches made with fresh and locally grown products. Kalemaj said he uses ingredients like broccoli rabe, mozzarella, fennel, peppers, onions and baby arugula in his sandwiches. “I want to feed people healthy,” Kalemaj said. “People are so busy, it’s like they don’t have time. Kids are busy studying, practicing and don’t have time to cook at home. So, that’s why I’m here.” Kalemaj said Temple’s Best Italian Sandwiches is still sometimes confused with Temple’s Best Mexican Food, the truck that used to operate from its place in front of Tomlinson Theater,
which sold burritos, tacos and nachos. He even kept the name, “Temple’s Best,” which he now considers a mistake. “When you go to Temple’s Best, don’t ask for a burrito,” Kalemaj said. “Ask for healthy, fresh food.” His sandwiches are all made on fresh bread and accompany a conversation with the chef himself. Even amid the process of making a student’s lunch, Kalemaj leans out the window to chat. “My sandwiches take long because they are not fast food,” Kalemaj said. “They require patience. Be patient.” Menu items – like the Erdeta, named after his wife who still lives in Albania – range in price from $2.50 to $8.99 for sides and sandwiches. Kalemaj said he is busiest between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on any given day. As the new kid on the block, Kalemaj said that even though he has only been on Main Campus for a week, he wants to meet every student. “I want every student to try at least one of my sandwiches,” Kalemaj said. “They have to have the experience of trying, at least once.” Senior graphic design major Kyle Harrison said he heard the truck offers good food for an affordable price. “All the design kids go there because it’s just so good,” Harrison said. With the truck being fairly new on Main Campus, Harrison said word is spreading about Kalemaj and what kind of food Temple’s Best offers. “I plan to go there sooner or later,” Harrison
An Italian sandwich sits on the counter of Temple’s Best Italian Sandwiches.
said. “I like to try new stuff.” When asked why he chose to bring a food truck to a college campus, the Italian-cooking Albanian just shrugged and threw up his hands. “I want to feed the kids,” he said. One of his sandwich creations comes complete with eggplant and fresh mozzarella topped with kosher salt, arugula, basil pesto on warm fresh baked bread.
ALLAN BARNES TTN
“Every soul needs salt,” Kalemaj said. He smiled. A large slab of mozzarella, sprinkled with sparkling salt, melted into the eggplant sandwich in his hands. “And this will turn your mouth upside down.” * emily.rolen@temple.edu