Rutgers debuts new food truck

Rutgers University Dining Services debuted the Three Chilies taco truck on Jan. 24 on the College Avenue campus. 

Nicholas Emanuel, director of operations for Dining Services, said that Three Chilies has a diverse menu featuring flavors from North and South America, Korea and Vietnam.

“While writing the menu, I wanted (it) to be as diverse as possible while keeping up with current trends in the food service industry,” Emanuel said. “Korean and Vietnamese cuisines are very popular, especially on the West Coast, and they add some amazing flavors that you wouldn’t normally taste in a taco.”

Three Chilies’ bulgogi flank steak taco and banh mi chicken taco borrow from Korean and Vietnamese cuisine respectively. The truck also sells burritos and nachos, though they feature less variety than the tacos.

Each food option costs $7.50, but students may use meal swipes instead. Student demand for more meal swipe locations influenced the creation of Three Chilies. 

“We understand that meal plan students want more options, and from our experience, tacos are always very popular,” Emanuel said.

Each taco option includes three soft-shell tacos with nachos on the side. One swipe can purchase a taco or burrito option with a drink. Three Chilies accepts one meal swipe per visit and an additional guest swipe if the guest is present.

Students have been lining up to try Three Chilies for the first time, including  Sarah Lemar, a School of Arts and Sciences first-year, and Lauren Bancalari, a School of Environmental and Biological Sciences first-year. 

“I definitely give this a ten out of ten,” Lemar said, referring to the baja shrimp tacos.

Bancalari bought the lentil, sweet potato, kale and black bean tacos, one of the vegan options.

“The only truck I really go to is the Starbucks truck, just because the other ones are kind of unhealthy,” Bancalari said. “This is decent. It’s not fried food, so I would eat this for sure.”

For now, the truck operates only on Cook campus and the College Avenue campus because it has not received license yet to operate in Piscataway, where Busch and Livingston are located. Emanuel anticipates the license to come within the next few weeks.

“Once we receive the license, we will have a rotating schedule similar to the Knight Wagon and Starbucks,” Emanuel said.

In the meantime, updates on Three Chilies’ location can be found on the Rutgers Dining Services Twitter account.

“We hope the students enjoy the diverse menu, flavors and fresh ingredients,” Emanuel said.

The Daily Targum previously reported Rutgers Dining Services planned to open Three Chilies in Fall 2019.