The University Center is closed for renovations and food operations there have ceased. Food trucks circled the wagons as a result, and we could not be more pleased.
Bare Bowls Kitchen, Bernie’s Burger Bus and The Waffle Bus will be in front of the UC for the next 18 months, offering everything from the cheap-and-healthy to artery-clogging delicious.
A student has to eat after all. And yet summer dining options are always scarce, to say nothing of the normal semester and weekends. UH needs more of these mobile kitchens. UH needs breakfast trucks, lunch trucks, snack trucks and taco trucks. We especially need a sandwich truck on campus at four in the morning, preferably near the newsroom.
Even with the food trucks, it’s a good idea to have an emergency box lunch in your bag at all times. After all, the C-stores close early during the summer. The UC Satellite cafeteria is a bit pricey and if you’re starving on the eighth floor of the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library, you might as well be on a deserted island. Even the facilities that remain open during the summer semesters often do so at drastically reduced hours, and justifiably so; one employee we spoke with said customer traffic had been cut by around half.
The Daily Cougar won’t endorse gourmet waffle sandwiches or made-from-scratch cheeseburgers over old-fashioned homemade meals, but we are 100 percent in favor of more dining options on campus.
Another question remains: Will the food trucks be on campus after Dec. 2013? That will be up to student demand. After the renovations, the UC will house a new McDonald’s and Starbucks — not exactly local vendors. After all, who wants to eat ketchup-covered cardboard and dirt-flavored coffee when Houston has ample supply of kitchens on wheels?
For a comprehensive list of UH dining locations and hours, visit my.uh.edu/mobile-only/dining/index.php.
Correction: In a previous version of the article, we expressed concern that the food trucks would not accept Cougar Cash. According to UH’s Campus Dish page, the trucks accept Cougar Cash, credit cards and cash.
It’s great that you all are supporting the local gourmet food trucks. Kudos to UH! Give us a hollar if you need more trucks on campus. We can serve your late nighters.
would like to find out how can we get our Coney Cruiser mobile food truck in campus, James Coney Island will fit just right for everybody please contact me;
Currently, all food trucks on campus are coordinated through our partners at UH Dining Services. They administer all contracts for vendors at the University of Houston.
Their website is http://www.uh.edu/auxiliaryservices/dining/ ; contact information is included there. As far as I’m aware, though, they have finalized selections already for the fall semester.
Thanks for your interest in the UH Community.