Lafayette Food Truck Dishes Up Smiles and Comfort

By Bryan Hay

Without missing a beat, Lynette Shorter reaches for diced tomatoes, shredded cheddar, lettuce, and seasoned ground beef to prepare another taco hot dog, this day’s lunch special at the Lafayette food truck.

Lafayette food truck on the Quad

Clearly enjoying being her own culinary pilot and co-pilot, she rolls the plumping dog over a well-seasoned grill inside the truck, paneled with gleaming stainless steel surfaces, and slides it onto a roll, dressing it with the toppings along with a generous handful of Fritos.

“I just love it,” Shorter says. “I’m all by myself and have plenty of room to cook. Everybody gets what they want and how they want it. I’m a people person.”

A four-year employee of Bon Appétit, the campus food service provider, Shorter has been running the food truck for five weeks. She clearly enjoys it and the opportunities to feed the breakfast and lunch cravings of faculty, staff, students, and families on campus tours. 

Her most popular items are the chicken cheesesteak, Caesar salad, chicken Caesar wrap, and the pork ribs and chicken wings basket. As an order for wings comes in, Shorter drops them into a frying basket for just the right amount of time and coats the crispy chicken with a bright red, tangy hot sauce. 

“I just love my job, I honestly do,” she says with a smile.

“I come by a couple times a week,” says Amanuel Zewge ’22, a computer science major who ordered the taco dog special. 

On campus doing summer research, he says the food truck is always top of mind when lunchtime rolls around. “It’s convenient, and the food and prices are always good,” Zewge says.

Often parked on the Quad between Farinon College Center and Pardee Hall, the maroon-and-white food truck has been around since 2015. It was purchased for concessions and special events like the Maroon Golf Club.

The menu has evolved over the years and features weekly hot dog specials during the summer. About 25 guests a day are served in the summer, more than 500 during football games.

Shorter says the food truck helps project Lafayette’s hospitality and welcoming spirit. “Delivering a smile and some tasty food, that’s what it’s all about,” she says.