Across campus, smells waft between a variety of local food trucks, all vying for your appetite. Students have options like Cheese Steak Factory, Macubana and Carlos Quesadillas, which all serve incredible food throughout the weekdays. Each truck works quickly to cook their own unique dishes, providing a great opportunity for students to grab an authentic and affordable meal around campus.
After personally trying an assortment of popular choices from the food trucks, this article serves to share a review of the food truck options in hopes that students will try some of these incredible vendors the next time they see one on campus.
As you walk by The Cheese Steak Factory and Macubana, located between Carver and Beardshear Hall, you can smell the savory aromas that drift through the air. Both vendors cook their dishes for the many students, staff and faculty who pass by regularly.
The Cheese Steak factory, located outside Carver Hall, has been loyally serving their delicious cheesesteaks to Iowa State for 11 years now. The truck includes options for customizing your cheesesteak, like the size and choice of grilled vegetables included (onion, green pepper, jalapeno and mushroom). Additionally, chips and beverages are available for purchase.
After watching my meal be cooked on the massive flat-top grill, the hot cheesesteak was handed to me with its juice and cheese flowing down onto the tin foil. As I took bites, I was hit with so many incredible flavors coming from the savory meat, the melted cheese and the grilled vegetables. I was left craving more when I was finished.
Macubana, which has a permanent location on Welch Avenue, also has a food truck on campus. While they are known for their mac and cheese bowls, they also sell cubano sandwiches, Belgian fries and empanadas.
When I ordered the “tempura mac attack”—macaroni noodles with alfredo, parmesan, pepper jack, cheddar and bleu cheese sauces all battered into cheese sticks and coated with tempura—my mouth instantly started salivating just by looking at the dish. Macubana is very generous with the amount of sauce they give, so when I took the first bite, cheese sauce and noodles slowly oozed out of the fried tempura stick. I highly recommend this food truck, not just for people who enjoy mac and cheese but also for those who are interested in trying a variety of dishes packed with profuse amounts of cheese.
The final food truck I tried was Mexican food truck Carlos Quesadillas, which is located not only between Hoover Hall and Black Engineering Building but also has a second location at the intersection of Stange Road and Osborn Drive, west of Kildee Hall. They don’t just sell quesadillas but also offer burritos, burrito bowls, tacos, chips and guacamole and various Mexican drinks.
Carlos Quesadillas also offers a lot of ways to customize your orders, but I ended up trying the simple steak quesadilla. However, as I tried the quesadilla, the taste was not simple in any way. My quesadilla included lots of cheese (resulting in a very satisfying cheese pull) but also included pico de gallo and a side of sour cream, which added an interesting layer of texture and flavor to the quesadilla. I can’t wait to come back and try everything else on the menu after the experience I had trying the quesadillas, and I would recommend anyone reading to do the same.
I know that I will be coming back to each food truck and trying everything else, and I urge anyone reading to discover these hidden food gems sitting around campus if they have the chance. You will not regret it!
You can also stay in touch with The Cheese Steak Factory, Macubana and Carlos Quesadillas’ menu and schedule by following their pages on social media.
