Fine dining, streetside

Catching a whiff of greasy stir-fry from a food cart, Michael Berger approaches the stand, tastes the delicacy and -- writes it all down. All in a day's work for this Wharton and College junior, who has taken on the role of food critic in his book, "Dining a la Cart." Those who have passed by a tin contraption with a foreign name -- curious as to whether to take the risk of getting either a cheap gourmet meal or a trip to the hospital with food poisoning -- can understand Berger's mission to evaluate Penn's food trucks. After all, a combination Chinese-Mexican food truck can seem questionable. But Berger offered himself up as a willing guinea pig. This past summer Berger and his friend, frustrated by the hit-or-miss process of finding a good place to eat lunch, completed a comprehensive review of all of the food trucks around campus. The book provides a letter grading system with accompanying descriptions. Berger said that his favorite trucks around campus are Hemo's, the home of the "friendly Egyptian man" and his famous honey mustard chicken sandwich; Taco Pal; Hong Kong Chinese Food -- where he never has to worry about biting into a chicken bone -- and Aladdin's. In fact, Berger stands by his reviews so strongly that he even recommended Aladdin's to cater his brother's graduation party. Trying 40 different carts in 40 days, with foods ranging from delectable to indigestible, Berger's friend's frail stomach could not endure the challenge. In the end, it was Berger -- who calls himself "always difficult to please" -- that survived the test, eventually publishing his Zagat-like review. "I wrote it for myself," Berger said. "I didn't try to be too nice." Actually, he said he caught a lot of flack from a fellow Wharton student -- whose mother owns the Real LeAnh's Chinese Food food truck -- when he wrote, "in my entire reviewing experience, the Real LeAnh was the first truck I ordered from that I threw away my food after only one bite." According to Berger, part of the appeal of eating at one of these carts -- besides the price, convenience, appearance, and waiting time -- is the personality of the owner of the truck. Berger recalled a favorite truck, run by Jow of Jow's Spicy Thai Food, near Franklin Field. "If he thinks you can't handle a certain food, he won't let you eat it," wrote Berger. In his book, Berger described ordering the "crying tiger" -- the spiciest meal available at the cart. Jow insisted that Berger drink water instead of his usual soda, warning "your intestines will hate you in the morning." With the wide variety of food available around campus, Berger feels it's important to support these businesses, despite what his book calls "the administration's best efforts to replace them with trendy, expensive mainstream dining establishments" like the Moravian Cafes food court and Houston Market. Admittedly, there are a few food trucks that may not measure up to the new restaurants, such as the food range of "poor" to "terrible" at Dmitrio's, located by the David Rittenhouse Laboratories. Yet Berger writes that the top food carts can provide exceptional food. In particular, he noted the "faithful following among sorority girls and trendy, health-conscious fraternity guys" at La Petite Creperie -- the "Le-Bec-Fin" of food trucks on campus.

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