Kosher food truck leaves campus during winter

Finding kosher falafel, shwarma or steak around campus in the last month has become very difficult, but the search should get a little easier after spring break.

The cause for the difficulty has been the apparent disappearance of Holy Land On Wheels, the area's only kosher food truck, from it's usual location at the intersection of 38th and Spruce streets.

The truck "just stopped showing up," Engineering junior Corey Kanon said.

Despite the lack of any notice, the food truck's disappearance may not be quite so mysterious after all. Some students, yearning for the lost food truck, were even able to track down the absent eatery.

"We investigated 'cause me and my friends were hungry," Kanon said. "We called him up -- he said it was too cold."

And indeed, the food truck's owner, Moshe Sabag, confirmed that the weather played a role in his decision to remove the food truck.

"It was break time for a month, and then it was very, very cold," Sabag said. "Maybe 10 or 15 percent of the people came in that kind of weather -- it was too cold to come over."

He also noted that since the food truck served kosher food, he had a smaller market to draw from, and people were less inclined to travel the distance to his cart in the frigid weather of the past months.

Several students, including College sophomore David Issever, also believe that the truck's high food prices may have led to its disappearance.

"It is overpriced when compared to other food trucks," Issever said. "A $5 hamburger was really overpriced."

Eric Tal, a College sophomore, agreed.

"I think it was overpriced," Tal said, before adding that "I miss [Sabag], he's a really nice guy."

And despite the high prices, it appears that the food truck had its share of supporters.

"It was good on days when you didn't have time to eat in the dining hall," Kanon said.

Issever added that "it provided a reasonable alternative to those students on campus who abide by kosher dietary laws and don't have a meal plan."

But students like Kanon and Issever may be pleased to know that Sabag plans to bring the cart back to campus, starting immediately after break and continuing through the summer.

"I'm coming by March 16th, after the kids come back," Sabag said.

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