Sandwich Trends Spotlight: The Road Warriors

Better Burger topped with a runny-yolked egg.

Like many campus food trucks, Northeastern University's Hungry Hungry Husky (HHH) truck has the capacity to serve lots of different cuisines, not just one specialty. Spanning the globe in terms of flavor influences, sandwiches are the road warrior on board your food truck.

Tom Barton, campus executive chef at NEU, shared a few tips for making food truck sandwiches road-worthy:

☛ Prep work is key. “For the chicken and waffle sandwich, we pound out the chicken breast ahead of time, then marinate it in milk, white vinegar and hot sauce—that’s overnight,” Barton says. On the truck, the chicken breast is then dipped in waffle batter and fried to order, placed on the waffle (also made on the truck) and topped with Sriracha mayo and a spicy slaw.

☛ Work in batches. For a vegetarian sandwich with mushrooms, quinoa and kale, a lot of mushrooms are used, but it’s better to work in batches and avoid overcrowding the pan, whether you do it ahead of time or on the truck. That sandwich also has roasted garlic and teriyaki sauce and it’s topped with roasted tofu (again, prep work comes in handy here).

☛ Better burgers. Burgers are one item that are better made on the truck, not pre-grilled ahead of time. If your food truck has a flat-top, burgers will be excellent. “The flat grill gives you that diner-style crust,” Barton says. “Not earth-shattering, just a better burger."