A new French-style vendor may soon join the ranks of food trucks that frequent campus.
Launched at the end of last year, Baguettaboutit features on-the-go French bread stuffed with sausages and sauces. The Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee heard the food truck’s proposal earlier this week and unanimously voiced their support for the truck to appear on campus. If approved by Duke Dining, Baguettaboutit will be added in the Fall to the current rotation of 10 food trucks that makes stops on campus, such as Only Burger and Parlez-Vous Crepe.
“The truck is awesome,” said DUSDAC co-Chair Jane Moore, a senior. “The bread is just out of this world, and the price point is perfect.”
In evaluating Baguettaboutit, DUSDAC consulted the results of a 2011 Duke Dining survey, which lists composite scores for each vendor on campus, said DUSDAC co-chair Beth Gordon, a junior. The survey, which includes results from 1,300 students, will also be factored into larger University decisions, such as which vendors will have space in the new West Union Building.
“[The survey provides] a pretty comprehensive understanding of where dining stands in the minds of the students,” Gordon said.
Baguettaboutit, owned by four residents from Chapel Hill, features Italian sausage and turkey sausage from Giacomo’s Italian Market in Greensboro, N.C., as well as nine homemade sauces. The truck announces its schedule through Facebook and Twitter and currently makes stops at locales such as at Fullsteam Brewery and Golden Belt in downtown Durham.
“It’s European style,” Baguettaboutit co-Owner Rob Gardner said. “We take French baguettes, which we bake everyday, and toast them from the inside out.”
Baguettaboutit also provides options for vegetarians, Moore said.
“They have a tofurkey that was excellent,” she said. “It was so good, even people that weren’t vegetarian were trying it in the committee and loved it.”
The committee considered Baguettaboutit as a lunch, dinner or late night dining option.
“As far as the committee goes, we would have it on campus tomorrow,” Moore said. “They set up their truck outside for us [to try], and students were crowding around it and asking what it was and trying to buy their sandwiches.”
In order to operate as a food truck on Duke’s campus, each vendor must enter into a contractual agreement with the University and acquire a DukeCard reader.
“Obviously, we would love [for Baguettaboutit] to come on campus—it would be a really nice fit for both sides,” Gordon said.
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