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On a Syracuse University weekend, Marshall Street seems like it would be the first choice for a late night snack. But the smell of chicken shawarma, gyros and quesadillas wafts through campus from restaurants on wheels.

Either outside of Ernie Davis, Shaw or Marion Hall, these food trucks often have long lines until 3 or 4 a.m. One of these food trucks, Syracuse Halal Gyro, is run by Soliman Amer, with help from his cousin Rami Amer and friend Meru Patel. Amer describes them as “family and friends that became family.”

“This kind of runs through our blood, you know, we’re born into it,” Amer said.

Ali Baba is another late night food truck SU students frequent. While both trucks offer Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food, Ali Baba also carries Mexican food. Depending on how busy they get, both stay open on weekends into the early hours of the morning.

Syracuse Halal Gyro has run food trucks in New York City for about 30 years, starting out of a “little tin can in uptown Manhattan,” in Soliman’s words. They first came to Syracuse in 2019 and established restaurants on Westcott Street and Erie Boulevard. Three years later, they started sending out the food trucks.

With pork-free options like falafel and halal, which is meat that aligns with Islam’s teachings, the food trucks provide students with food that may be otherwise difficult to find on campus, Soliman said. Ali Baba and Syracuse Halal Gyro don’t include pork in any of their food. Soliman said halal is becoming more popular with the growing Muslim community in Syracuse, so they wanted to bring it to SU.

Soliman and his team aim to educate people who are unaware of what halal entails through their business.

“You offer them something they weren’t expecting. They’re like, ‘Oh sh*t, this is crazy. I never had something like this around Syracuse,’” Soliman said. “The secret is always in the sauce.”

Solange Jain | Asst. Photo Editor

A Syracuse Halal Gyro chef cooks chicken on a stovetop inside the food truck.

SU senior Dayyan Noble said that coming from his hometown of Baltimore, where takeout spots are very popular, his biggest adjustment to SU was the food, especially since many nearby restaurants close early. For the Black Muslim population in upstate New York, it’s important to have food like this, Noble said.

“You want to feel like you’re home sometimes,” Noble said.

Ali Baba is also a family business. Its current owner, Mohanad Breaka, bought the truck from his father-in-law, who’s now retired.

Everything Breaka knows about cooking he’s learned from his father-in-law. They have served a variety of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Mexican cuisine to SU students since 2020. Ali Baba carries this range of food so they can offer something for everyone, Breaka said.

Ali Baba, which is a part of the Syracuse Food Truck Association, spends its summers catering for events and businesses downtown when students are off campus. Breaka said they stay just as busy downtown in the summertime as they do on campus during the school year.

With the help of his co-workers and his wife, who Breaka describes as his “secret weapon,” Ali Baba takes pride in accommodating everyone. Breaka said among the many options they offer, chicken over rice is their most popular.

Breaka said Ali Baba does everything with love, even learning students’ names when they order food regularly. He hopes more students will continue visiting their truck and ordering food.

Solange Jain | Asst. Photo Editor

Ingredients are carefully crafted into warm sandwiches and gyros for students outside late at night.

“It’s our pleasure to treat students like our friends and our community and our family, not like our customers,” Breaka said.

The trucks’ locations make it easy for students to get their favorite foods without needing to walk or drive off campus.

Freshman Alex Wu, who lives in Haven Hall, said he always saw the truck on the corner of Waverly and Comstock Avenues, but just recently tried it for the first time. It was a quick and easy way to take a break from dining hall food.

“A lot of people don’t think too much about exploring culture through food. It’s a different route that people never really consider,” Wu said.

Soliman and Breaka said they enjoy cooking for the campus community, and that students have been friendly and kind to them over the years. The trucks believe in focusing on their customer service more than anything, and they want to give students the meal they paid for.

“When you love what you do, it’s no longer a job, it’s a lifestyle at that point,” Soliman said.

Published on November 17, 2024 at 10:22 pm