University of North Texas

Hummus, barbecue pork, garam masala, roasted eggplant, Tandoori chicken.

Yum.

Khush Roti, a food stand serving sandwiches near the General Academic Building, and Twisted Grub, a food truck serving quesadillas, vegetables and marinated meats between the Language Building and Curry Hall, are offering faculty, staff and students new flavors for lunch. Both offer vegetarian options.

Khush Roti, which means happy bread in Hindi, opened at the beginning of the spring semester and is the first of a number of international food carts planned to open across campus, said Executive Director of Dining Services Bill McNeace. A taco cart will be the next to open, McNeace said.

“I met with a lot of student groups, and faculty and staff, and a lot of feedback I got was that they would like to have something that is distinctly and uniquely international,” McNeace said. “The union is busting at the seams during peak periods, and we have no space in there. So, we have to go outside, and we’re looking at a cart program for the entire university.”

Khush Roti is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and offers sandwiches for $4.99 and a lunch combo for $6.99 that includes a sandwich, fries and a fountain drink.

Sandwich choices include the  Italian Stallion, made with Italian salami; Tandoori Naanwich, made with spiced tandoori chicken breast; and the Sabzee, with roasted eggplant and other vegetables.

The second in the food cart program to launch was Twisted Grub, which opened March 1. Twisted Grub serves quesadillas with roasted green chiles a barbecue pork sandwich and a fresh hummus wrap with vegetables. All of Twisted Grub’s entrees are about $6.

Twisted Grub, below, is open from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., owner Tony Schall said.

The menu “will change depending on what foods are available and based on what people want,” he said, adding that on opening day the most popular entrée was the hummus wrap.

 Mike Sexton, a senior lecturer in the Department of Management, said he is enjoying the new flavors and lunch choices on campus.

“I teach entrepreneurship, and this is entrepreneurship in its purest form,” Sexton said. “People want variety. No one wants to eat the same things every day, and this is different.”

Texas Pitstops, a hot dog cart also located near the General Academic Building, and The Angry Friar, a double-decker bus serving fish and chips in the evening near the Language Building, are both still open and are subcontracted by Dining Services.

  (Photos by Michael Clements)