Posted by Rachel Kashdan
Although it was the notoriously unlucky Friday the 13, nearly two hundred people showed up to the grand opening of the Eat Good Food truck in July. People sat outdoors at the truck's location on West Avenue to eat a number of the wide variety of items presented by the menu, from cornmeal-encrusted salmon with lemon vinaigrette to a fresh crepe with berries and maple sugar candy.
Over the past several years, food trucks have become popular destinations for the culinary-minded in cities across the country. Last winter, Jean Travis, an alumna from the class of 1974 and her husband John, former restaurant owners, decided to bring the trend to Saratoga Springs by taking their philosophy of unique, healthy and delicious food and putting it on wheels, according to Jean.
Since their ingredients come from local farmers' markets and their son Ben's garden, the menu board changes daily depending on what is fresh and seasonally available. With such a unique menu, people often ask Jean what her favorite dish is, a question she says is like choosing between her children.
On any given day at the truck, the menu might offer sentimental favorites such as Jean's mother's eggplant parmesan on a roasted garlic and olive waffle, or confectionery delights like an enormous chocolate cupcake, but Jean and John say they always like to remind their customers of the menu's flexibility.
"We don't have any rules," they said. "You can do anything you want."
The Travis said their newest goal is to make Eat Good Food more accessible to Skidmore students. As an alumna, Jean hopes to be able to provide a convenient and healthy late night alternative to downtown food.
"Skidmore kids know what good food is, and this is affordable good food," she said. "What college student wouldn't love waffles with real maple syrup or a buffalo chicken taco at 2 a.m. right outside their door?"
The Eat Good Food truck will not return to its West Avenue site until the spring, but the truck will be mobile elsewhere in the meantime. Upcoming events include the Henry Street Festival from noon to 4 p.m. on Sept. 23, and Oktoberfest at the Malta Drive-in Theater from 1 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 13. Anyone with a Skidmore ID will get a free dessert at either of these events.
Jean and John say that Eat Good Food is who they are and what they do. They invite students to join them in their love for food.
Students who are interested in learning more can visit the Eat Good Food truck's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/EATGOODFOODFORLIFE.