Satisfying both our stress and our stomachs was exactly Vanderbilt Campus Dining’s goal when they launched a new program to bring food trucks to campus daily for lunch and dinner. Whether you’re at Branscomb Quad or the Ingram Commons, you’re bound to find tasty and unique cuisine only a meal swipe (and maybe a short line) away. In this series, we’ll be reviewing the various visiting trucks—and providing mouth-watering photos, because our phones always eat first. Duh.
Have you ever traveled to Peru to taste fresh empanadas or a classic Peruvian Brasa? Well, now, thanks to 2 Peruvian Chefs’ regular trips onto campus, you don’t have to.
2 Peruvian Chefs is a bright red food truck that chefs Roberto Bernabe and Marcio Florez launched to bring classic Peruvian street food to Nashville. Serving up everything from well-seasoned sandwiches to crispy empanadas, they are sure to lift spirits each week on campus with their fresh seasoning and passionate service.
Peruvian cuisine is a product of the rich history of Peru: tying together everything from the traditional corn and potatoes of Peru to rice, wheat and meat of Spanish colonizers. 2 Peruvian Chefs encapsulates this unique cuisine with a menu of offerings ranging from the Arroz con Pollo bowl to Choripapas, a french fry dish with classic chorizo sausage. Almost every week on campus you can eat from their limited menu with options ranging from chicken and cheese empanadas to classic Brasa sand
wiches. I had the chance to stop by 2 Peruvian Chefs last week and got my hands on some of this unique cuisine.
Although not as popular as the artery-busting Chicken & Waffles Truck or hippie Califarmia, 2 Peruvian Chefs is a great way to escape Commons food and a true culinary experience in itself. When I stopped by, I was torn between ordering the chicken Brasa and chicken and cheese empanadas, and I eventually settled on the empanadas. Unlike some other trucks (not to @ anyone), my food came out warm and toasty within minutes.
I got a table inside the Commons Center and dug in. Each empanada was filled with flavorful shredded chicken and gooey cheese that was almost like the queso you’d get at a restaurant. It was all encapsulated in a light and crispy dough. This was delicious and one of the best empanadas I’ve eaten, although I honestly haven’t had many empanada-eating opportunities for comparison.
The meal came with two empanadas and a “special sauce” that tasted like a spicy mayo. Still, there was a bit too much cheese, as it was nearly dripping with the gooey queso. A higher chicken to cheese ratio would have definitely improved the overall texture and flavor profile.
Overall, 2 Peruvian Chefs is a thoughtful and well-executed food experience. You can continue to find them on Vanderbilt’s campus weekly as well as at the Nashville Farmers’ Market on the weekends from 11-2 p.m.. Here, you can get a taste of their full menu and continue to enjoy the classic Latin American cuisine.
For now, I guess I’ll have to check out some of 2 Peruvian Chefs’ other menu options on campus, and start sampling empanadas around Nashville to see if these ones were really worth my soaring reviews. See you at 2 Peruvian Chefs!
