Cucina Zapata

I’m a vegetarian. I get their veggie burger and this burger is so good, non-​vegetarians have recommended it to me. Try it before judging it!
Just wish they had more vegetarian options-​Fridays they have veggie curries but it tastes just like the curries you get at lemon grass. Etc.
I’ve also had their Thai tea which is a bit too milky for me but it’s also really good.
And to top it off, they’re very friendly and they’re Drexel alumni!

Absolutely worth the 30min wait at 1:30pm on a Friday. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they use fresh ingredients, like the crunchy red cabbage, the juicy tilapia. the Cap n Crunch is phenomenal; ask to make it spicy! For $ 6, this is the freshest n most delicious wrap I’ve had from a food truck in a long time! Just do yourself a favor and try it.

Excellent food and great people! I’m a fan. It is my new go-​to lunch spot now. Thanks guys! Keep being awesome!

The best food truck on the earth. Listen to the rest of the reviews there’s nothing I can say that hasn’t been said before. Amazing.

I work at Drexel, and it takes all of my strength not to have a Cap’n Crunch fish over rice every. single. day. The guys here are the best, so passionate about their customers and endlessly creative with their food. Stop by and say hello. Wait can get long but absolutely worth it.
UPDATE: Came to try the chorizo breakfast burrito but it’s so popular that the guys were out, but they recognized my name from my Unilocal review and insisted on getting me a free soda. Then I ordered the chicken adobo and renounced my lazy fish-​eating vegetarianism forever. True story. Anything and everything is fantastic, the fish gets lots of hype (for absolutely good reason) but Zapata can do no wrong. And as if I hadn’t already raved about how much they love their customers!

These guys really deserve the five stars. They work so hard. Even if they put avocado on something when I ask for it without avocado, or if my veggie burger is slightly crisper than I’d like, I have to remember that they have dozens of customers lining up to order at any given time of day, and only a few people working in the truck. Their food is consistently phenomenal, and they’re such a friendly bunch of people!
The food is delicious; the veggie burger is my favorite in the whole city, especially because they top it off with cabbage alongside the lettuce and tomato. It’s a stroke of genius, in my opinion — the extra crunch elevates the whole burger. I enjoy their spicy mayo on everything. The vegetarian curry they occasionally have is pretty delicious; I love the flavor of the sweet potatoes. I’d like to try the tilapia over rice sometime, and my coworkers think that their breakfast specials are phenomenal (although I can’t eat any of their current specials).
I’d also like to reiterate how friendly the staff are at Cucina. Seriously nice folks.
Be aware that there is a good chance that you’ll be waiting for half an hour or longer for your food. If you don’t have that kind of time for lunch, don’t come here and feel insulted when your food takes longer than you intended to wait. They’re working their butts off. Additionally, they DO NOT take cards. I mentioned this in the survey, but I think it’s important to note here, too.

Yo, this is literally one of the best things about going to Drexel. This place always has a line but it is so worth it. Zapata (for short) is a Thai-​Mexican hybrid destination that you need to add to your list if you are in Philly during the week. They are open from 11:30 ish to about 4ish — it fluctuates depending on their schedule — and are right behind Drexel’s Main Building.
As a vegetarian, I always would get the veggie burger. DAMN it’s the best veggie burger in the city by far. It has cabbage, avocado, and some spicy mayo on top of a homemade patty that’s just bursting with flavor. I seriously love it (and miss it now that I work outside the city). Occasionally they have some specials that are vegetarian like their fried avocado balls (SO GOOD) and a specialty pineapple veggie burger (not as good as the original tbh).
If you have a chance, get yourself to Cucina Zapata!

Can you say YUM!!!
I have had Cucina Zapata bookmarked for some time now, but I finally made the trek to Drexel to grab the famous tilapia burrito last Friday. We made the mistake of going right during lunch time, but despite the busyness, our food was ready in about 10 minutes.
I loved my tilapia burrito — perfectly cooked, perfectly crusted, and tons of flavor bursting with every bite. I wouldn’t say that this was a fancy burrito per se, but for $ 6 it was delicioso in my tummy. I’d love to return soon for some of their tacos!
One tip is that they’re parked on Ludlow, which is under the bridge in this area. Be sure to turn onto Ludlow from Market (not Chestnut) if you are driving or else you’d be very confused.

Right now, they’re experimenting with the menu, so it’s a cheesesteak quesedilla, a pineapple/​rotissarie chicken quesadillia, their famous Cap’n Crunch Burrito, and a veggie thing (sorry, my eyes were on the Burrito!) for now. At six bucks a piece, you can’t lose!
(BTW, one of the guys is experimenting with deep fried dried long hot peppers. If you like hot, you like crunch, these can be addictive. There’s not a lot right now, because it’s time intensive to get them dried just right. Try them while you can!)

I came across Cucina Zapata while wandering about Drexel’s campus one summer afternoon before class. The Asian-​Mexican fusion piqued my curiosity, and I decided to stop by. I almost forgot that it was a cash-​only truck, but luckily another truck down the street has an ATM (with a small fee.
The truck is colorful and stands out in the line of trucks tucked into the small alleyway by 31^st and Ludlow, and their menu is simple but caters to a variety of customers, meat-​lovers and vegetarians alike. The people working at the truck were incredibly friendly and paid attention to detail. They took my name for my order, but have remembered my name since then. It’s a small, but incredibly nice personal touch.
During my visits here, I’ve gotten the short rib tacos, the chicken satay tacos, the Cap’n Crunch tilapia burrito, and their Thai iced tea. The tortillas were nice, soft, and held my tacos together nicely, and the two types that I’ve sampled thus far are topped with fresh-​sliced avocado, crispy red cabbage, and fresh lettuce. While these two tacos are flavorful, the Cap’n Crunch tilapia burrito takes the cake. While it seems strange to use cereal as a breading, the fish is crisp, served on a nice bed of red cabbage, lettuce, tomato, and topped with Sriracha mayo. All the flavors blend well, and the Sriracha mayo adds a nice kick to all the fresh flavors. The thai tea is a great refreshing way to wash down the rest of your meal.
Overall, Cucina Zapata is definitely one of the most flavorful food trucks on Drexel’s campus. Be sure to stop by soon, or they might run out of your favorites by the end of the day!

Among the food trucks at Drexel University, Cucina Zapata is definitely in my top 3 favorite trucks on campus. What I like about the food trucks at Drexel is that they are priced to not interfere with students’ tight food budget. They are priced not high or low, but definitely cheaper than a lot food vendors that is owned by the school or neighboring stores like Shake Shack, Cozara, and etc. Another thing I like about Cucinas is the friendly staff, creativity, and uniqueness of the food they make for the customers.
Cucina Zapata features a fusion of Thai and Mexican, such as tacos, burrito, katsu, bubble tea, and much more. The first I recommend is the satay chicken soft tacos (1 for $ 3, 2 for $ 6, 3 for $ 8) because I know they can get me full. The lettuce, the peanut sauce, spicy mayo, chicken, and the soft taco; the combination is amazing and the taste when it enters in your mouth is so satisfying. The second thing I would recommend is the Captain Crunch Tilapia Burrito. I know right. just the name of the food gives you wonder and joy. The tilapia’s crunchy coat (Captain Crunch cereal) is the key and what makes this burrito delicious. The third thing is the Chicken Katsu. For just $ 6, this dish is packed with so much flavor: spicy mayo and siracha. This is definitely a must get!
On top of this, the tea here is a bit better than other popular locations, such as Tea Do and Kung Fu Tea. I love the homemade thai tea or taro tea and definitely recommend others to get this if you love this curiously orange colored tea with bubbles. After ordering these food that Cucina offers, not only it tasted so good consistently, but also I was able to tell about the creativity: it’s Cucina’s strong suit.
There are so many food trucks on campus, but Cucina Zapata is no doubt my top three most favorite food truck at Drexel University campus.

Four words. CAPTAIN CRUNCH TILAPIA BURRITO. I was a little skeptical at first, but it lived up to every raving review. The staff is really friendly, and they are willing to correct the order if there is a mistake (despite how busy they are).
The line is usually pretty long, but it moves relatively fast, and it’s totally worth it!

I had the Cap’n Crunch Tilapia Burrito (with hot sauce) and the Taro Milk Tea.
I really liked the burrito! It was filling, the ingredients made a good match and it was hot.
The Taro Milk Tea was perfect too. Not too sweet but sweet enough to taste refreshing!
And most especially, the guys in the truck are the best — super nice and had a good time conversing with them.

Fabulous! Great food, friendly family staff and a short 5min walk from the train station. This place is everything that is right with gourmet food trucks. A whole line of trucks on this street but only one with a line which tells the whole story. I had chicken satay tacos and Mac and cheese avocado fritters. Without doubt both were the best Thai/​Mexican food I’ve had.
I’m a long time Unilocal user but this is the first time I’ve felt strongly enough to take the time to write a review. Check it out!

I almost hate to write too glowing of a review for this place because I worry people will discover it and the lines will become ridiculous! But it’s really too good not to share. A friend and I stumbled across this place one day and it’s now become our go-​to. Whatever you do, GET THE TILAPIA BURRTO. Don’t let the captain crunch scare you because somehow it works. The short rib tacos sell out if you arrive too late in the day, but I actually prefer the chicken anyway. And the curry is sweet, savory, and piping hot. The katsu is probably my least favorite thing on the menu, and I even love that. Everything from the tortilla to the rice, and even the garnishes and sauces at this place are perfectly made and balanced. DEFINITELY worth a visit!

My friend and I arrived about 10 min before opening on a weekday, and there was already a line of people pre-​ordering. Then when the truck officially opened at noon, two lines formed: one receiving new orders and the other calling out names whose foods were ready. We ordered chicken satay tacos, cap’n crunch burrito, and mango tea. I would’ve loooooved to try the short ribs taco but they didn’t serve them for that day for some reason. They were all delicious! The foods all looked delectable too, with all the different colors. Honestly I have never seen so many people wait in line for food truck to open. Great food, fast service, friendly people, and affordable. Definitely recommend it

First recommendation is to go during class times (if you don’t have class obviously haha) because let’s say class ends around 12:50 and starts again at 1:00 those ten minutes are going to be the MOST crowded!
My vegetarians! Try the veggie burger and make it spicy! You can also make the veggie burger into veggie soft tacos which are less messy but just as yummy. This meal is healthy, cheap and worth every penny!
Also try the Thai ice tea! (No love that they have bendy straws haha). So delicious
Enjoy and cheers!

My Cucina Zapata withdraw was severe after they closed for the winter break. I was so stoked to go back and get my favorite Sweet Potato Curry.
I wanted to prepare the cash payment AFTER ordering. Then I came to realize that MY WALLET WAS LEFT AT HOME. The embarrassment to tell them that to hold off my order because that situation was real!
The master cook Nico of the truck said that «no worries, just pay us back next time». As they knew that I was a regular and loyal customer.
This is the exceptional service that keeps bringing their customers back!

Best food truck hands down. I’ve been here twice and both times I ordered the Cap’n crunch burrito — spicy. Words can’t even describe how tasty this is. The Thai tea is also amazing. I want to try the tacos next time I’m here.
Their prices are very reasonable for a gourmet food truck.

Fish burrito= amazing and filling. Huge crispy pieces of fish, some lettuce, tomato, avocado and spicy mayo, all for $ 6? Such a great deal. The avocado did get a bit lost in the rest of the ingredients though but I can forgive that.
Chicken satay tacos (3 for $ 8) were also good with an interesting fusion of flavors– sweet&savory. Thai iced tea ($ 2) was a tad too sweet but overall, tasty food at a good price!