Years ago, when I was a student at Brown University, there were two late-night dining alternatives: Taco Maker and The Silver Truck. Taco Maker’s food — I use the term loosely — was way better than the truck’s, but it was a ten minute walk away, while The Silver Truck parked mere steps from my dorm. As such, on nights when I was up late and ravenous — from like, studying — I’d hand my dollar bills up to the guy in the truck in exchange for their greasy fries and oily grilled cheese sandwiches.

My husband — we went to college together but didn’t meet till later — remembers it differently. “Their fried egg sandwiches were delicious!” He doesn’t even like fried eggs. But I guess if you’re studying really hard and really late, anything takes good.

Anyway. Here we are in 2011, and food trucks are all the rage, the perfect recession cuisine. Several local restaurants have closed up shop and moved their operations to the road. There’s even a food network show called The Great Food Truck Race. (I almost snarked about wishing I had the kind of time to watch a show about food trucks — but then conceded that I’d open up some hours if I cleared “Millionaire Matchmaker” from my list of must-watch programs.)

This Tuesday I decided to find out what all the fuss is about when I attended Fullerton’s weekly Epic Dinner (which sounds way better than “a bunch of food trucks in a parking lot”). First stop: The Lime Truck, which has to be good because it is on The Great Food Truck Race, and nothing says “guaranteed quality” like reality TV. (Can somebody PLEASE explain to me why Kim Kardashian is famous?)

Snarkiness aside, the Lime Truck has a lamb sandwich (which goes by a more creative name) that is nothing short of EPIC. (Note: I have never used the word “epic” before, and as it felt forced, I will not use it again.) The meat was incredibly tender, the pita was fluffy, and the sauce was tasty.

We also tried the taco trio (chicken, steak, pork) from a Filipino fusion stop called The Pogi Boy Truck. All were good, but the crispy pork was the only one that I’d classify as epic. (Yes, I’ve slipped already. But saying epic just makes me feel . . . young.) At the Pogi Boy Truck, my daughter ordered a cheeseburger on French toast. You heard me. She thought it was a bit much, but I suspect “a bit much” is the whole point.

My son, who’s not a real adventurous eater, went to one of the few non-specialty trucks and got a regular cheeseburger. It tasted like a cheeseburger.

All in all, I’d give the dinner high points for food and low points for ambiance: we sat on folding chairs next to our car and ate off our laps. But the food ranged from good to outstanding, it was cheap (or cheap-ish), and I didn’t have to cook. So I think we’ll be back.

Food Trucks in Fullerton:

Tuesdays: Epic Dinner, 2949 Brea Blvd.

Thursdays: FCLO, 218 West Commonwealth

Fridays: Best Buy parking lot (corner Harbor & Imperial)