Every Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Chicken & Rice Guys are parked at 2 Blackfan Circle for the Longwood Medical Area’s winter food truck series. On Jan. 14 and Jan. 29, there were two new additions to the annual series — Lordya Gourmet on Tuesdays and Tandoor and Curry on Wednesdays.
Claudia LaFontaine, an urban planner and designer at the Longwood Collective, a nonprofit organization that provides services and programs for Boston’s Longwood Medical and Academic Area, manages its outside placemaking program. The program aims to create vibrant public spaces out of underutilized walkways and plazas. The food truck series has been a part of her programming since 2019. The idea began because of a lack of lunchtime options around the district, and this year’s series marks the first time the program has expanded into the winter season.
“Its main goal is to foster a sense of community and moments of joy for the employees and patients in the area,” LaFontaine said. “We challenged ourselves to support our member institutions and activate outdoor spaces. Instead of having just cafeterias or lunchrooms, now we have these outdoor spaces that can act as community places.”
The Longwood Collective has 22 member institutions and the outside program is sponsored by five of them, including Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Katherine Thomas, communications and digital media coordinator at Longwood Collective, said that these institutions advertise the food trucks to their employees.
LaFontaine highlighted that the food trucks were fan favorites and benefited both the residents of Longwood and the food truck owners.
This rings true for the Haitian food truck Lordya Gourmet, which recently added Longwood to its list of stops. Since Jan. 14, the food truck has delivered the taste of authentic Haitian food to local residents and workers.
Although Lordya Gourmet officially started doing business in June 2023, the owner, Marie Saint-Jean, conceptualized the idea long before. Throughout her high school and early college years, Saint-Jean felt disappointed with Haitian restaurants in Boston. She came to the U.S. when she was 15 years old and wanted to share her culture with her new home.
“I would go out sometimes to get Haitian food and most of the places that I go to, I wasn’t satisfied with what I was getting, because I know our food — Haitian food — is tasty and it’s beautiful. So I said, I think we can do better than that,” Saint-Jean said.
Saint-Jean registered her business in 2021 while attending the University of Massachusetts Boston and obtained her truck in 2022. She talked about the hardships she faced, from the difficulties of keeping a commercial kitchen to the lack of Haitians in the food truck community. However, with support from her family, the truck finally opened its doors to the city of Boston.
“It is a passion turned into a money-making machine,” Saint-Jean said. “But it’s not only about making the money, it’s about selling your culture the right way.”
She emphasized the food truck’s goal of keeping the food traditional and tasty. They make an effort to incorporate ingredients used in Haiti, like garlic and clove, to ensure the most authentic experience possible. Lordya Gourmet’s menu has expanded since its beginnings — on top of chicken, pork and fish, it now serves fried turkey and goat. All the food is cooked by Saint-Jean and her family members, notably her mother. Saint-Jean’s homestyle cooking has attracted many new customers who are interested in trying Haitian cuisine.
“This is my first time here at this food truck. I found out about it by seeing it on the street,” said Nate Hodgson, a research scientist at Boston Children’s Hospital who had not tried the food yet. “It’s great. Very friendly staff, nice — we’ll see about the food.”
“I could see the food truck out the window, it’s got colors,” said Mattie Mitcheltree, a chemist who works in the area. “Boston has a large Haitian immigrant community; I live in the little DR [Dominican Republic] neighborhood of Egleston Square, so I’m just trying to explore the food and have lunch. I was most interested in what griot is since I’ve never heard of it, so I’m experimenting a little bit.”
This year, Tandoor and Curry joined the food truck series, bringing the residents of Longwood traditional Indian cuisine with a modern twist.
Tandoor and Curry on Wheels started as a singular food truck in Boston owned by Jaswant Singh back in 2017. The business has since expanded to two food trucks and a take-out restaurant. Though the food trucks visit various areas, the one that visits 2 Blackfan Circle is mainly operated by Sukhi Singh, Jaswant Singh’s son.
“We’re trying to make the food as traditional as possible and be more connected with the Indian community, so we do events with temples and stay connected with the community,” Sukhi Singh said. “We have traditional recipes but we also add a little [of our own twist] to it.”
The truck had a large TV on its side playing Bollywood videos, piquing the interest of prospective customers.
“I ordered a chicken biryani and they gave me a samosa for free — I really enjoyed both of them,” said Neil Sinclair, a systems support engineer who lives just outside of Boston. “The people were friendly and when I first came up to the food truck, I saw the TV showing some sort of Indian music video, so I thought that was authentic.”
Tandoor and Curry changes dishes every few months to keep it exciting for customers, Sukhi Singh said. Its menu is largely inspired by North Indian spices like cinnamon and cumin seeds. Some of its most popular menu items include chicken tikka masala and kati rolls.
“These guys let you sample a lot of their food before you make a purchase, so I actually fell in love with a lot of the things on this menu,” said Isom Graddy, a traffic controller at Boston Children’s Hospital. “Not only do you get good food, you get to learn what the food is, where it comes from, what it tastes like, the ingredients they put in — you learn more than just eating it.”
Sukhi Singh said his father taught him and his brother everything they know.
“It’s mostly family tradition. My father’s been a chef for over 30 years,” Sukhi Singh said. “When me and my brother were younger, he would be cooking all the time. He kind of wanted to slow down because he didn’t want to be at the restaurant 12, 14 hours a day, so that’s how we got the concept of doing food trucks.”
Lordya Gourmet and Tandoor and Curry bring diverse and authentic flavors to the winter food truck series, and there is no doubt that these trucks will continue to reach their customers — both old and new — at 2 Blackfan Circle.
