food carts and thoughts around campus...

Other than the loquacious 'hippie' couple selling wraps, the absence of food carts in and around the VCU main campus has been rather perplexing to me (I noticed recently that there was another guy selling kebabs - need to visit). I've always thought of food carts as a bit of a mainstay around campuses - academic and corporate. Quite a few of the major universities in urban areas have pretty decent cart options. A couple that immediately spring to mind are those around Cambridge, MA and UPenn.
There are a couple of good choices near MCV - in particular, the delightful old Indian lady selling some fairly good food at extremely reasonable prices. With such a large number of students presumably seeking cheap food options, I would have thought there would be more choices in and around Monroe Park.
Does the student and/or staff population at VCU not provide a good business opportunity? Does every student have a meal plan? I really wonder if there is some complex reason for this absence..

On a similar note, I've been quite surprised by the lack of good ethnic places in and around VCU (yes, in retrospect, options do exist....but....). Given the large international student body at VCU, this is also puzzling. One feature of so many university areas is the ubiquitous Chinese buffet. I guess there may be one in Richmond. Its only odd that its nowhere near the university ! Till Ruchee opened a few months ago, there wasnt any Indian place around. The couple of "middle eastern" places looked quite sketchy the couple of times I dared to venture there. And students from these three areas constitute a fairly decent percentage of VCU students.
I guess Nile would be a great place to visit but we've always been doubtful of the "time in/out" (a review will follow. Nile was great the couple of dinners I've had there). A couple of others - Saigon and the Korean place (Mom's kitchen) are a bit off the beaten track. Speaking of the latter, I've liked the bibim bap I had, although the kimchee didnt taste very fresh the two times I've eaten there.

I will probably get down to writing more about the other places around VCU eventually. But I had to ponder ....