In Love with Lizzie’s
The Cuban, The Shroom, The Mighty Mouth, The Artichoke Thing, The Rec, The UConnic — everyone’s got a Curbside go-to.
Lizzie with the third iteration of her hot dog cart, circa 1996.
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Searing greets Teangeley Centeno ’28 (CLAS) and Juve Perez ’28 (ENG) as they walk up to the window of her stainless-steel food truck not by asking for their food order but by asking how their spring break in Puerto Rico went.
“It was great! But we missed your food,” Teangeley says.
The couple has been going to Lizzie’s Curbside every morning since their first visit their first year at UConn when they ordered The Mighty Mouth — a breakfast sandwich that layers bacon, ham, and sausage with egg and cheese.
“We discovered it freshman year, and we just started binge eating it, and then we just couldn’t stop,” Centeno says.
She and Perez have gotten to know proprietors Lizzie and her husband, Joie, well. Someday they hope to have Lizzie cater their wedding.
On this frosty day in mid-March following two massive snowstorms, the Searings have just returned to campus after their annual winter break in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Lizzie leans out the front window of her truck, taking orders in a black button-up chef’s shirt embroidered with “Lizzie.” Her hair in a messy ponytail, she moves around the truck quickly, talking to customers as she works. Her 6-year-old golden retriever, Melo, sits across the road on a grassy hill, luring customers for head scratches.
After some three decades parked on Whitney Road, construction forced temporary relocation last year to Fairfield Way. From her new spot near Hawley Armory, Lizzie greets customers, many by name.
“UConn is my home. It’s my family,” she says. “I know a lot of people, and I don’t know what I would do if I wasn’t here.”
This February marked 35 years of serving Husky Nation. Just 27 years old and a newlywed when she and Joie moved to the area, Lizzie began contemplating a suggestion from a former boss: Open a hot dog cart on the UConn campus — it will get a lot of business. That’s how she found herself in Storrs on February 1, 1991, shivering and serving hot dogs on the sidewalk by Mirror Lake. “I had my hot dog wagon, which had a steam table and a coffee urn, and that was it. I stood on the ground out in the elements, out in the cold,” she recalls.
From that $100 day, her business grew. “People found out about me by word of mouth. The menu was a lot more limited. I served coffee, soups, premade sandwiches, and had a cooler. ... People would slowly come out of Monteith and Arjona and stop by, and they liked it,” Lizzie says.
Over time, Lizzie expanded her menu and eventually bought a full-size food truck that Joie refurbished. That gave her a griddle to make her now-beloved burgers and breakfast sandwiches. Today’s truck is her fourth and largest.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, Joie started working with her full-time at the truck. “We spend all of our time together. We’re best friends. Do we get on each other’s nerves? Of course!” she says, laughing. “But I always win.”
Some of Lizzie’s most iconic and popular menu items include The Shroom breakfast sandwich, with egg, Swiss cheese, mushrooms, and her famous Dill Scallion Sauce, and The Husky Burger topped with bacon, smoked mozzarella, lettuce, tomato, and pesto mayo.
Yearned-for daily specials include The Artichoke Thing, which got its name when a customer asked, “When are you going to make that artichoke thing again?”
The Alaina, a veggie burger with Swiss cheese, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, and Dill Scallion Sauce, is named for food truck regular and Human Development and Family Sciences professor Alaina Brenick.
Lizzie’s customer connections now include the children of UConn alums who frequented Lizzie’s decades ago. She never thought she’d still be here.
“People say I’m like an institution on campus because, you know, 35 years is a long time. ... I’ve seen people come. I’ve seen people go. I’ve seen their kids grow up. I’ve been doing it half of my life,” she says.
By Gianni Salisbury ’26 (CLAS)
Photos by Peter Morenus
Recipes
The Artichoke Thing
Serves 2
Inspired by the classic spinach and artichoke dip often served in a bread bowl, this is a popular item on Lizzie’s specials menu.
Ingredients
- 1 14-ounce can or jar artichoke hearts, drained (about 1½ cups)
- ½ cup onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon Hellmann’s mayonnaise (more if needed for texture)
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- ¼ cup Progresso Italian breadcrumbs (more if needed for thickness)
- 2 pitas, warmed
- ½ cup shredded lettuce
- 2 slices tomato, quartered
To assemble:
Place artichokes, onion, and mayonnaise in a food processor and blend until smooth. If the mixture is still chunky, add a little more mayo to smooth it out. Add the cheese and breadcrumbs and pulse until the mixture reaches a thick, hummus-like texture. If the mixture is too thin, add more breadcrumbs. Spoon into a bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours so the mixture sets and the breadcrumbs expand. Wrap in the warm pitas with lettuce and tomato.
The Bacon, Egg, and Cheese and The Shroom
Serves 1
The basic breakfast sandwich (shown below) and its Shroom riff (shown above) may be the most perpetually popular of Lizzie’s menu items.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces Hellmann’s mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon scallion, finely chopped
- 1 extra-large egg
- (1 mushroom, sliced)
- 1–2 slices Swiss cheese
- 1 Kaiser roll or hamburger bun, split and toasted until golden
For the Dill Scallion Sauce:
Mix together the mayonnaise, dill, and scallions until fully combined.
For the basic filling (and The Shroom variation):
Crack the egg into a nonstick pan and cook over medium heat until it begins to set. (Cover with sliced mushrooms and continue cooking.) Once the egg (and mushrooms) is mostly cooked, place cheese on top and let it melt slightly.
To assemble:
Spread Dill Scallion Sauce on each half of the toasted roll or bun. Place the egg mixture on one half, and cover with the other half.
The Cuban
Serves 1
Inspired by the classic Cuban so popular in Miami, where Lizzie is from. “Mine is better!” she says.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder or “butt” cut
- 1 24-ounce bottle Mojo Criollo (see note)
- 2 thin slices deli ham
- 2 thin slices Swiss cheese
- 2 slices Cuban bread (see note) or a sandwich roll, toasted
- 1–2 teaspoons Dill Scallion Sauce (see recipe on previous)
- 1–2 teaspoons yellow mustard
- 3–4 dill pickle slices
- 1 teaspoon butter
Note: Cuban bread, or pan Cubano, is sold in many grocery stores and Latin-style bakeries. Mojo Criollo marinade by Goya and others is sold in most grocery stores.
For the Mojo Criollo pork:
Coat the pork with the Mojo Criollo marinade. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for about 2 hours. Cook in a slow cooker for 1 hour on high and about 8 hours more on low (until a meat thermometer registers an internal temperature of 195–200 degrees). Cool slightly and slice into thin pieces. Keep refrigerated.
To assemble:
Layer two thin slices each of pork, ham, and Swiss cheese on a plate or piece of aluminum foil and warm in an oven or toaster oven.
Spread Dill Scallion Sauce on each half of the toasted bread or roll. Place the meat and cheese layers, mustard, and pickles on the toasted bread or roll. Melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the sandwich over medium heat for about 5 minutes per side until golden brown.