How Much Will Olive Garden Charge Me Per Guest For A Birthday Party

School's (almost) out for the summer, which means calendars are about to begin filling up with graduation parties.

And one thing that separates the truly great graduation parties from the just-okay parties is the appearance of a food truck. Guests go crazy over a zany-looking, burger-slinging, empanada-frying, ice-cream-scooping truck rolling up to a graduation party.

Besides the curb appeal, many food trucks also offer something a bit tastier than Aunt Sarah's ambrosia salad or whatever's drying up over a caterer's hot plate.

As owner of Zoelily Empanadas food truck Rafael Vargis said, "Having a food truck is better than just picking up food at the Olive Garden. We're making everything fresh."

Here are the food trucks in North Jersey and New York that will bring your graduation party to the next level.

Callahan's

Unless your party is full of vegetarians, it's hard to go wrong with Callahan's food truck. According to owner Danny DeMiglio, his food truck caters three to four graduation parties a week in June, July and August. Why is his bright yellow truck so popular? (It won 201 Magazine's Best of Bergen best food truck for the past five years.) Callahan's offers deep fried hot dogs with that satisfying snap, smothered in toppings including sauerkraut, homemade chili and bacon. It also offers burgers, fries, chicken tenders, mac 'n cheese, sausage and peppers and chicken sandwiches. You can customize the menu to suit your party. Plus, Callahan's offers customized graduation shirts.

Book it: Rates range from $12 to $15 per person, plus rental rate; callahanshotdogs.com.

Zoelily Empanadas

Owner of Zoelily Empanadas Rafael Vargis assures you'll never get a soggy empanada from his food truck.

"Empanadas are like French fries," said Vargis. "They have a shelf life. People in the U.S. will leave their empanadas sitting in a hot box for hours before selling them. They become a soggy mess."

His high empanada standards comes from his Colombian mother, who boycotted buying empanadas after she moved to the U.S. because they didn't live up to her expectations. He makes his empanadas to order -- no time for empanadas to lounge around.

Zoelily Empanadas sells empanadas made with his mom's techniques in flavors such as beef; chicken; Philly cheesesteak; veggie ricotta; Southwest tofu; and dessert empanadas with plantain, guava and cheese. Or go for a traditional Colombian empanada made with yellow corn dough. FYI: choripapas and salchipapas are also available.

Book it: Charge $150 per hour per hour, plus the price of the empanadas. Guests given three empanadas per person; zoelilyempanadas.com.

Dark Side of the Moo

Dark Side of the Moo offers a veritable zoo of meats inside its shiny yellow food truck — everything from kangaroo to elk to alligator. Owner Tyrone Green crossed over to the "dark side" when he began wondering why beef and pork were the mainstays of most restaurants. So, he began substituting in different meats. Take, for example, the Cajun smoked alligator sausage with grilled peppers, onions and chipotle mayo; or the "Lamburghini" lamb burger with mint, parsley and garlic, and topped with olives, tzatziki and feta.

This truck will pique the interest of more adventurous eaters at your party, but also offers simpler dishes, like the "Guac-zilla," a beef burger with pepper jack cheese, wasabi mayo, smoked bacon and guacamole.

Book it: Rates start at $1,000 (which feeds from 40 to 70 guests) but change depending on the date, time, location and how many exotic dishes you pick to be served; themoofoodtruck.com.

Milk, Sugar, Love

If you're looking for an upgrade from Mr. Softee, we recommend booking the Milk, Sugar, Love food truck. Based in Jersey City, Milk, Sugar, Love makes its ice cream with organic milk and cream from cows who haven't been treated with hormones or antibiotics. Its food truck will bring its classic flavors — vanilla bean, chocolate, salted caramel, lemon olive oil, midnight cocoa and strawberry — to your party for two hours, along with cups, cones, paper goods and two "scooping specialists" to dole out the ice cream. Milk, Sugar, Love also boasts an eco-friendly, generator-free truck that makes no noise and requires no electricity.

Book it: Minimum guest count is 100. Inquire for prices at milksugarlove.com.

Who Cut the Cheese Lady

Many food trucks take classic comfort foods and elevate them to satisfying, borderline gourmet meals. Such is the case with the food truck Who Cut the Cheese Lady. It's not your average Kraft single in between slices of Wonder Bread. Guests at your party can choose from options including "Parti With Harvati" with harvati cheese, roasted balsamic peppers, portobello mushrooms and a roasted garlic spread; "Kikin' Chicken" with pulled buffalo chicken, Monterey Jack cheese and a creamy blue cheese spread; and the "Triple B" with a burger, bacon, BBQ sauce and American cheese. Top it off with some of Who Cut The Cheese Lady's signature seasoned fries.

Book it: Inquire for prices at whocutthecheeselady.com/?fbclid=IwAR0hKG7R2iktfdfJMkvS--Fv2MYsIAMptCdGJOWSEvJM4Jl-waVoQ7vuN-o.

Abeetz Pizza Truck

How do two hours of unlimited wood-fired pizza and soft drinks sound? That's one of the party packages put together by Abeetz Pizza Truck where the motto is "All you need is love … and pizza." Owner Dave D'Amico built his pizza truck with the vision of private parties in mind versus vending on the street, which means it's easy to book something to meet your needs.

Among the offerings: hot dogs wrapped in pizza dough for appetizers and cannoli pizzas and cast-iron cinnamon rolls for dessert. D'Amico even puts pizzas on a table, buffet style, to make it easier for guests to pick and choose what they want. For him, it's all about catering to customers' wants and needs. That includes making fresh bagels from his pizza dough or including non-pizza items like zeppoles, Italian ices, rice balls and crabcakes. Kids can even climb aboard the truck for photos. Said D'Amico: "We bring the entertainment to your driveway."

Book it:Pricing starts around $30 a person depending on which package they choose. abeetzny.com.

Burger Truck

Yes, the name is Burger Truck but there are other things you can get besides burgers – think falafel and fried chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, mac 'n' cheese, grilled cheese, chili, wings and fries. Owner George Kringas, who rolled out this truck in March, also owns Niko's Greek Taverna in White Plains and The Souvlaki Truck on Central Avenue in Yonkers and so far has been getting rave reviews for both his Truck Burger (six-ounce burger blend with cheese, toasted bun, onion, pickle, lettuce, tomato, special sauce) and smoked cherry wings.

Book it: For parties, customers can pick and choose from the menu for a set price per person, which is $15 per person. ruck rental fee which varies depending on the size of the party; truck fee can be from $150-$500. Contact: 914-505-0305 or burgertruckny.com.

Tuxedo Creamery

The family that makes ice cream together in a food truck.... spends a lot of time together. That was the motive for this family-owned enterprise that makes its own ice cream, cones and waffles. They also make several ridiculously delicious non-dairy flavors, thanks to owner Mike Baird's allergy to milk. While Tuxedo Creamery's products are made from ingredients that are as high quality as possible (they source from 12-15 different suppliers, which means their version of mint chocolate chip gets its flavor from peppermint leaves and oil rather than green dye).

Michele Gallagher of Tuxedo hired Tuxedo Creamery for her son's high school graduation party last summer. "Their homemade ice cream is delicious and they have a wonderful array of flavors to choose from," she says.(For adult parties, the Bairds offer boozy versions such as drunken cherry, sangria and rum raisin.)

Book it:The New Jersey-basedTuxedo Creamery is available for private parties, starting at $5.25 per person. They travel throughout New Jersey, Rockland and Orange Counties in New York. Contact them at tuxedocreamery@gmail.com, or find them on social media @tuxedocreamery.

The Foodie Bus

No doubt the kids don't want to see another school bus – school's almost over after all -- but this is a reconfigured vehicle that's basically a rustic restaurant on wheels. Longtime personal chef Jen Cook who in her previous life provided food to movie sets and high-profile clients such as Keith Richards, Keanu Reeves and Martin Scorsese, had the bus retrofitted for dining, adding rustic beams and room for a long, wood table for eight. She added a tin roof, installed a bathroom, added vintage decor and a 12-foot-long bar big enough for people to gather around. Cook, who can do any kind of menu (she recently catered an all vegan meal) can accommodate eight inside or do as large as 40 outside. Because the bus is mobile, she has access to Croton Point Park, Lyndhurst in Tarrytown and Fable Farm in Ossining.

Book it:A private party of 8 inside the bus is a minimum of $500 for the bus and, in addition, depending on how many courses, prices range from $90-$150 per person. For larger parties of up to 40 guests, it's $1000 for the bus and depending on the choice of menu, $25-$50 per person. thefoodiebus.com.

Additional reporting by Jeanne Muchnick.