I had a glorious weekend in the San Francisco bay area and also had some tasty meals. Foodie Frontier weekender addition coming soon!
Today is Monday- can't say it's my favorite day of the week. But today it wasn't so bad. I regrettably arrived at work a tad bit on the tardy side because of my flight but made it nonetheless. I didn't realize that being a little late would make lunch time come sooner so once 12:30p rolled around, I was golden. Unfortunately, Chris is seeing the doctor today (feel better, man) so I went on this mission alone.
On Thursday, my vegetarian friend asked if the Buttermilk truck could make an appearance in the area. Thanks to my savvy way with words and twitter, I was able to confirm that they would be in my 'hood around 11:30a today! Hells yeah! Not only was Buttermilk in the neighborhood, but Barbie's Q also came out to play on the westside.
Those who know me are aware that if I can't smell barbecue before I can spot the venue, it's probably going to suck! Here's why: good bbq is smoked and cooked very slowly so if it's fresh, you can smell it from nearly a mile away. Well I'll be damned if I couldn't smell this 'cue from almost 2 blocks away, maybe more. Here in la, I swear by Phillip's bbq because you can smell it from afar, the sauce is perfect, and the rib tips are meaty & tender. If you're from the midwest, you probably prefer a vinegar based sauce, while the south and now even the west gravitate to more of a molasses based sauce. This truck, seemed to be a cross of the two. Let's start with the breakfast themed truck first though, shall we.
So I place my order at the bbq truck and then proceed to the end of the block to Buttermilk. The menu was fun, whimsical even! There were mini pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, Hawaiian bread french toast, breakfast sliders, house made donuts, the list goes on and on! I tried at least two thirds of the menu in an effort to get a fair idea of what's really going on with this truck. I must say I was looking forward to this truck more than most. The line was moderate (about 6 or 7 people) and the prices seemed reasonable enough. I began my order. Can you guys guess how this story will end?
To kill the suspense, they were pretty good if you're a pancake lover. A red velvet cupcake basically had a one night stand with some chocolate chips and a red velvet chocolate chip baby-pancake was born! My first bite deceived me a bit. It was like chocolate molten cake in the center because several chocolate chips laid there to rest before arriving at their final resting place in my belly. I'm not a chocolate fan so I can live without these but I'm very proud to say I tried them.
Next I went for the sliders. Any college student, or hungry junior high school kid probably has put this together before. It was just a Hawaiian roll with a fried egg (which tasted EXACTLY like the bits of egg that can be found in dollar Chinese food fried rice), cheese, grilled onions, and the meat I'd guess was Portuguese sausage. These were a waste of calories. Hardly tasty enough to sell.
Just as they are STARTING to disappoint, they take it all the way. Those french toast sticks, that were actually for my vegetarian friend, never showed up. I waited on the rest of my items after the red velvet hotcakes for about 15 minutes. One by one each item came out and then the fella on the truck jumps down and hands several people, including myself, red tickets. He apologized for the fryer breaking down. They cannot produce anymore french toast sticks. This was particularly aggravating because once again, the person who ordered directly in front of me stood nearby eating the very last order of french toast sticks. What sets these guys apart from the other dream crushers from previous lunches is they guaranteed a fresh oversized order for next Monday. That was sweet. The fella taking the orders was very nice and the food was priced pretty fairly. Overall, it was a disappointing trip to the truck, but not the worst experience I've had so far.
After the half hour I spent up the street at Buttermilk I had to swing back by Barbie's Q to grab my lunch from there. They were nice enough to keep it warm while I was away. I carried a BOX of bbq back to my office quite skeptically. I spent months before this blog scouring for good bbq. When in the east bay I was terribly unsuccessful. I tried Everett & Jones which is supposed to be top notch with about 4 locations within 10 miles. Another place called Looney's, and then T-Rex- all in the bay area. All were mediocre at best, some just plane 'ol nasty. So to be honest, I'm defeated on the bbq front. Until now! I must be right about the senses telling a story. I could smell the bbq and I could taste it! I ordered a sampler, which is chicken, pulled pork, and beef all on a french roll served with a side. I got baked beans. For only $8, I could afford to try a few other tasty treats and I did. I ordered 4 ribs also. They were only $2 each and if you ordered 3 or more, you get a free side. For this side, I tried the potato salad. So that was technically a separate meal. Not bad, eh? Because of all the horrible mac and cheese I've been having for lunch, I decided to give Barbie a shot at redemption on behalf of lunch trucks across the city. I ordered a side of it too.
The meat on the sandwich was tasty. I'm not crazy about the sauce, but that's just me being an overly tough critic. I'm sure it was tasty. It was neither Carolina nor Southern. It had the tang of the Carolinas plus the sweetness of the South. It was pretty good sauce. Normally, I don't even entertain 'sides' of potato salad. It's normally a club grocery store brand and disgusting. I'm really glad I tried this awesome salad made with red potatoes, fresh dill, yellow mustard, and love! It was well seasoned, the potatoes were cooked perfect, and I licked my lips and smacked them too when the tangy dill and creamy mayo hit the back of my tongue. Impressive. The beans were something to write home about also. Using 3 types of beans (kidney, black, and pintos), this side order was good enough to stand on it's own. They were full of flavor- brown sugar and other yummy seasonings could be detected- and good enough to finish the entire container. The mac and cheese was better than the last few but still not to my standards. In their defense it was cold since it was the last thing I tried and most mac and cheese is unappealing when it's cold. This mac and cheese is unique because jack cheese is the main event. Usually, something orange and sharp rules this dish like cheddar. So 3 points for cooking outside the box. I will try it again for dinner and get back to you with a fair assessment.
The meat... THE RIBS WERE YUMM-O! I was impressed with the color, the size, the texture, the flavor, and even the sauce. The sauce paired well with this super smoky pork rib. There was lots of meat on the bone, no fat. I could taste the smoke- and not just a capful of liquid smoke. This meat was clearly smoked in a smoker. I'm not sure how they managed to get the aroma and the freshness onto this truck but they did and I'm proud of them. I licked my fingers and said, "Mmmmmmm" at least 3 times.
Was this the best bbq I've ever had, no. Was it damn good to come from a freakin' lunch truck, darn skippy! This is quality bbq and deserves a tasting. They were friendly, fast, and affordable. For a sandwich with 3 meats, 3 sides, and about a quarter slab of pork ribs, I only paid $20. In the land of quality bbq that's reasonable. I'm glad I tried it and do, by all means, recommend it as todays' truck!
