What the Truck?! BBQ Bus!

From Katie Andriulli. Email her at katie[AT]borderstan.com and follow her on Twitter @kandriulli.

This week’s truck of choice is the BBQ Bus!

Food Selection and Price

I know it’s super hard to glean from the truck’s name, but the BBQ Bus does, in fact, sell BBQ… freshly smoked BBQ to be exact. You can get it in a few forms: pulled pork, beef brisket, and pulled chicken (in sandwiches or platters), or, if you prefer to give the finger (symbolically) to your salad-eating coworkers, spring for the full-on plate of pork ribs.

Although the meats are obviously the main event here, the sides are, dare I say it, even better than the headliner. Baked beans, slaw, black bean salad and roasted corn are featured daily, along with rotating specials. The day I went they were offering mashed potatoes with bacon, which… yes, please, always.

And, bonus! You can buy all of their meats by the pound, as well as larger portions of their sides if you want to take some home for dinner (or if you just have a lunch death wish).

Price range: Sandwiches are $9 to $9.50 plus tax, and combo plates range from $10 to $15 plus tax.

The Verdict!

How did BBQ Bus! do on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 the best?

• Wait time: 5/5. We arrived at peak lunch hour, and there was a handful of people ahead of us in line. We only waited about a minute to place our order, and then only another 5 minutes after that to have the food in hand. A total wait time of less than 6 minutes was greatly appreciated by this starving carnivore and her friends.
• Service: 5/5. Friendly and patient enough to answer dumb questions from me about their BBQ sauce (they put some on the sandwich, but have extra on the side if you like it sloppy). And, they take credit cards, so nothing to complain about here.
• Bang for your buck: 4/5. Combo plates (choice of meat(s), slaw, beans and bread) will run you from $10 to 15 dollars depending on how many meats you choose, and sandwich plates, which include your choice of side, are $9 for pork or chicken, and $9.50 for beef brisket. Possibly a bit pricier than some trucks, but make no mistake: these dudes give you a LOT of meat. Like, full two sandwiches worth… which means that you could easily split one with a friend and get away with spending 4 to 6 bucks on an filling lunch. Not too shabby
• Deliciousness: 5/5. I ordered the pulled pork BBQ sandwich with a side of baked beans, and my friends both went for the brisket sandwich with mashed potatoes and corn. Now, I am from New England and not by any means a BBQ expert y’all but let me just say… holy moly, it was good. The meat was tender and seasoned perfectly, the bun was soft, and the sauce itself (also homemade) was fantastic… I just wish I’d added more of it to my sandwich (check yours before you walk away to make sure it’s sauced enough for your liking). The sides I sampled, including the beans and potatoes, were insane in the brain. Huge… I mean HUGE pieces of delicious bacon in the potatoes and a zingy baked bean sauce left nothing to be desired. In all honestly, it was pretty disturbing/impressive how quickly my coworkers and I dispatched with our sandwiches. My only complaint (and I really had to dig deep to find something to complain about here) is that the crispy slaw on the sandwich was not really as coleslaw-ish as I had hoped, but rather more of a pickled veggie kind of thing. Still good, but if you’re looking for a creamier version, prepare yourself accordingly.
• Overall: 5/5. BBQ Bus is quickly becoming one of my favorite trucks, much to the dismay of my waistline.

Follow the BBQ Bus on Twitter @bbqbusdc and check out their website for their full menu and weekly schedule.

Truck you’re too scared to try? E-mail me at katie[AT]borderstan.com and and let me know!

Get an RSS Feed for all Borderstan stories or subscribe to Borderstan’s daily email newsletter.