The Rib Whip

Now THIS my friends are what wet brisket dreams are made of: http://bit.ly/1DabXEW.

A beautiful smoke ring encapsulating an incredibly moist center with a wondrous tender chew and a lovely smoky nuance. Perfect alone but with the soft, toasted sesame bun, robust bbq sauce, tangy housemade pickles, and crisp red onions...it was increasingly addicting with each mouthwatering bite.

BEST. BRISKET. SAMMIE. EVER.

Ummm, what 2015 Resolution? *shrugs*

OTHER NOTES:
*Under New Management.
*We had no intention of buying anything from The Rib Whip but I saw several customers return to the truck raving about the brisket sammie. Ok, SOLD!
*One of the better valued items at SoMa StrEat Food Park.
--The Rib Whip's $12 sammie was generously stuffed with thick, juicy cuts of brisket compared to meager $8 slider sized burgers at other trucks.
*Regularly at SoMa StrEat Food Park on Saturdays but do check their website for their current schedule.

Having spent my entire life living in coastal states, I'm no authority on Texas BBQ. However, I have visited Texas a few times and can tell when something is BBQ vs. "BBQ". Most brisket I've had tends to be Jewish deli style, so it's nice to have one with BBQ pit spices. They do a good job of capturing the smokey flavors while not drying out the meat.

Texas Brisket Sandwich: This was so delicious! Thin slices of brisket with a flavorful outer crust and tender inner meat. The fat inside was still intact (so not dry) and very tender (so not chewy). Came with some BBQ sauce by default despite there being 5 sauce choices in squeeze bottles on the side. The default flavoring worked, but I also enjoyed picking uncovered meat from the bottom side to dip into the other sauces. The bun was super soft; somehow they managed to get the manufactured white bread sponginess into an artisanal roll.

Mac & Cheese: Love the kinked shape. Flavorful sauce. Somehow I remember it being a tad creamier last time I had it.

Ah, I finally had the ribs at the elusive Rib Whip truck, which for my benefit, was at the Truck Stop on Mission between First and Fremont today. Following them online, I actually put it in my calendar to haul my derriere over there around 11AM. Alas, there was already a sizable queue waiting for the ribs and Kobe beef brisket, all of the worker drones on their mobile devices taking their turns to order. Truth be told, this was not my first brush with Rib Whip. Last month, Jamie W. and I came upon the truck on Third at Yerba Buena Gardens by sheer chance, but sadly we had just eaten at the disappointing Turtle Tower outpost on Sixth at Bryant.

Flash forward three weeks, and I am in the queue with my heart set on those namesake ribs. Even though I had to get back for a noon meeting, I went whole hog, you should pardon the expression, and ordered the $8 1/3 Slab Ribs, the $3 cup of Garlic Mashed Potatoes and the $4 cup of Crackin' Mac & Cheese. With a can of Diet Coke, my pigster's lunch came to a whopping $15.99 - but still, compared to Memphis Minnie's, a pretty good deal. I figured since they have a good ol' southern smoker onboard, the ribs would be tasty. They were but not as fall-off-the-bone fantastic as I was hoping they would be. I think the barbecue sauce that was ladled generously on top wasn't doing it for me (see photo). Just too sweet for my taste.

The garlic mashed potatoes were filled with chunky bits of cloves, but their creaminess made them a bit underwhelming (see photo). I guess I prefer lumps. Better was the mac n' cheese which had a nice spiciness to it with flecks of pepper thrown in for a nice kick (see photo). I just wished it was baked rather than the kind you stir in a saucepan. Needless to say, I was in desperate need of a towelette with all that barbecue sauce ready to pounce on my linen shirt. I barely dodged a splatter for my meeting, but my sticky fingers were a problem. Regardless, I would definitely come back to try the brisket if they don't run out.

FOOD - 3 stars...good eatin' but nothing that would get me into the fetal position
AMBIANCE - 3 stars...it's a truck alright
SERVICE - 3.5 stars...a crew of three pound out the food pretty quick all things considered
TOTAL - 3 stars...whipped by the Whip

Carolina pork sandwich $9.

I came here about a month ago and I can't even remember what it tasted like... If that's so, then it must have been either a let down or just OK... But I did remember that there was 3-4 different sauces to add on the burger. The slaw was crunchy. The meat was tender but close to chewy. The burger was a nice size. All in all, not a memorable experience.

OMG i finally tried the kobe beef brisket today.

The meat = heaven. 5 stars. So much of it. So tender. So flavorful. I don't usually like BBQ sauce but theirs has just that right balance of savory & tangy flavors.

However.. the bread = stale & cheap. 3 stars. Plus there is nothing to balance the meat (how about some greens? cheese?). But damn that meat is so good.. And while $12 is a little steep, it's worth it at least once in your lifetime.

(5 stars + 3 stars) / 2 = 4 stars

Tried this truck for the first time on 8th and Brannon today.

Things that impressed me:
- They had speakers mounted on the truck. How cool is that? Speakers in the front and back and they were playing some good jams while you were waiting. Made it just a bit more pleasant to wait.
- They had a designated person in front of the truck handling your order so the people in the back, making your order wouldn't be disrupted.
- THEY USE AN IPAD TO TAKE YOUR ORDER .. which means they also take cards! Good use of technology. Good job Rib Whip.

Now onto the food:
- I ordered the smoked chicken leg which was very delicious. Although it took some time for them to prepare it, it was worth the wait. It comes with 3 legs for $6 and they weren't burnt and almost falls off the bone (barely need knives). Juicy and tender inside with just the right amount of bbq sauce.
- I took a bite of the ribs sandwich and it was very tender. I had a friend get it without cole slaw and one that did and it looked more juicier than the one with, so I would say get it without cole slaw.
- The crankin' mac and cheese was so yummy. Reminded me of the ones I get from soul food restaurants. Thick and saucy, full of flavor. Definitely has that homey mac and cheese feel to it.

Bite for bite the best order of Ribs I've ever had in my life.

Wow. The St. Louis style ribs were the most fall off the bone tender I've ever had ! For lunch this is going to be pricey (1 order = 4 ribs = $8) note: one order will not be enough for most folks. Best bet is to combo with the Kobe Brisket sandwich @$12 so total damage without a drink will be $20 however I would consider it money well spent.
They now have extra sauce you can add yourself to the side of the ordering window which I definitely took advantage of since it hits in stages of tangy, then sweet, then savory. The sauce is well balanced and has an almost intangible quality about it as if it's saying. I'm not here to take over the party but I am here to raise the roof!
If they sold the sauce stand alone I would buy it on the spot. If I was rich i would fill up a swimming pool with it. Catch my drift yet?

I'm usually not the first guy to suggest eating from food trucks since they tend to be really overpriced, but my buddies and I were picking me up from the San Mateo Caltrain station and happened upon it. There was a decent selection of trucks at the event so we decided to chill awhile and grab some gourmet grub there.

The Rib Whip was one of the available options and seemed to provide the best value and interesting dishes. At $8, I ordered the ribs since I saw others eating it and it looked pretty good. However, right as I opened the box, I counted up 4 ribs and 1 end cut, while my buddy had 5 ribs. I decided to eat it anyway but all of the ribs were pretty damn dry. Definitely not cool! My other buddy's brisket sandwich looked pretty good so I might try that next time.

Service was pretty nice and the ribs were served up fast. It's a food truck so your dog is usually a welcomed guests, at least at this event. I'm still not the biggest fan of food trucks and The Rib Whip really reinforced that feeling. I'll give a different one a try next time instead.

Food: 5/10

Service: 7/10

Price: $

Atmosphere: 7/10

The Yelpiverse said to get the cracklin mac n cheese or the kobe beef brisket. Oddly, today their menu didn't have either (and there was no indication they ever did). What they did have was classic mac n cheese (which I skipped) and "Texas style 18 hour slow roasted brisket" which I got - and requested it "extra fatty."

It was pretty much money. Thickly sliced, fairly moist and a little crumbly, with just enough of that "Texas" sauce which reminded me of a Carolina sauce I'd had elsewhere. And because I'd requested extra fatty, I got a couple end pieces with the forbidden cholosterolic magic. Yum.

2.5 STARS

Went to Off the Grid: Upper Haight last Thurs. Been meaning to try The Rib Whip for some time now. Being a huge BBQ fan, I was excited to try this truck. Boy, was I disappointed. I got the Texas Brisket sandwich & Mac and Cheese.

Texas Brisket sandwich: The sandwich was lukewarm, but really needed to be hotter. The bread was a little cold and kinda hard and the brisket needed a little more BBQ sauce. The one plus was the next day when I heated up the other half and added some sauce it tasted A LOT better! The bread was nice and soft and the brisket's natural fattiness melted with the reheating, adding that much needed moistness to the sandwich. If only it tasted like this the day before!

Mac & Cheese: Just very underwhelming and tiny for $4. It lacked the cheesy flavor you wanted from mac and cheese. Even though there was a lot of sauce, it was very very bland.

I tried 5 trucks last Thurs and this one was my least fav. I would have probably given them 2 stars, but since the sandwich tasted much better the next day, I gave them 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.