I saw The Love Bus food truck (well, food bus) while I was out running a quick errand this morning, and I made a last minute decision to stop by. Because why not?
I had my doubts about this refurbished school bus barbecue, but everything that I observed coming out of their "kitchen" both looked and smelled delicious. Oh well, at least the TriStar Centennial hospital was right next door if I happened to need medical attention. I grabbed a pulled pork sandwich, plus a couple of their signature Soul Roll eggrolls: the Mac Daddy and the Chicken Philly. Orders trickled out of the window at a snail's pace, and I hoped that my increasingly long detour would be worth it.
Their Mac Daddy roll is a glorious combination of smoked bacon and cheesy macaroni. I bit in, and my immediate reaction was, "Wow!!!" The flaky eggroll wrapper was the perfect vehicle for the gooey mac and cheese, and the salty bacon gave things some much needed savoriness. When I read "the cheesiest" in this roll's description, I naturally assumed that they were referring to the classic Kraft product slogan. Well, if they're using blue-box macaroni in this dish, they sure fooled me.
As its name might imply, the Chicken Philly eggroll consists of smoked chicken, sauteed onions and peppers, a three-cheese blend, and barbecue sauce. I didn't catch any smoke in this eggroll, but I didn't really expect to either. Despite its lack of smoke, the chicken was at least juicy and salty. The crisp bell peppers and pungent onions were a nice touch too, invoking a little Philly cheese steak nostalgia.
To my surprise and my delight, The Love Bus serves up seasoned hand-cut fries instead of the all-too-typical frozen crinkles. Their heavy dusting of spices jazzed things up nicely. Fries wouldn't have been my first choice to accompany a barbecue sandwich, but I did enjoy them immensely.
The pulled pork sandwich was spot-on. It had a pleasant smokiness throughout, as well as plenty of jet-black bark mixed in. I found hints of barbecue sauce here and there, but thankfully only enough to add a slight sweetness and a little acidity. Although I remain doubtful that the pork was smoked on-bus, it certainly was tender, juicy, and very flavorful. The crunchy purple slaw was also a welcome addition. It was visually appealing and enhanced both the taste and texture of this sandwich.
I must admit, The Love Bus isn't a place that you'd expect to find awesome barbecue, at least not with a cursory book-by-its-cover examination. Those preconceptions aside, their 'que is definitely worth a try.
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The Love Bus
Nashville, TN
http://www.lovebusnashville.com/
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