Smokin' Buttz (Nashville, TN)

Another food truck review? Yup! Smokin' Buttz has been on my agenda for a while. I randomly checked their calendar while researching lunch options today, and lo and behold they were scheduled for an 11:00am service just a short hop away. Exactly where I found Roscoe's last week, as it happens. Some might call that a coincidence, but I took it as a sign from the universe that this was meant to be.

Food trailers seem to be a popular option for Nashville's mobile barbecue eateries, maybe because of the space it leaves for a pit or smoker out back. These guys were pretty no-nonsense when it came to taking and preparing my order, but they were also polite and cordial throughout the process. I don't think it took five minutes in between parking my truck and hopping back inside it with food in hand. Excellent.

Of their few sandwich options, the Gut Buster was impossible to resist: pulled pork (or pulled chicken if you prefer), barbecue sauce, nacho cheese, and jalapeños. Sides are extra, and I tacked on some of their mesquite coleslaw. I didn't really need a second sandwich, but since pulled chicken is their only other meat offering, I felt somewhat obliged to give the Mesquite sandwich a whirl, too. This one I took with BBQ baked beans. Good thing I don't go back to see my doctor until September, plenty of time to burn things off.

The mesquite coleslaw was fresh and crunchy, with a refreshing combination of sweet and spicy flavors. If all coleslaw was like this, I'd probably eat it more often. They describe their beans as "sweet hickory BBQ baked beans with a hint of southern comfort." I found them as sweet as advertised, but also peppery and savory at the same time. Perhaps that was the aforementioned southern comfort.

My Gut Buster looked like quite the monstrosity, and certainly much different than the usual barbecue sammiches I eat. This bad boy was loaded with rosy smoke-kissed pork, which had only a mild smoke level. Even though the sliced jalapeños definitely packed a wallop, a healthy dose of nacho cheese helped to temper the heat a bit. Their sweet barbecue sauce didn't add much on its own, but coupled with the cheese it was actually really tasty.

Unnecessary as it was, I enjoyed the Mesquite sandwich. It came piled high with tender, juicy pulled chicken. A lot of barbecue chicken comes out sort of dry, so this was a welcome surprise. Having a good mix of white and dark meat probably helped in this regard. It actually struck me as a little smokier than the pork, though not by much. Pickles added both a pleasant acidity and a crunchy texture to the mix. The barbecue sauce was fine, but oddly I found myself longing for more nacho cheese.

I was really impressed with Smokin' Buttz. Many of the long-standing joints I've visited don't match the quality of barbecue coming out of this tiny trailer. It's worth mentioning that, based on the lingering headache that I acquired afterward, either the nacho cheese or the barbecue sauce likely contains some MSG (monosodium glutamate). That's not really a criticism of their food, but rather a heads-up for those customers who are negatively affected by this additive/preservative like I often am. Headache or not, it was worth it.

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Smokin' Buttz
Nashville, TN
(615) 713-2888
https://www.smokinbuttzbbq.com/