Esoteric BBQ

Is it food? Is it love? When you’re so comatose with bliss and satisfaction that you can’t be bothered to wipe the Island Sauce off your chin, the distinction will seem meaningless.
Esoteric BBQ is one of the OG’s in a growing ‘Couver food truck scene. This truck created a market for itself where none existed before by offering perfect BBQ in interesting configurations. If it were in a pod in Portland, it would be the truck with the line around the block.
I have tried everything, but I’m particularly fond, shall we say, of the Island Bowl with Tri-​Tip. The pineapple rice is absurdly good. One important tip: lubrication is required, so don’t be shy with those sauce bottles.

Delicious, wanted to try it for a while and I am so glad I finally had the chance. I will definitly be back

By far one of the BEST local BBQ places!
Come here for lunch depending how close they are. Sometimes the wait is kind of long, but busy is usual for lunch time.
I have never gone wrong with the Tri-​Tip BBQ Samich. So much flavor and a good serving size.

Ordered the smoked curry chicken sammich and substituted rice for bread and am raving how delicious yet simple this meal is. The flavors are a maz ing! Sauces are really, really, good. You guys have this NC girl won over!

I was at a conference recently in Vancouver and Esoteric BBQ brought their food cart to serve our lunch. It was delicious and loads of it. I had the Kalua pork, pineapple lime rice, cornbread, and the highlight of the meal, the grilled vegetable that I could have eaten a whole plate of. The pork was perfect too, no fat, very flavorful, not too smokey, just right. If you get a chance to try them, I would highly recommend their food.

We actually had delicious food at a car show. We had the bbq chicken sandwich and the chicken salad .the meat was awesome! Thanks for giving us a meal that wasn’t the regular car show fare. I will be watching for you guys around town :)

Discovered these guys while at an event by the Fort of Vancouver. I had the BBQ sandwich with the Kalua Pork. Sandwich was awesome, great combination of flavors, pork was super tender and moist. Definitely worth another visit. Look forward to trying some of the other options on their menu.

I had the Kalua pork sandwich, it had awesome slaw and a side of the smoky mac. OMG SMOKY MAC. I wish I lived in Vancouver so I could eat here all the time. Bonus points for San Pelegrino.

I tried the tacos with kalua pork. The meat had a sweet smoky flavor, deliciously crusty edges and was topped with the «kickin’ broccoli slaw,» which was crunchy with just a bit of sweet. Tasty and filling.
A couple of things in my experience with bbq places is that they are a little pricey and slow to fill orders. Neither is true about Esoteric BBQ, the prices are reasonable and the service was fast and friendly.
This is a roving food cart, so I tried them in their Friday spot at the corner of Evergreen and Broadway — but, wherever they are, it would be hard to miss the bright red truck adorned with a white and black graphic of a winged Eye of God above a smoker grill while wielding, of course, bbq utensils.

I had the pork, Mac, and broccoli slaw. For $ 10 I left feeling full with no leftovers. It was the perfect amount of food.
The pork was very moist and nicely smoked. There were two sauces to add and I opted for their teriyaki. Good choice. The Mac was nice, and mixed up well with the pork. I think the slaw could use more kick, but was a nice change from the typical cabbage vinegar ones. The meal came with a gluten free cornbread muffin that I would pass on. It was too dry and dense, which, if amended, I would try again.
The owner was super friendly and helpful when asked about the products. Food came out fast and hot. I will be back to try out other items :)

Roaming food truck usually around downtown Vancouver.
The menu has three meats: tri-​tip, kalua pork, and BBQ chicken. There’s also a vegetarian option. The kalua pork here is smoked for three hours, wrapped in banana leaves, then smoked for another three hours.
The «Island Bowl» ($ 8) has pineapple, cilantro, and lime rice; with choice of meat. Kalua pork for the panda. Awesome pork, juicy and tender. It may have reminded me more of Hawaii had there been a bit more salt added.
The rice was good. It’s worth noting that the pineapple likely made the rice a bit more moist than normal.
I also got the Kickin’ Broccoli Slaw, and I felt that was easily the best of the three items I ordered. Shredded broccoli stems and green apple mixed with a cilantro, lime, and jalapeño dressing. Amazing flavor.
Overall, I like this food truck. Hope to head back in the future.

Gave this food truck a fair shake but the food was not on par.
I had the tri-​tip BBQ plate with pineapple-​cilantro-​lime rice and mac & cheese plate. The damage totaled to $ 12. More expensive than local BBQ restaurants. Portions were generous but that’s as good as it would get.
Tri-​tip was flavorless and required additional BBQ sauce which was weak as well. The lack of flavor made the meal a BBQ sauce-​fest. Rice was creative but I felt I got the bottom of the pot portion. Mac & cheese was much like the meat… flavorless. A blue box substitute would have been better. The meal came with a corn brick… I mean muffin. No need to talk about that.
Can’t see myself coming back due to price and quality of the food.

Passed this place the other day. Had to come back to try it out as it was getting a lot of attention on the street plus a new food vendor like this in Vancouver is always exciting. Plus smoked BBQ. How could you not stop by?! I decided for the first time to try three tacos. Two were smoked Kalua Pork, and the other BBQ chicken. Topped with jalapenos, lime broccoli slaw, and spicy mayo. It hit the spot. Fresh tasting and moist! I’ll most definitely be back to try the other options available. They move around so best way to see where there at is check their Facebook page. They were at 13^th and Franklin kitty corner from the Courthouse today. Same place I saw them the other day. I really appreciate places like this and supporting local small business owners who put passion into the food. Kudos. Hours on the FB page says 11AM-​2PM.

I had the tri-​tip over the small spinach salad with broccoli slaw and corn muffin. The spinach salad was delightful with a nice balsamic dressing, bits of veggies and fresh spinach. The slaw had a nice zesty, cilantro dressing. The corn muffin needed to be warmed up but had a sweet corny flavor without being gritty. The tri-​tip was good but a tad tough. All in all a welcome addition to the downtown Vancouver lunch scene.