Carolina Q

Two and a half stars. Service was reasonably fast for a one-​man machine cranking out Q for hungry drinkers outside of Atlas Brew Works. The cardboard tray sheaths were clutch for sprinting through the rain back to JAM. I’m a fan of finely diced coleslaw, so I didn’t feel too regretful about not upgrading to mac & cheese for an extra $ 1. I liked the dill pickles included with the brisket platter. Fair portion of meat for the cost. Sadly, the tub of sauce was liberally used since the thinly sliced brisket was kinda dry. The pork or chicken must be the way to go?

Excellent Carolina-​style BBQ! There is tons of flavor in the sandwich, plus sauce on the side. The sandwich was just the right size, too! I would guess that most reviewers that didn’t like this food truck aren’t familiar with Carolina BBQ because this is exactly what I had hoped it would be. The service is great — the guys were very friendly. You can’t go wrong with the Traditional Q!

Awesome. I from Eastern NC and I know good bbq. This truck hits the spot. Awesome vinegar based bbq. Nice sized portion and the service was nice and quick. I will be back!

Received the wrong sandwich, because I ordered the «Quick Q» and didn’t specify chicken or pork (I assumed pork was a given, as they claim a 50 year legacy in pork barbecue), and they couldn’t be bothered to ask which one I wanted.
Either that, or their pork and chicken are indistinguishable. Which, given that it was a bland mush of meat paste on a soggy bun — seems likely.
This was some of the worst bbq I’ve ever had in my life. How this apparently has lasted 50 years is beyond me. It was a small sandwich, but I couldn’t finish it.
Look at all the pictures. Can you tell which is chicken and which is pork?

Where’s the beef? The $ 10 platter had two small scoops of meat. I am still hungry. Could’ve eaten double that and I’m not overweight or a large eater.

Ate here at the H St festival. Cashier specifically asked if I wanted coleslaw on my sandwiches and I said «no». We got 1 chicken and 1 pork. Neither were labeled and we did not know which was which. And both had coleslaw. I won’t go to this truck again. Overpriced. Ended up throwing the sandwiches away.

I had the quick Q sandwich (pork) at the H street festival. I was disappointed that they did not put sauce on the sandwich or have any options for on the side. The meat was good quality though and was quite delicious. The meat to bread ratio was perfect and I enjoyed the pickles on the sandwich. Just disappointed in the sauce situation since this was a BBQ truck. BF had the same and shared my sentiment. We split a side of Mac and cheese and for $ 4 I was disappointed in the portion size and the lack of flavor. It was cheesy, yea, but ultra bland. Pepper helped but definitely nowhere near a stellar Mac dish. I wish we would have tried a different truck since they had so many all along H street and all of the other BBQ ones offered sauce. But you live and you learn…

This was the most disappointing meal that I’ve had in a very long time. There was no part of this meal that was done well or right.
The Meat (both the chicken and the pork): The meat appeared and tasted as if it was simply boiled without seasoning. It was dry, flavorless, and unnecessarily shredded. (It looked as though the only cooking tools that were used were a large pot of boiling water and a food processor.) There was no evidence of a smoker, grill, etc.
Sauce: If that wasn’t bad enough, we were given a thimble half-​full with sauce. BBQ is all about the rub and the sauce. There was no rub, and the sauce was non-​existent. The sauce that we did get was Carolina-​style (vinegar base), but there wasn’t much development of flavor on top of the vinegar.
Slaw: The slaw was, again, overly shredded and flavorless. The cabbage was not drained and dried, so it was overly watery, and there was simply mayo and cabbage. I don’t know why they’re insistent on obliterating their products with a Cuisinart,
BBQ is not a complicated food type. It’s difficult to do well, but it’s easy to make a decent plate. To make something that failed on this many levels took a conscious effort to cut corners or deliver a meal with no understanding or experience. I hope that you make significant strides to better every piece of the truck, because I cannot see it being around for very long.

Not really a fan. My $ 8 sandwich was on the small size, and while the meat was tender, the small vial of vinegar sauce wasn’t enough to add good bbq flavor to the entire sandwich.

Some people may find it hard to believe that the best BBQ they could ever taste would be from a food truck but that’s exactly what you’ll find here! I always get the Quick Q sliders with kettle chips and it is absolute perfection! Like the others have said, if you’re not into vinegar based BBQ this won’t be your cup of tea but if you are, I can guarantee you’ll love it! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE come to L’Enfant Plaza more!!!

I was walking with my friend to the Phở truck and we passed the Carolina Q truck on the way. I wasn’t really craving phở at the time, so when we passed the Carolina Q truck and the smell of delicious bbq reached my senses, I turned around almost immediately. I ordered the pulled chicken quick q. They give you sauce on the side, which enhanced the already delicious flavor of the meat. I wish the sandwich had been bigger so it didn’t go away so fast. I also got some mac & cheese. Not the baked mac & cheese that I’m used to, but still very tasty. I would easily come back here again if I needed a bbq fix.

One of my favorite foodtrucks.
Not everyone like Vinegar-​based barbecue but if you do like me, it is amazing. Coleslaw is very good too.
I read in the Washington Post once that they actually import it from North Carolina regularly.

Wow. This truck is incredible. I love NC BBQ (it’s vinegar-​based, not that Texas crap) and it was such a pleasure to stumble onto Carolina Q.
I had the platter with pulled pork, slaw and pickles. It was delicious; just the right kind of meal during these cold temps. The woman behind the counter threw me a free bag of chips after she heard me gushing over North Carolina BBQ. I will absolutely be coming back as often as possible.

Great sandwich, I got the pulled pork with slaw on it and the Mac & cheese with chili is a good side. They were parked at Tanger National Harbor Outlets when I visited. Speedy service, the man was friendly. The only down to this would be the price but all food trucks seem to be around this price point. I’ll be back

Friendly and quick service — gluten free if you get the platter (no roll). Traditional Carolina vinegar based BBQ sauce over very tender pulled pork with slaw and pickles was delicious.

Another Carolinian here,
Carolina Q is very authentic. The vinegar pork brings me back home! They even give you extra vinegar shots on the side if you would like to completely drench your pork (which I do!). I got the sandwich, which came with pickles on it, a can of cheerwine (+1 for authenticity) and some moon pies for $ 10. I’d say it was a good deal and plan to return whenever I see the truck.
If you don’t like vinegar pork, don’t eat here. If you’re looking for variety, this truck doesn’t have it. Just straight to the point pork Carolina style which is just the way I like it!

About a 2.5: I checked this food truck out when it was at the Tanger Outlets at the National Harbor. The smoked, pit-​cooked, pulled pork originated from Hickory, NC, in which it was sold from ’46 to ’96. An employee took over the business after the guy passed away. The menu is limited, where it has Quick Q (chopped pork bbq with sliced dill pickles on a toasted, seeded bun), Traditional Q (the Quick Q with slaw on the sandwich), Sliders (three smaller versions of either the Quick Q or the Traditional Q), and the Platter (which we had, which had the chopped pork, slaw, and dill pickles on the side (with no bun)). They also sold kettle chips and moon pies (which I thought was kind of interesting). I was not a fan of the pulled pork as it had a very strong vinegar taste to it; the vinegar-​based sauce that also came with was not pleasant. I didn’t mind the coleslaw, as it was finely minced and had an okay flavor to it. The portions were somewhat generous, but in general, I wasn’t a fan of the bbq.
+yummy finely-​minced coleslaw

As others have said, if you enjoy Carolina vinegar style pulled pork sandwiches this place is a must try. The pork is finely chopped, lean, and has flavor without tasting like it was soaked in vinegar. The pickles add a little flavor and the bun is okay and does its job. You don’t get as much food here as with some of the other BBQ trucks in town but it’s still plenty.
If you want a full meal, you can’t go wrong with adding a Moon Pie for dessert (yep they sell em) and I’d recommend a banana one.
I’ll be back here next time I’m nearby and want some Carolina style BBQ.

I really like North Carolina style BBQ because of the vinegary taste. With that being said, this BBQ has a little too much vinegar. I ordered the $ 8 platter that came with pickles and coleslaw. It probably would have been better on a sandwich to help neutralize the vinegary flavor. It was just too much tang going on to fully enjoy. The sauce on the side makes it even worst. Maybe if they use less sauce and add a side like mac and cheese, it would be a lot better.

Carolina Q has definitely gotten close to the top of my favorite food truck list.
I tried the traditional Q sandwich, same thing as the quick Q except it comes topped with cole slaw and pickles. The meat was moist and flavorful Normally I don’t like cole slaw but the slaw actually really added to the sandwich, it had a nice tangy kick that really went well with the flavor of the meat. The pickles provided a nice crunch as a contrast to the softness of the bun and meat.
Definitely worth a visit if this truck rolls up on your block, I could see myself becoming a regular.