Food Truck Frenzy: Re-Up BBQ

L&S Food truck

Barbeque hot spot serves up succulent southern eats in downtown Vancouver

By Sophie Isbister, Life & Style Editor

5/5

Nestled between the mountains and skyscrapers of downtown Vancouver, a quick SkyTrain jaunt away from New Westminster, is a glittering oasis of shiny food trucks just waiting to be explored this summer.

Vancouver has gained a reputation for its formidable food truck presence; after only three years of offering mobile munchies, the city has landed third place on Travel and Escapeā€™s list of food truck cities, coming in after Portland, Oregon and Austin, Texas. To commemorate this designation, The Other Press is pleased to present our four-part summer series on outdoor eats in the city.

For our first installment, we take you to the Re-Up BBQ food truck, located outside the Vancouver Art Gallery at West Georgia and Hornby Street. Since Re-Up is known primarily for their pulled pork sandwiches (which they also sling out of their New Westminster River Market location), I had to try one.

I wouldnā€™t call myself a pulled pork connoisseur; the term implies that Iā€™m discerning about the pulled pork that I eat, which is not true. I will eat any pulled pork at anytime, anywhere on the tangy/sweet spectrum, with toppings ranging from classic coleslaw to incomprehensible lettuce and tomato. But after trying Re-Upā€™s sandwich, Iā€™m positive that Iā€™ve found my pulled pork of choice. Served on a fresh-baked Portuguese bun, the sandwich contains an ample portion of slow-roasted and expertly spiced shredded pork. Itā€™s drizzled with a tangy (and not too sweet) barbeque sauce and topped with some of the freshest, crunchiest coleslaw Iā€™ve had the pleasure of tasting.

I decided to wash down my delicious sandwich feast with a sampling of Re-Upā€™s homemade beverages, their southern sweet tea and homemade cola, both on offer at the food truck. The sweet tea is perfect: not too sweet, with a strong tea flavour. Real tea makes the difference: ā€œ[The] southern sweet tea is orange pekoe that we brew ourselves. We just add lemon and sugar. Itā€™s kind of like Nestea but not terribleā€”thatā€™s how I describe it to people,ā€ says Re-Up worker Jacey Gibb.

As for the homemade colaā€”a lighter, caffeine-free alternative to regular Cokeā€”Gibb touts its natural flavours, adding, ā€œOne of our managers makes the syrups herself.ā€ Re-Upā€™s cola is definitely for those with a sweet tooth, but since Gibb mixed it for me on the spot, you could always ask to have it with less syrup.

ā€œWe actually usually have a beef brisket sandwich as well,ā€ Gibb reassures me on the limited menu selection. ā€œPulled pork was what we started with and thatā€™s what weā€™re best known for, but the beef brisket sandwich has definitely developed a cult following.ā€ Gibb adds that they expect to be serving the beef brisket out of the food truck in a couple weeks.

When asked about the secret ingredient is to their signature sandwich, Gibb was tight-lipped, saying only that itā€™s made with love: ā€œA whole rainbow of love!ā€ All I know is Iā€™d love to eat another one. Re-Up BBQ is now my go-to spot for slow-cooked food, served fast in downtown Vancouver.