Grasslands Barbecue is a mobile food cart based in Hood River, OR that has been accumulating local and regional praise for their high quality smoked meats as well as their sides. They are making Texas-style barbecue, and have even been getting praise from Texan barbecue notables. This is my fourth time eating their food. This weekend they set up shop at Ruse Brewing in Portland for 3 days. As always, the food is incredible. Easily the best BBQ I’ve ever had in my life, each meat is smoked to perfection and imbued with such incredible flavor. They are always running different daily specials, so you get to try different cuts of meat and sides. When I went yesterday, I got three different meats: Cajun Volcano Pork Shank, Tri-Tip with Chimichurri, and Black Pepper Chicken. Each was unique and transcendent. I’m not sure if I’ve ever had smoked pork shank before or not, they got such a beautiful bark on the skin. I also highly recommend their Pork Belly Burnt Ends as well as the sausages. This is food that you travel for, and stand in line for (something I never do!).

I judge a BBQ joint equally by their sides as by their meat. If you don’t put thought and care into the sides I probably won’t come back. Every side I’ve had from Grasslands has been top tier, being both elevated and down-home comfort food at the same time. Not an easy feat. The ones I got yesterday were their Picnic Potatoes and Tex-Mex Slaw. The potatoes were to die for, like the best dish at the potluck your Auntie made. I could eat those daily. The Tex-Mex slaw was super tasty, bold flavors all the way through. I also highly recommend the Mac & Cheese and the beans, both of which they always have a version of. Really can’t recommend Grasslands high enough. This is a place that you want to make a detour to go try, plus Hood River is always such a great town to visit.