Smokin’ 8s

• FOOD TRUCK
• Augusta, MI 49012
• (269) 352-9272
• Website
• Sample Menu

My co-worker gets me somedays.

We were in Decatur for an assignment and needed to just hang out for a while and kill some time. We ended up parking near downtown at the Village Market.

I wasn’t really hungry and had no intentions of buying lunch when I stopped. My co-worker looked across the street and saw a food truck. He looked at me and said, “You’re going to get lunch from that food truck, aren’t you?”

I said no. I wasn’t really hungry and I wasn’t planning on buying lunch that day.

He ran in to the grocery store to use the restroom. When he came out, I drove the car across the street and bought lunch from the food truck.

The food truck was Smokin’ 8s. A veteran owned truck that specializes in BBQ but also brings some smash burgers, brats, and hot dogs depending on the day. The truck is based out of Augusta, but on this day, it was parked at the Citgo Station on Delaware Street (M-51) near Phelps Street.

The menu changes pretty much every time this truck goes out so it’s best to check their Facebook page if you’re trying to find something specific.

The day I was there, the menu only had a couple of things and it didn’t have brisket which is what I would usually order from a BBQ truck. They did have pulled pork and I do love a good pulled pork so the lack of brisket wasn’t really that big of a deal.

The sandwich comes with cheesy potatoes and choice of coleslaw or cucumber salad. I chose the slaw. The price was $13 which I paid for using my card.

It didn’t take long at all to put the meal together. Just a couple minutes after I ordered, I headed back to the car and decided to eat on the hood of my car. There were some picnic tables set up near the truck. It looks like this lot hosts food trucks pretty often so they’ve made a little space to eat if you’re looking for that.

I started with the sandwich. The pulled pork is super tender and has a pretty great vinegar-y flavor. It reminds me most of a Carolina style pulled pork sandwich. I did see him squirt a little bit of Sweet Baby Ray’s on top before closing up the box but the sandwich didn’t need it. I loved the taste of the meat on it’s own. The Sweet Baby Ray’s didn’t take anything away from the sandwich, it just wasn’t needed in my opinion. Others would disagree. They like the sweet BBQ sauce pulled pork. I’m a big fan of the thin, vinegary sauce and that’s what this meat tasted like to me.

I went to the cheesy potatoes next. There was a lot of them packed in to the Styrofoam bowl. I don’t love potatoes that aren’t fried so these aren’t really my thing. They were good though and I ate about half. I’m that weird guy that doesn’t like mashed potatoes….my parents traumatized me as a kid by trying to force them down my throat..so as an adult, I try potatoes..and I don’t hate them…but I’m not really good person to judge

The slaw was a creamy, thick slaw that many people would put directly on the sandwich. I’ve never been a fan of that. I tried a few bites but again, I’m not the best judge. The slaw was fine, but not something I normally eat.

I’ve blogged so many times about BBQ food trucks on this blog and I always have a hard time pointing out how they’re different than each other.

Smokin’ 8s will stand out because it’s more than just BBQ. Yes, BBQ is at the top of their menu but they also do burgers and dogs. In fact, they won the Judges Division Best Burger at last weekend’s Backyard Burgers and Brews Festival in Battle Creek.

Just from the BBQ standpoint, at least the pulled pork, they do it differently than a lot of the other trucks I’ve tried over the years. This pulled pork is probably the closest to what I make when I make pulled pork and maybe that’s what I liked it so much. I wasn’t going to eat out on this day but I’m glad my desire to try every food truck in the area was too much for me to overcome.