Urban Bumpkin BBQ - Russian-Influenced, Pan-Everything Food Truck in Northern Virginia

[Rhone1998]

If an award were to be given for the strangest, most incongruous menu items in the food truck category, I think Urban Bumpkin BBQ would win hands down.

I've only tried one dish from them so I won't comment on the food, but I will just say that their "bubble lemonade" was delicious. Lemonade with some sort of tart bubbles that burst in your when bitten (definitely not tapioca, but I didn't get a chance to ask what they were).

[monavano]

That truck has an identity crisis!

[DonRocks]

That truck has an identity crisis!

I noticed on their Facebook page they make their own fry bread. The first time I ever had fry bread was at a roadside stand in the Navajo Nation, and it was pretty darned good (I mean, it's as simple as it can be - it's just pan-fried dough - but it's still pretty darned good when it's seared in a good, hot, cast-iron pan without excessive oil).

[ktmoomau]

I am so excited this place goes to Rosslyn and Ballston, now I just need a new occasion to work from home some day.

[goldenticket]

That truck has an identity crisis!

They must have heard you - a post on their FB page yesterday said "Rosslyn the eagle has landed, windows open at 11 30, check out our identity crisis menu alaskan, russian, and vietnamese, I can't make this up"

They're in Courthouse today. At a minimum, I'm going to have to give the bubble strawberry lemonade a try.

[Rhone1998]

They must have heard you - a post on their FB page yesterday said "Rosslyn the eagle has landed, windows open at 11 30, check out our identity crisis menu alaskan, russian, and vietnamese, I can't make this up"

They're in Courthouse today. At a minimum, I'm going to have to give the bubble strawberry lemonade a try.

See if you can figure out what those bubbles are made of!

[goldenticket]

See if you can figure out what those bubbles are made of!

I wonder if they're green apple popping boba? The lemonade was very nice on a hot day. I could smell the BBQ down the block, but wasn't up for it today.

[KeithA]

That truck has an identity crisis!

I was lucky to happen upon this truck today in Ballston and discovered that it isn't an identity crisis - it is modern melting pot America.  The cook is from Alaska and one parent is Vietnamese and the nice lady taking orders is Russian so it all makes sense :-) Regardless, it was GOOD!  I had the sweet chili chicken on fry bread aka Native American taco.  Fry bread was delicious and not greasy.  Coleslaw was sweet and tangy and smoky mayo made it all a nice combo.  It got a bit better even when I added some of the BBQ sauce they offer.    The portion was pretty large too and you should know it became a huge mess eating it, but it was worth it. Very nice folks too who said they are struggling to find parking at the various usual food truck locations so I wouldn't be surprised if they pop up in newer places.  I saw some of the banh mi sandwiches come out and they looked to be on large, good french rolls.  Definitely worth checking out.

[DaveO]

yummmmmmmmmm   finally got to urban bumpkin as they were in Couthouse.   Ooooohhhh the wait was chilly.  Can't wait for warm weather.  The nice lady who hails from Russia told me they had cut out Courthouse but tweets and FB contacts drove them back.   .....lucky for me.

First meal was the bbq chicken on frye bread/American taco.   I'd like to meet the brave person who actually tries to eat this as a taco rather than w/ knife and fork.

Very tasty.  Nice sized chicken reasonably cooked and tender.  Very nice bbq sauce sweetish...but not overly.  topped with slaw...I added the rice.  All over the frye bread.

Excellent.  I'm looking forward to more of their menu.   (tips hat to KeithA, who spoke well of them).

had to follow them on twitter to get their schedule (which is also on FB, btw).

I'll add one additional thing about them.  They are on their toes.  After finishing the meal I tweeted about them, and commented on their fb page.   The tweet was retweeted and favorited and they responded on the fb page.  Great responsiveness....and an excellent way to get real social commentary on every interaction.  Smart on their part.

[KeithA]

yummmmmmmmmm   finally got to urban bumpkin as they were in Couthouse.   Ooooohhhh the wait was chilly.  Can't wait for warm weather.  The nice lady who hails from Russia told me they had cut out Courthouse but tweets and FB contacts drove them back.   .....lucky for me.

First meal was the bbq chicken on frye bread/American taco.   I'd like to meet the brave person who actually tries to eat this as a taco rather than w/ knife and fork.

Very tasty.  Nice sized chicken reasonably cooked and tender.  Very nice bbq sauce sweetish...but not overly.  topped with slaw...I added the rice.  All over the frye bread.

Excellent.  I'm looking forward to more of their menu.   (tips hat to KeithA, who spoke well of them).

had to follow them on twitter to get their schedule (which is also on FB, btw).

I'll add one additional thing about them.  They are on their toes.  After finishing the meal I tweeted about them, and commented on their fb page.   The tweet was retweeted and favorited and they responded on the fb page.  Great responsiveness....and an excellent way to get real social commentary on every interaction.  Smart on their part.

So happy you enjoyed and good to hear that they are still serving up tasty grub. I haven't been in NOVA for a while to sample their stuff. Looking forward to getting some as the weather warms up.

[ktmoomau]

I never posted this, but I did catch them one day and got the fry bread, with bbq, it was really good, I definitely would go back sometime.  The fry bread was really crunchy, the bbq while maybe not my favorite on it's own (a little sweet) paired well with the fry bread and slaw and the smoke flavor which was definitely prevalent, but in a good way to balance the flavors.  

[DaveO]

Was lucky to catch Urban Bumpkin in our neighborhood for lunch today.  Excellent special, not on the menu:  Stir Fried Sirloin Tips:  Stir fried noodles, Urban Bumpkin slightly sweet BBQ sauce, sirloin tips, a healthy dosage of cilantro, red onions...etc.  Another winner from Urban Bumpkin.

That is a quality food truck worth following on FB or twitter if you work in Arlington or Tysons.  They appear to vary their stops from week to week, with stops in Rosslyn, Courthouse, Ballston, Tysons and one other location.

[goodeats]

See if you can figure out what those bubbles are made of!

Dan - you must not be frequenting the frozen yogurt shops lately--they are everywhere! Also known as Popping Bubbles or Popping Boba, they pop juice upon chewing. I love them!

[DaveO]

OH MAN I was lucky to catch Urban Bumpkin today. This was  a seriously delicious BBQ sandwich. I believe it was the Asian BBQ chicken, on a sesame roll, plus slaw.

Simply terrific BBQ. Made my mouth water.

On top of which they are very friendly folks.  Today I approached them as the woman was leaving to handle some of the catering.  The guy from Alaska was preparing the food.  The woman is from Russia, I believe, and the third person was from Honduras.  I told those guys they shouldda been at the World Cup...they could satisfy the palates from fans from 32 different nations!!!!

Urban Bumpkin does an excellent job.