The Rib Whip

You may recall that I reviewed Cedar Hill: Kitchen and Smokehouse, a BBQ restaurant, a while ago.  They have since closed, but their food truck, The Rib Whip, remained opened.  I don't normally seek out food trucks, but I knew they had a number of tasty sides that go along with BBQ (like mac and cheese and cole slaw) and, more importantly, I heard that they were known for their pie.

I visited the food truck on two occasions.  They are down with all the latest in mobile payment systems, accepting both LevelUp and PayPal, quite convenient.  The service was fast and easy both times.

But these are all just details.  There is only one thing you need to know: go now and get the pie.  Just do it.  You'll thank me later.

Mac and cheese (side dish).  $4.

The mac and cheese was fairly unremarkable, not particularly good nor bad.

I liked that they used corkscrew pasta, it really was a great shape for allowing the sauce to coat it well, and fill the insides.  The pasta was well cooked, not too mushy, not too al dente.  The sauce was creamy, cheesy, but not all that flavorful.

Since The Rib Whip is a BBQ truck, they had each of their signature BBQ sauces available to add to your meal.  I spiced up the mac by trying out each of the sauces.  The sweet bbq was my favorite, although none were mind blowing.

At $4, this seemed a bit high for such a small portion, although, I liked the portion size.  I actually brought a little bit back with me from lunch and ate it cold later, and liked it more than way.  I have no idea why, but sometimes, I really like cold mac and cheese :)

Anyway, I don't see any reason to get it again.

Grandma Ruth's Buttermilk Pie.  $4.

Holy crap, this was an amazing slice of pie.

I'd read about the pie before, proclaimed as "The Best Dessert From A Food Truck" in San Francisco.  And, as you know, I eat a lot of desserts, from fancy restaurants and bakeries, so I found it unlikely that a random food truck would have a pie that would even register on my radar.

I didn't really intend to seek The Rib Whip out, but then I was walking by the ice skating rink on a Sunday afternoon, and saw the truck parked out front.  And, even better, they were running a PayPal promotion for a free $5 credit if you paid with PayPal.  I've been totally loving how easy it is to pay on my phone via PayPal, so I was happy to go for it, particularly when it meant free pie!

I am sooo glad I did.  Whoever Grandma Ruth is, I wish she were my grandma.  Ok, that isn't quite true, my Grandma makes a killer butterscotch pie herself.  But anyway, the pie.  Wow.

It did not look like much.  Even if I describe it, it won't sound like much: graham crust, layer of buttermilk pudding, topped with whipped cream.  Looking at it, the ratios looked all off.  The crust looked too thick.  The buttermilk pudding, which I expected to be the primary component, was a very thin layer.  And the whipped cream?  There was way too much of it.  I love whipped cream, but how could a pie possibly need to be what looked like 70% whipped cream?

Whatever judgmental thoughts I had about the pie vanished the moment I took a single bite.  This was a damn good pie.  That crust, which I thought sounded boring, just graham cracker, was insanely delicious.  Buttery, sweet, sooo good.   It wasn't too thick, it provided a crunchy contrast with the rest of the pie, which was creamy.  I think you could make some sort of dessert bar out of the crust alone, perhaps slathered with jam, and it would be amazing.

The buttermilk layer was a pudding-like, creamy, with just the right amount of tang from the buttermilk.

And that massive layer of whipped cream was unlike any other whipped cream I've ever had.  I don't know how to explain it other than it tasted very strongly like cream.

This was so, so good.  I brought the rest of my slice home, fully intending to just put it in the fridge and finish it later.  I told Ojan about the amazing pie, and he immediately went to dig in for a bite.  I normally share all sorts of things with him, often demanding that he try them, and this was one I did NOT want to share.  I got a bit territorial about it, let him have a single bite, and rather rudely told him it was MY pie.  Whoops.

But trust me, if you have a bite of this pie, you won't want to share either.  And you'll want to get another.

You can be sure that I will.  I'll be seeking out the Rib Whip whenever I can.  Who knew, a food truck can make one of the best desserts I've ever found in SF?  And protip, sometimes the pie isn't listed on the menu, but it is still there.  Just ask.  And bring me a slice.