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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 6, 2017)
14 // COASTWEEKEND.COM Coast Weekend’s local restaurant review THE HOT BOX BBQ Hot Box BBQ presents a luscious, irresistible, inexpensive bite of pig Review and photos by THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA MOUTH@COASTWEEKEND.COM S ome owners see their food carts like pit stops on the road toward restaurant-dom. But with brick-and-mortar can come a desire to expand offerings from the confines of a cart, where there’s no room for flab. But when you do one thing — slurpy, gooey, smoky, slow-cooked pork sandwiches — as well as they do at The Hot Box BBQ, why bother with anything else? The yellow trailer landed in Astoria in March, turning the Reach Break Brewing patio, along with Sasquatch Sausages, into a bona- fide pod. But this isn’t Hot Box’s maiden voyage. The business, who’ve dubbed themselves “Modern American BBQ,” began in North- ern California before relocating to Portland. The Portland cart, near the South- west waterfront, was dubbed one of “Portland’s Best New Food Carts” of 2015 by The Oregonian. Critic Michael Russell wondered if Hot Box’s “might be the best pulled pork sandwich in PDX.” The Willamette Week chimed in too, dubbing Hot Box’s “some of the best cart-cooked pig shoulder in town.” When blessed with the opportu- nity to expand, rather than find four walls with a foundation, Hot Box opted to open an outpost in Astoria, and we should be thankful they did: You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more luscious, irresistible bite on the North Coast for under $10. I’ll refrain from going into detail on Reach Break or Sasquatch, for those are columns for another day. Suffice it to say that Hot Box is a lovely fit for the shared space. A block off the main drag, the patio (once home to the River People’s Rating: 1343 Duane St. Astoria, Ore. 97103 707-223-2511 Hours: Friday & Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Monday, Thurs- day and Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Price: $ – Sandwiches $8 to $9 Service: Quick Vegetarian / Vegan Options: Smoked tofu Drinks: Bottled water, soda KEY TO STAR RATING SYSTEM Below average Average Good Excellent Best in region The Volcano Kale salad along the lines of: “How does the Farmer’s Market) is rather quiet, chicken compare to the pork?” The placid on sunny days with space for answer was right on the snout: “Ev- families, mutts and games of corn- erything’s better with pork.” hole. When it rains, Reach Break’s There was no need to question. interior offers safe harbor. The only Hot Box’s sinews of pork shoulder thing missing is a view of the water. are lustfully enchanted, full of juicy But hey, we can’t have it all. And body and but a anyway, the pork whisper of smoke. is damn near There are four sensory overload THE VOLCANO sandwich styles, by itself. BALANCED THE each with regional Hot Box’s SWEET, SLIPPERY foundations on menu is finely PANGS OF which to place distilled: a handful JALAPEÑO JELLY, the pork tower. of sandwiches, two salads, two SRIRACHA MAYO The Classic ($8) is your familiar sides and maybe AND LETTUCE barbecue variety, a special or two. GREENS. with mayo, slaw All sandos are and a tangy peach served on puffy, BBQ sauce that is soft, toasted neither too sweet nor too spicy. The brioche buns. Each is available with Maui Wowie ($9) also drips with the the flagship pulled pork, chicken or peach sauce and adds a zing from smoked tofu. pickled onion, but is colored mostly Feeling a little health conscious by pineapple. on one of my trips — or, rather, While shaking a stick at neither, overly aware of my waistline — I I preferred the Vietnom ($9), with asked a dumb question, something an almost Green-goddess-y, earthy cilantro aioli, plus pickled daikon, carrots, lettuce and mayo. Amidst such fatty decadence, the grounding of the cilantro aioli and ruffage made great sense. (Veggies and hints of earth aside, these stout, burger-sized sandwiches are caloric bangers that can slow your circulation to a crawl.) The Vietnom made an end-run at the title of prized pig, but my favorite, just by a snout, was the Volcano ($9). It balanced the sweet, slippery pangs of jalapeño jelly, Sri- racha mayo and lettuce greens. The tiebreaker on this salty, sweet, tangy, creamy, fatty mix was textural: salty shards of crispy, fried onion. Besides fresh veg, nice buns and succulent pork, Hot Box’s region- al-ized sandwiches are all honed and elevated with house-made sauces. Each featured aioli/mayo, and that creaminess offered a roundness that can’t be overlooked. Neither can the chicken, believe it or not. The thick, tender breast that jutted out beyond the buns was a potent reminder of just how often we’re served chicken that’s been overcooked. At Hot Box it was absolutely perfect. (Right on the beak? Sorry.) It may not arouse the drooling, gluttonous desire of the pork, but neither will it necessitate a nap. To ward of such listlessness — or to at least gain some veneer of making responsible choices — I recommend the kale salad above any of the sides and accouterments at Hot Box. (Sandwiches come with chips and $2 more gets you cole- slaw or potato salad.) Health aside, I legitimately enjoyed the kale salad most — again, something about the contrast of earth and the mildly acid- ic dressing against all that chubby swine. One on occasion I tried the daily special, the OMGBLT (a BLT but with pork belly instead of ba- con). The pork belly, too, was just fantastically prepared, with charred crust giving way to viscous rivers of salty, viscous fats. At another venue, it might’ve been cause for greater concern. But at Hot Box, the star — that tantalizing pork shoulder, with well-refined, regional dressings — casts a shadow over all the rest. It’s bulletproof. CW
