Redbones has been around since 1987. Their meats surely don't need to enter your mouth on a bun, and a forkful of jerk beef with some dirty rice might even do the pit flavor more justice than a layer of bread. But that's the beauty of barbecue — any dinner plate doubles as the ultimate sandwich, and any visit to Redbones in Davis Square for some sweet and hearty Southern grub is a treat.Now, with food trucks slowly taking over our streets, we get Redbones on wheels around Copley Square five days a week, and on Sundays (from 11 am–7 pm) in Cambridge (Memorial Drive at Flagg Street) through the end of November.
The truck menu is limited to ribs ($6/three, $12/six, $22/12), pulled pork or chicken, barbecue beef, and portobello sandwiches ($6/combo with one side $8), hound dogs ($5/with chili and cheese), and a daily special ($8).
Despite the absence of the restaurant's delicious jerk meats, the truck does offer plenty of their precious sides ($4 each — but no fried okra), playing on easy soul food to help those running through Copley on a busy lunch hour. There's mac n' cheese, potato salad, cole slaw (crispy, not wet and slimy), and baked beans (cooked so right they're more like refried baked beans than those little bastards that come in a can) . . . and dirty rice. I'm telling you, with complete occasional-vegetarian authority, that their dirty rice involves chicken livers (Cajun rice with chicken livers, ground pork, peppers, and spices) and is more delicious than the pilaf at any Middle Eastern spot in town.
When the truck isn't in Back Bay, it's parked at Redbones's home base in Somerville.
REDBONES FOOD TRUCK, various locations. Lunch: Mondays and Wednesdays, 10 am–3 pm (Clarendon Street between Newbury and Boylston, in front of TD Bank); Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 10 am–3 pm (Stuart Street, corner of Trinity Place in front of 100 Clarendon Street garage). Dinner: Mondays and Wednesdays, 3 pm–11 pm (Boylston Street in front of the Boston Public Library). Call 617.888.8106 or visit redbones.com.
