Food truck foods are usually expensive and too fusion heavy. Rodney's is anything but. Located inside the CVS parking lot, Rodney's truck is very low key and barely noticeable unless you're already on the lot. The flavor of the smoked meat is intense the closer you get to the truck. For my first visit, I bought the rib tips, ribs, and brisket sandwich. All three are excellent but if I were to choose a favorite, I'd have to go with the brisket sandwich. It is simply superb and there's no other words to describe it. The brisket is so flavorful and tender it almost melts in the mouth. The sides are not too shabby either. I especially liked the baked beans. Would've loved to try the mac-n-cheese but it was already sold out. I can see myself coming back here the next time I crave for smoked meats (very soon). The portion is good and the price is very reasonable. Highly recommend! read more

Rodney's Ribs - Rib tips + baked beans - Food Trucks Near Me - Pasadena, California

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I read about Rodney's ribs on eater LA food blog. I dragged my hubby to north Pasadena to pick up dinner on a Sunday afternoon in early February. It is in the CVS parking next to Roscoe fried chicken. There was only one person waiting for his food. The menu is basic and easy to read. I ordered beef brisket sandwich and hubby ordered Rodney special w/ribs and 2 sides and white bread. We didn't wait too long at all. The brisket was piled high that I could split it into 2sandwiches. It is covered in their yummy bbq sauce and the meat was so tender. Hubby loved the ribs which was off the bone and tender dripping the bbq sauce. I would come back again. read more

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Rodney's Ribs is located at or near 900 N. Lake Ave, sometimes in the CVS Parking lot, sometimes on the street nearby it all depends on the parking situation. I don't know if the schedule on Yelp is current, I kinda doubt he's there until 8PM, but I could be wrong, I suggest calling first before you head on over. The guy smokes his meats right on this trailer, I have heard he sometimes run's out of a certain meat thankfully I didn't have that issue. Cash & CC Accepted. It's a trailer so not much else to say except the guy who I assume was Rodney https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/rodneys-ribs-pasadena-2?start=60 was friendly. Bobbies Brisket Sandwich ($14.90) https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/rodneys-ribs-pasadena-2?select=0WRqM7Yf6DY5GTGHvMvNYg Nice bun loaded with plenty of Brisket pre-sauced and a side of Baked Beans. This was the wife's sandwich, I always hesitate ordering Brisket especially when I'm visiting a new place, why, most places serve it with way too much fat for my liking! NOT at Rodney's https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/rodneys-ribs-pasadena-2?select=cwNdwovMuJ6CNCKIyjK-Og nice and lean, great smoke flavor and sauce was good too. 5-Stars Baked Beans https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/rodneys-ribs-pasadena-2?select=zqcfJrWC0hrvKDKy8JJVXA Very good Tutties Tips aka Rib Tips ($13.50) https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/rodneys-ribs-pasadena-2?select=LrgokRJhn4X2pxvUBVxTiA Plenty of real nice smoky meat on these rib tips https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/rodneys-ribs-pasadena-2?select=gLUCM3oGfMfHCJvgsQwXoA and same sauce as on Brisket, I forgot to ask if he has various sauces or spice levels. 5-Stars Potato Salad https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/rodneys-ribs-pasadena-2?select=OcfrUaqeGvU2aJpQU-g2RA Very good. If you're anywhere in the Pasadena area and like BBQ come check this truck out, my ONLY complaint from the food I did get was while the service was friendly....it was also s-l-o-w. Be patient the food was worth it. read more

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There exists a scarcity of good bbq in Pasadena, and this place doesn't help to remediate this. A bit on the pricy side for a truck, and the ribs sorely lacked tenderness and succulence. Ended up throwing half of them away. Additionally, they were out of the the first two sides I chose, so I chose a third, and he up-charged me for this supposed "premium" side, mac and cheese. So, on the business etiquette front, also shockingly poor. Apart from charging me, I'm also just bewildered as to how mac and cheese, literally cheap pasta and cheese, is premium. There had better be some lobster and truffle oil thrown in there for a premium up-charge. Lastly it took a extremely long time, and the owner was as acting a little strange. Would avoid. read more

Amazing!! I should've taken pics but the food was so good, you're just gonna have to take my word for it, lmao. I went on a Friday evening (around 6:30) and the line was small. I mean super small; it was me and maybe two other people. I ordered the brisket sandwich for myself and the rib plate for my hubby. I'll break this review down into two parts: 1. Rib plate: hubby said the meat fell off the bone (that tender!) and the potato salad side was just about perfect! 2. The brisket sandwich: It was a lot of meat! I mean, this could've been a sandwich for two! That's how big it was! The brisket was super tender and the sauce was just the bee's knees! Perfect! You can't go wrong! Professional service and quick! I highly recommend!! read more

Finally got to try Rodney's ribs and brisket and they were mouth watering delicious. Very tender meat with smoky flavor. Sauce is smoky, sweet and tasty. Baked beans and potato salad really complement the ribs. Slice of bread brings it on home. Rodney is the man, with the best Q in the land. One of the best in Dena since Brown's. Can't wait to try more. read more

Rodney's Ribs - Already tore in. I'm into eating, not taking pics. - Food Trucks Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Wow, first timer - the bbq brisket sandwich is fantastic, and big enough for two meals. I will be going back when I get an urge for bbq again. read more

Pasadenas best bbq is a small food truck that can be found in the parking lot of a CVS (Lake and Mountain). I had read an article about this months ago and just never got around to finding the truck. I think there was a christmas tree lot here and no bbq to be found. And then periodically I might stop by not realizing that the truck is only here six days a week? And they sell out and maybe the truck doesn't stick around to sell soda and without smoked meats. Anyways I stopped by today and actually found the truck. It was the late afternoon so some of my first choices were out. I was able to try the ribs and I got the cole slaw. Saucy with that smoke flavor I knew from the first bite that I would need to come back regularly. Cole slaw was decent but I must try the potato salad and the green beans and maybe if I shed some winter weight the mac and cheese. I need to set an alarm next weekend to come by early for some brisket. I will probably be thinking about this food for the next week. read more

Well, the rib tips were lukewarm to cold and the sides the same. I can definitely find a better rib place for the price point. Sorry

The ribs were a welcome surprise we were driving from remainder's thrift shop and we saw it in the CVS parking lot and decided to try it it turned out to be really good for a random food truck the brisket was sweet and juicy We would go again read more

Maybe I'm not lucky or what, The truck is either not open or not there. The owner needs to update his hour, even a quick post on a social media would be good. I even confirmed with them their operating hours before . Today Saturday 2pm is my 4th attempt to find out the truck is not there during the opening hour posted on yelp or website.... Very disappointing! read more

BRUH. I have had a lot of great barbecue in my life, and LA always leaves me wanting more and unsatisfied in that regard. Except this time. I took one bite into the brisket sandwich here and knew I had found that good good. The meat was moist and delicious, you could taste the wood smoke deeply in ever single bite, it was fantastic. Will definitely be back! read more

A small trek from Los Angeles, but worth every mile!! We had the Rib Dinner, Brisket Sandwich...and we had to try a hot link. Every item was delicious, amply portioned for the price, and - did I say delicious!? The meat was perfectly cooked and the BBQ sauce was exactly what I was hoping for. The napkins and utensils are cleverly hidden in the boxes, so don't think they shorted you. After you get your grub, head three blocks east to enjoy it under the trees of a local park. Rodney's food and the shady locale make for a perfect afternoon. read more

Rodney's Ribs - Rib Dinner, Brisket Sandwich, and Hot Link! - Food Trucks Near Me - Pasadena, California

Holy smokes! The ribs and sauce stand out! Hot link sandwich was on point as well! Thank you for doing BBQ right. I'll be back for more deliciousness! read more

Decided to give him another try after a few years. Today March 15th 2024 I ordered 2 brisket sandwiches 1 with sides and a Rodney's special. The brisket was smokey very tender and that's it! The barbque sauce was extremely sweet and that's it. I've never had a bland blank barbque sauce, where do they do that? My sides were baked beans and again extremely sweet blank and bland. I couldn't the beans they must've come out of a can with a black n white label that said "beans" Generic flavorless tasteless bland blank beans, and my other side was potato salad which was your basic store brand. Several current reviews praised him on the smokiness of the meat and I agree, they also praised him on the great flavor of his sides, perhaps I ordered the wrong 2 out of 5 or their tastebuds need to be resuscitated or empathetic and forgiving. Lastly my sides for $4.50 should've been put in a separate container and not put in the small compartments in my take out container. Not only was the tiny portion $4.50 price on the menu but he charges and additional .$50 per sides? My only choices at this point is to DIY or continue going across the 110 freeway. read more

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Rodney's brisket is the bomb!! If you haven't tried this hidden gem up on Lake in Pasadena- go now!! Soooo tasty!!

Ribs are definitely something that can be a hit or miss regardless of price. I'm relieved to say Rodney's lives up to its reputation. I ordered the ribs and sides for $15, which netted me 2 large ribs, 2 smaller ribs, a heaping scoop of potato salad, and a piece of bread. The ribs had a nice crunchy bark with smoked flavor permeating throughout fork-tender meat. The potato salad also had an optimum balance of mayo and potato with little filler vegetable (celery I'm looking at you). It really was fantastic BBQ even ignoring the price. Heavily recommend to anyone interested and will be sure to come back to try the brisket. Would recommend, would return read more

Everything.. the ribs r so tasty the potato salad is the best.. the prices great.... Enjoy

Just walked over to Rodney's. New to the neighborhood and love bbq, but i am picky. My first test is always a Hot Link. This shakes out the pretenders. Well it was very good for $6.95. The hotlink was nice and spicy and cooked perfectly. Just a regular hot dog bun. The bbq sauce was a little sweet for me so next time i will ask no sauce. I thought it was great and i will go back but ask for sauce on the side read more

I've been enjoying Rodneys Ribs for a few years now and they are really really good. The sauce is wonderful with a unique taste. BBQ beans and potato salad is tasty as well. The only complaint I have is Rodney has decreased his portion size with the ribs. In the past you would get 2 - 3 full ribs. Now, those are cut in half so you're actually getting 3-4 very small ribs at best. The pricing is a bit on the high side so I'm hoping that Rodney will bring back the portion size to warrant the cost. I'm hoping he reads this review and realizes that it's important to get what you pay for. read more

Kept hearing about the APL BBQ popup in town so I had a sudden craving for American BBQ. Did some digging around and my foodie circle said NG and pointed me to Rodney's Ribs instead. The truck is located north of the 210 so I practiced my mean-mugging face in the mirror before I left the house. The truck is located in the outer edges of a CVS parking lot right across from the famous Roma Market. Nothing fancy here but it fits with the blue-collar image of North Pasadena. The brisket is tender and QPR fair, but what made this visit memorable was the customers in front of me who went out of their way to help me order and gave me advice on what's good on menu. Not that I needed help; I was viewed as a guest to their neighborhood and treated with hospitality. It was an authentic LA moment: a perfect sunset at a food truck line. People of different races and cultures caring for each other, chatting about the Lakers and having a good time. That is the magic of great food. It takes 72 muscles to mean-mug and only 14 to make a Anya smug face- heh read more

Ill start by saving the food is good, the guy seems cool.. so i call one day during business hours. Three calls no answer, ok so I eat something else. I still want bbq so i call the next day to see if he is open. He answers, yes i am open, great! Let me get everyones order and ill call right back. I call back another three times within a 15 minute span... guess hes too busy to answer the phone, or call back.. a shame. read more

Great food but sometimes out of your desired item. May have to wait a long time for your food but worth the wait.

Mr. Rodney, I love your BBQ. Delicious beef briskets and rib tips. I also enjoyed Ms. Shay's freshly baked Peach Cobbler pie with French Vanilla Ice-cream for dessert. Thank you for all the delicious food & warm friendly services. Blessings! read more

I'm super sick after eating 1 rib and 4 pieces of brisket. It taste great, but now I'm regretting eating one bite. Price for two meals was $55.00 and now we're sick. BEWARE read more

I wish I could tell you how the food is but I didn't get that far. Waited in line for 20 minutes just to see that neither of the workers were wearing masks! How is it that every single one of us dozen people waiting outside spaced out were wearing masks but the workers are not! There is still a mask mandate in LA and certainly for food preparers and restaurants. I was looking forward to trying this place out but incredibly disappointed by the lack of basic health safety for their customers!!! read more

Rodney's Ribs - No mask again - Food Trucks Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Came from work on a Tuesday night and had one of the best briskets I've ever had in my life. Everything about it made for a fantastic experience. Great service, greater food. read more

Best bbq in Pasadena hands down. I would prefer eating Rodney's over Craft by Smoke & Fire or Gus's bbq any day. Tuttis tips are my go to- they're juicy with caramelized, crispy edges and are smothered in delicious bbq sauce. The Mac & cheese, brisket, and baked beans were delicious also. The serving sizes are large, there's no skimping here! The food takes a minute to come out but it's well worth the wait. Rodney's bbq smoker truck in the CVS parking lot is an impressive setup. read more

Really solid and unassuming bbq truck. We loved their ribs and brisket. They have a small menu but to us that usually means they're doing just a few things really well. They were out of beans and coleslaw, so we got the mac and cheese side. The taste and texture of the mac was a little old, but the cheese was sharp and flavorful. I'm only giving 4/5 because we've been to better divey bbq places that had chicken and pork; however not in such a close walking distance. Will be coming back for more meat! read more

Note: I think FOR THE MEANTIME Rodney's Ribs will only appear at LINCOLN AND WOODBURY, in Altadena. His 900 Lake Ave appearance is on hold until further notice. I don't know Rodney's Ribs full official hours but I tend to catch him near Lincoln and Woodbury on Saturdays at 12 noon (in city of Altadena). I love Rodney's Ribs. I drive a long way for it and I was so glad they still had some smoked pork ribs when I arrived at 12:30pm on Saturday. They can sell out their first batch of food early, but they try to smoke all day and sometimes you have to come back a couple of hours later when the next batch of BBQ are ready to serve. I really like their ribs, rib tips, and brisket! I usually eat a 1/2 rack of pork ribs (unsauced) in my car and wash it down with a large soda from McDonald's. I then order 1/2 lbs Brisket with sauce on the side to-go. It still tastes great after 1 minute in the microwave. I pair it with 2 eggs over easy and a side of garlic rice (excellent bbq brisket silog Pinoy breakfast). I don't know their business hours very well. My last visit was yesterday Saturday and their hours were I think 11a-8p. They ran out of food by 2p and reopen at 4p when the next batch of barbecue was ready. Note, if they completely run out of food to cook, they would be forced to close early for that day. I don't know who came in at 11am yesterday but they must have bought trays of food. And they must have really like Rib Tips because that was all gone by the time I got there. If you need catering, please call in your order days ahead, so there's food for other customers during their normal business hours. Just a polite request from one customer to another. read more

Great bbq at fair prices. Love the tips and the ribs, and always add a hot link. Better than Bludso's in Santa Monica!

This place has the best ribs and potato salad. Rodney is very friendly and you can tell he cares about his food and customers. In the two times I've been there I've found people waiting for their order including some police officers who stopped by to grab a bite. It's a popular place for a reason you should try it. read more

Rodney's BBQ sauce is unmatched! Delicious BBQ and quick/friendly service. Get the ribs and brisket!!!!

The ribs are simply not flavorful. The meat tastes pre-boiled and the bbq sauce is watery. If you have the time, drive 20 minutes south to either Phillip's BBQ or Woody's BBQ. read more

Fabulous ribs! It was a slow night, which was a plus for us... no line! Ribs were very juicy, the coleslaw was by far the BEST I have ever had. I'll definitely be returning for the brisket! I've seen Rodney's set up on my way to grab a sandwich from Roma market, and I've always been curious... Very glad we paid them a visit! read more

My food was soaked in liquid smoke I'm assuming ... kinda felt like I was going to get sick from cancer or something... I had hoped it was good but I pass read more

Had a craving for some barbecue ribs- there are a lot of options nearby. Most of them have a Mediterranean feel or Korean barbecue, and that's great, but I wanted good old fall off the bone, lick your fingers, messy ribs. This food truck is everything!!! It's parked in a CVS parking lot. The owner takes your order, prepares the food and hands it to you- I asked for extra sauce and he didn't even just put it on the side or just extra on top as expected ....like he cooked it in! There was extra sauce in every bite of the brisket and ribs. So good!! I've had ribs and barbecue all over the country and this was exceptionally great! Portions are great. So I'm having leftovers for lunch today!! There's no place to eat it there. So take extra napkins in your car or bring it home or to a park and enjoy ribs and brisket the way they're supposed to be, fall off the bone tender, juicy, flavorful and messy! read more

With a heavy heart, I've eaten my last order from Rodney's. My other experiences were finger licking good. After surviving the Rona and sheltering In place for 80 days --eating my own delicious meals-- I wanted to break my Covid fast with something extraordinary and I sought out Rodney's. Elated to see them open I ordered the rack " We do not have a rack of ribs" they said. Say what na??? It's 4:30 PM on a Friday, a BBQ rib truck with NO ribs. They offered brisket, hummm " We may have enough ribs for a dinner" a voice said, May have??? Okay, I'm hungry and some was still good. I pay my $25+ for 4-5 ribs two sides 1.50 extra, F?&@! Then I hear"I'm a rib short, do you want a few "slices" of brisket?" Eeeee Gads-- Give me whatever I'm hungry!' I get home, I tuck into moisture insecure Mac-n-cheese lite, potato salad and literal scraps of brisket Not a slice in sight, two actual ribs and one burnt end. You wrong Rodney's, bye Update: In an upside down world this yummy choice is restored--Eat often, its that good! read more

The best! The brisket is to die for! The ribs fall off.the bone. Who would have thought q food truck.in the CVS parking lot could be so good. read more

Oo Oooooweeeee so good Dwight was awesome! Old school ribs, finger lickin good! Love the home cooking touch with the white bread. Thank you rodneys! read more

Rodney's Ribs - Food Trucks Near Me - Pasadena, California