qba Cuban Kitchen

LOVE IT i thought it was great, love the food, service was great including friendly staff. Truck is great, nice and colorful turquoise. I got the lechon, which is my favorite with maduros. I thought it was really great for a quick lunch or snack as far as quick service food quality standards go. I’ve heard great things about the QBA Cuban Kitchen truck, its local where i live near Montclair, I remember seeing it driving around my neighborhood and immediately wrote down the number, i was so excited. I LOVE cuban food and there are no good cuban restaurants around that deliver. So great for that sunday when you just want to stay in your pj’s and order in. That’s really cool that it’s in the city too!

I work in Jersey City every once in a while and was excited to try this truck. I wouldn’t say I was disappointed by my experience, but it didn’t live up to my expectations. I ordered the lechon, which comes with rice and beans, and a side of sweet plantains. The lechon was awesome, i just wish there was more. It was only a few fork fills of pork, and the rest was rice and beans. I mean for the price i can’t complain too much, but the portion was nothing like you get at Sophies. Thank god i got the side of fried plantains to fill me up. They give you a nice portion for only $ 1, and they’re delicious. As a sauce I chose the creamy garlic aioli which was outstanding. I wanna buy some of this sauce to put on other meals. I’d recommend checking it, but am in no rush to go back.

Parts of my side of a conversation with a co-​worker:
–Cuban food truck?
–Just 2 blocks from work? Yeah, let’s go!
…(after arriving)
–Oh man, this is gonna be great, I can just feel it.
–Yeah, the braised steak looks good! What sauce are you gonna get?
–No, not the bbq. The jalapeño-​cilantro, and garlic aioli. I tend to like all types of aioli.
–No dude, that’s not a «mojito» mojito. You can have it, the boss won’t say anything.
…(back at the office kitchen/​dining area)
–This isn’t as good as it looks. Reminds me of yo’ mama.
–I’m just kidding, she moves like a lioness.
–Yours is kinda bland too right? Yeah, there’s definitely something missing here. There’s no kick, no bursting flavours. I mean it’s not bad, but I expected way better. Needs more heat too.
–I think next time we’ll just go to Margon again.

YUMMY! By chance, I heard that the qba Cuban Kitchen truck was in the neighborhood. And I couldn’t resist trying a new place in my work hood so I ran right away to wait on line (which, by the way, wasn’t bad. The staff got the assembly-​line working well) and left with the day’s special, Ropa Vieja (Savory braised beef in smokey paprika sauce), the Lechon/​Cuban Pulled Pork (braised in its own juices & «qba-​dobo» and a side of Maduros (Cooked ripened plantains). And to finish off the meal, a Mint-​Mojito Limeade (all-​natural juice, cane sugar & seltzer). The flavors were excellent, the habenaro-​bbq sauce was delicious and I can finally say, I’ve been to the truck!
I recommend giving this place a try! I hope to see if there are any menu changes as the seasons change.

I saw the truck was a block away from my work place so I decided to drop by. I’m a big cubano fan so when I saw it on the menu, I was sure that was what I was going to get. But then I checked Unilocal and based on reviews, the Lechon cuban pulled pork sounded like it was a better bet. There were about 6 people in front of me when I got to the truck and the line moved rather slow. It felt like they were only taking 3 orders at a time. Almost like there wasn’t enough people in the truck to cook and take orders. When I got to the front I ordered my pulled pork and waited about 5 minutes before my order was finished. I’m guessing everyone else got cubanos, which is why they had to wait longer. I also got the guava-​habanero sauce and dosed my pulled pork with it. It was ok. The pork is probably juicier than most I’ve had and once the sauce settled in, it tasted a lot better. I felt like the meal came with a lot of beans and not enough of the red onions. I was pretty full even though it looked like a small lunch but I think I should have ordered the cubano instead. If anyone tries it, I’m curious to know how it is!

I guess I can call myself lucky to see the QBA Cuban Kitchen truck parking right in front of where I work. I have heard good things about them (read Jason’s review) and they came all the way from from New Jersey.
Today when I walked out for lunch I finally notice the colorful truck and run straight for the it with my camera; a Unilocaler reflex? Could be dangerous!
I check it out and smiled at the nice lady who asked me if I would like to order, but what to order?
When in the state of foodie brain freeze and looking stupid with a camera in hand just ask them to recommend an item.
She suggest the Lechon (Cuban pull pork) for $ 7 value meal. Sure! (click, click goes the camera)
The meal was delicious ! The meat was juicy and spiced just right; make sure you try the QBA sauce with it.
I hope this truck sticks around my block, I want to try more items on their menu.

Watch out Unilocalers, there’s a new food truck in town. After hearing about a new Cuban food truck roaming around the streets of downtown New York and Jersey City, I had to find it. Luckily, it wasn’t too far away, located on the SE corner of Wall St. and Front St. today. (Check out their Twitter link @
for their location). When I got there, there was a mass of people around the side of the truck all trying to look at a tiny 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper that served as the menu. Most were trying to decide whether to venture into new food truck territory, but as soon as I spotted Lechon on the menu, I had to get it.
And so I ordered the lechon (Cuban pulled pork) for $ 7.00 which includes arroz blanco (white rice) and frijoles negros (black beans). Complimented on the side is qba’s mojo-​pickled onions and choice of sauce (guava-​habanero bbq, cool & creamy garlic aioli, and jalapeño cilantro aji). I chose the guava-​habanero bbq. After putting in my order and giving my name, I perused around the menu, took a few pictures of the truck, and in about 3 – 4 minutes, my meal was ready. I asked the lady if I could get the jalapeño cilantro aji sauce instead, and she gladly said I could have both, which I was quite grateful. My order was bagged in a nice brown paper bag with handles along with a qba sticker on the front of it.
After making my way back to the office, I couldn’t help but to feast my palate. Inside the brown bag, were two kitchen napkins, a set of plastic utensils wrapped in plastic, my entrée which was served in a small black plastic tray (about 3″ x 6″ and 2″ high), and two small containers for my sauces. I could smell the delicious aromas and my taste buds salivating. Mmmmm… Onto the food:
The lechon (Cuban pulled pork), braised in its own juices and qba-​dobo, was tender and flavorful. The meat would just shred apart with the fork. The black beans were soft and mushy, yet were actually quite tasty, something of which I am accustomed to being bland and boring. The white rice was actually taken a step up from the norm, steamed with a subtle hint of bay leaf and garlic. Also included was diced mojo-​pickled onions which are qba’s diced red onions pickled in a citrus-​garlic mojo. Again, quite tasty.
Between the two sauces I tried, I couldn’t quite decide which one I liked most.
— qba’s jalapeño cilanto aji — nice citrus flavor with tolerable heat from the minced jalapenos. The cilantro was noticeable but I would have preferred more, especially when it comes to Cuban food.
— qba’s guava-​habanero bbq — indeed sweet, spicy, and tangy altogether. Although it’s listed with habanero, there is barely any heat at all in this sauce, yet very flavorful.
Overall, I really enjoyed my dish. Portions were a bit on the skimpy side, as half the platter was a bed of rice and the portions of lechon and black beans were quite small. For $ 7.00, it was slightly on the pricey side for the amount of food I received, but actually up to par with some other mobile food trucks. I definitely enjoyed their food and may have to come back for their other two value meals: the pollo (chicken) for $ 7.00 and bistec (Cuban steak) for $ 8.00.