Quick Take:
Location: Food Truck (Grove Roots & Front Page) See Stops Here
What Mike Ordered: Brisket Sandwich
What Katie Ordered: BBQ Sundae
Extra Order: Wings, Mac n Cheese, Beans and Ribs
Final Score: 4.5/5
Price: ~$10-20 per person
For our thirtieth stop (thirty!? time flies) on our Polk Food Quest, we visited Swamp Boys BBQ food truck.
Katie and I love checking out and supporting food trucks and personally want to start adding some more, but had some mixed reviews when we polled the newsletter audience.
That said, we'd love to support local trucks and see them eventually make their way to brick-and-mortar locations like Savage Tacos and Blackburn's.
Make sure to subscribe to the newsletter and let us know if that's something you'd like to see as well and I'll make sure to mix them in with our "Worth The Drive" reviews that are going to be coming with our new Tuesday newsletter.
Swamp Boys made our list for The Best BBQ Spots in Winter Haven as they frequently have a spot at Grove Roots Brewing and other Winter Haven hubs; so you shouldn't be surprised when you see the full review.
By the way: if you're new here, the concept of my Polk Food Quest is simple: every week I try a local spot, order the most common thing people get, try a few extras, and rank it on taste, value, vibes, and overall.
This week: Brisket Sandwich!
Which means I ordered a brisket sandwich and wings; and Katie ordered ribs, a BBQ sundae, and a side of mac and cheese and beans.
How Does This Work?
I order the standard item for that category (for Swamp Boys BBQ it was a brisket sandwich and a bunch of extras), plus a few extras so I can get a full feel for the menu.
Then I rank the experience on four things:
Taste | Value | Vibes | 
Overall
Taste focuses on the standard item.
The rest reflects the entire experience.
Taste: 5/5
Everything we ate was incredible.
We normally order pulled pork because Katie isn't the biggest fan of brisket, but she took one bite and ended up eating half.
For me the highlight of the menu was the BBQ Sundae, but everything was so good I had to go back up get a bottle of their original BBQ sauce to use on my daily sandwich.
Here's a quick breakdown for my quick scanners, though:
- BBQ Sundae (5/5): Starting with this one because it's the easiest. Incredible. So much food and every bite is so damn good. Must order.
- Brisket Sandwich (5/5): This was perfect as well. If you're a big BBQ lover this might be the move (or a platter).
- Wings And Sides: Everything we had was so good. Katie went back up and got more beans when I went up to get a bottle of the sauce. The wings were really good; but hard to stand out when the rest of the food was this amazing.
I've been dreaming of the BBQ Sundae since we had it, but would likely have a hard time not trying a pulled pork sandwich after tasting the rest of the menu.
Curiosity will likely get the best of me the next time we visit.
Vibes: 4/5
Vibes are a bit harder to score when it comes to a food truck.
They, unfortunately, don't have full control of the vibes (and I'm not going to just rank it based on the "vibes" of the truck itself, of course).
That said, here's how I usually rank vibes:
- The Physical Location
- Hospitality/Service
- The Interior/Space
The hospitality is an easy 5/5.
No control over the interior/space they're at (usually breweries, but that doesn't mean it's always a 5/5) brings it down a notch.
And, the physical location (where it is; Winter Haven, Bartow, Lakeland, etc.) won't always be in a downtown or amazing spot; so that ticks it down a little as well.
That said, we can't go too far down because being a truck also has a bit of a boost by being at our favorite breweries as well.
So I'm meeting somewhere in the middle, docking them ever-so-slightly for their schedule that changes on-and-off quite often, and coming in at 4/5; which I think is pretty fair.
Value: 4.5/5
If you stop by for a quick lunch, the value is a 5/5.
You can't really beat a pulled pork sandwich with a side for $12.
And the meat lovers platter packs a TON of meat for $19.
So the value is there.
That said, it is a food truck with lower margins so I know some people will expect some lower prices; and there are some menu items that do come in at a range I'd call "fair" instead of "great".
If this was a brick-and-mortar with a 5/5 for taste AND a 5/5 for vibes, I'd easily be giving it a 5/5 here as well.
But, for this one I'm only taking off half a point and giving them another solid score.
The menu items that I would be going for deserve a 5/5 if we're talking price to taste value alone — especially once we factor in that this is a quick serve with no additional costs (like tipping a server, for example).
Overall: 4.5/5
Swamp Boys BBQ gets a solid 4.5/5.
This was the first food truck we reviewed that doesn't also have a brick-and-mortar location so I'm still finding my way around some of the ranking systems (like vibes); but I'm happy with this score and want to highlight the 5/5 taste.
Would I bring my visiting family there?
Without a doubt.
BBQ Sundaes all around, and a ton of sides and extras to split.
This food is too good NOT to share.
And, my family is also fans of hanging out at Grove Roots and Front Page; which are both spots Swamp Boys set up shop fairly often.
Here’s how I’d sum up Swamp Boys BBQ:
The BBQ Sundae is the reason to go.
Layers of BBQ and sides stacked into one cup, and every single bite is worth it. Order it, no matter what else you get.
Grab the brisket sandwich while you're there. It was good enough to turn Katie (who normally skips brisket) into a brisket fan halfway through her first bite.
Don't skip the sides. The mac and cheese and beans hold their own, and Katie went back for more beans before we left.
Pick up a bottle of their original BBQ sauce on your way out. You'll want it at home.
It's a food truck, so you'll need to check their schedule before heading out, but you'll usually find them at Grove Roots and Front Page.
Between the food, the hospitality, and a pulled pork sandwich with a side for $12, it's 100% worth tracking them down.
Before You Go....
Hey!
I want to know what you think of Swamp Boys BBQ.
Leave a comment below.
The more you share, the better, but anything is appreciated.
Each comment helps The Best Of Polk articles and eventually, the yearly awards!
Have a place you want me to try?
Make sure to comment that as well.
Never Miss An Event Or Story