Homemade BBQ warms the soul

(Credit: Jessica Bratton)

On a rainy, gray day last week, a group of us hungry staffers went on a search for a lunch to warm us from the inside out. We found just what we were looking for at The Rebel, on Market Street.

The restaurant is long and narrow, with walls meant to look like old plaster, and another wall full of windows that let in plenty of light, giving the restaurant an open feeling. There's a long bar, lined with cushy bar stools with backs -- the kind of seats where you'd be happy to settle in for several beers. Since coming back to work after drinking several beers is looked down upon, we picked a table instead and got down to the business of eating lunch.

We started with one of The Rebel's specialty dishes, the T-Rolls ($4.50). When the plate arrived at the table, it looked like three very large, very crispy egg rolls. But, looks can be deceiving. The delightfully crunchy shell was filled with pieces of jerk chicken, cabbage, carrots and cheddar cheese. The cheese was melty and gooey, the kind of cheese that makes a string between your bite and the remainder of the egg roll. They came with a thick, rich, sweet, smoky homemade barbecue sauce.

We tried an order of hot wings ($6.50), half breaded, half naked. Both were good, but I liked the extra crunch of the breaded wings. The sauce had a good buffalo flavor without packing a lot of heat, and though the wings were meaty, they were rather small. One was so small that the kitchen should have compensated by throwing an extra wing on the plate.

The vegetarian in our group orders veggie burgers quite a bit and usually, they're not worth a mention. But as she was chowing down on the veggie burger ($7.50) and fries, the rest of us at the table kept hearing her "mmmmm" and say "this tastes just like a Whopper." Which, I suppose, is the highest compliment for which a veggie burger can hope.

The southern and Caribbean-style entrees on the menu usually range in price from $12-$14, but for lunch (between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday through Friday), they're only $8.

The first entree to hit the table was the fried fish ($14). The two whiting fillets were coated in a buttermilk batter and fried. That simply seasoned batter turned into a crisp coating, keeping the fish inside moist. Don't expect the fluffy coating you'd see on fish 'n' chips -- this is a bit of heartier, crustier coating. A little tartar sauce on the side amped up the flavor.

We also tried the oxtails ($14), a house specialty. The pieces of oxtail were less than a half an inch thick, and a little bit bigger than a silver dollar. They're prepared by simmering them in a brown gravy, which made the meat tender enough to easily pull away from the small, central bone. The rice and butter beans served with them soaked up any extra gravy and juice.

The barbecue chicken ($12) was served as a huge drumstick and thigh portion, coated in that thick, sweet, smoky barbecue sauce that we saw with the T-Rolls. The meat was tender and juicy, and the barbecue sauce is just delicious. Each of the entrees comes with your choice of two sides, and among our group we tried the collard greens, string beans, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese and candied sweet potatoes.

The candied sweet potatoes were an early favorite, thanks to the marshmallows on top. The collard greens had a good vinegar tang, and not a hint of bitterness. The green beans had that same tang, but I like my veggies with some crunch still left in them. The macaroni and cheese was also a favorite as the elbow macaroni swam unapologetically in a sea of cheese that you know can't be good for you.

But it just tasted so good.

Insider tip: Don't skip dessert

The dessert menu is small, but with homemade sweet potato pie, delicious homemade poundcake and warm peach cobbler, each for only $3, you can't miss it.

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