Viva Brighton Issue #58 December 2017

FOOD REVIEW
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Soul Food Sunday
Traditional roast, with a Caribbean twist
Whatever your festive
traditions, at this
time of year there’s
nothing quite like a
roast dinner to make
you feel all warm and
fuzzy inside. For that
reason, we decided
that in this issue
of Viva we would
dedicate all our food
reviews to roasts:
one traditional roast
at a less traditional pub, one roast crammed into a
midweek lunch break, and this: a roast with a twist.
The twist is Caribbean, courtesy of Darren and
Helen, whose Soul Food Sundays take over Juke’s
Bar and Kitchen on Portland Road once a week. I
reserved a table a while ago because I’ve heard this
place gets full on a Sunday. Two of us get there
early and Helen offers us some cocktails while
we’re waiting: I go for a rum punch and István
orders a daiquiri.
The other two arrive shortly after our drinks.
Çigdem is looking a bit peaky. “She’s not feeling
very well,” Andreas explains. “Oh no, are you
getting a cold?” I offer, sympathetically. “No…”
she sighs. It seems the sickness is more Saturday
night-related. But she valiantly orders herself a
cocktail anyway.
I already know what I’m having to eat: the veggie
option is ‘Stewed Peas’ (lentils). For meat eaters,
there’s Beef Pot Roast, Roast Chicken or Half/
half (the description just says: ‘it’s big’). They order
one of each. The place is pretty full, mostly with a
birthday party of about 15 at the table next to us.
There’s a fabulous live singer at the front of the
restaurant – hence the ‘soul’ – and a generally nice
hum of chatter.
The first food to
arrive at the table
is two jars of ‘Aunty
Debbie’s chutney’, –
one spicy, one not so
spicy. Then a second
round of cocktails
(for some of us).
Then the main
event.
My stewed lentils
come in a little dish
on the plate, which is an unusual layout for a roast,
but the flavour is gorgeous. The chicken leg is
bigger than any I’ve seen on a bird. It appears to
have been very well marinated before roasting, and
I’m told it’s perfectly cooked – juicy and a little bit
spicy. The beef also gets good reviews, although its
consumer is approaching it in small mouthfuls for
reasons previously discussed. The half and half, I
feel, is inappropriately named: it appears to be a full
portion of each. It is big.
The sides don’t disappoint either. As well as the
traditional accompaniments – roast potatoes,
Yorkshire puddings, stuffing – there’s red cabbage
stewed in Caribbean spices and, in my opinion,
the best part: crispy slices of fried plantain. They
don’t scrimp on anything; even the veggie gravy is
24-hours cooked.
When we leave, all happy and full, the afternoon
has become one of those perfect wintery ones: crisp
and fresh, already getting dark. “Shall we find a nice
pub with a fire?” somebody suggests.
“Yeah!”
“I know somewhere perfect.”
“Uh… ok.”
Rebecca Cunningham
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