Rebel BBQ in Blythe, California

January 26, 2015:

There aren’t many dining options between Phoenix and Palm Springs, and I was hopeful to learn of the Rebel BBQ in Blythe, just over the line from Arizona, and its 4.5 rating on Yelp. Curiously, the comments mainly heaped praise on their pastrami, but they also tout their brisket and pulled pork. I got the brisket and Nancy, always a team player, got a salad topped with pulled pork. She took one bite of the pork and removed the rest from her salad. I tried a bite. I did not take another.My brisket sandwich, curiously, was served on a po’ boy roll and — also curiously — was not sliced but shredded. After tasting it, I realized that it was actually a po’ boy with no gravy — almost as bereft of liquid as the Blythe countryside. It actually would have been good with some gravy (aka jus). And the potato salad was pretty good. I was hungry so I ate it all.I did not try the pastrami. I thought about it, but I wasn’t hungry any more and the concept of great pastrami in Blythe was disorienting enough without testing their execution.