Porch

He said:

The Porch restaurant is located on Daybreak’s SoDa Row. SoDa Row? I guess “SoDa” stands for “South Daybreak”. The jury’s still out, but I think I kind of dig the nickname , though perhaps not the mixed capitalization. This area is also known as “Downtown Daybreak”. Upon our arrival, we found a full restaurant, but since we had a reservation, we only had to wait a few minutes. During that time, we got to look around and marvel at the impressive matrix of live ivy plants that grew from a dozen overhead flowerpots. Their vines extended and intermingled overhead, spanning the entire dining room. The room had concrete floors and an exposed, black-painted ceiling, neither of which did anything to dampen the din of the crowd.

The hostess and waitstaff each wore nametags made from Scrabble tiles. I asked our waiter whose name earned the highest score and he confessed that most of them use nicknames. I wonder if that’s a common practice.

Our hostess took us to a table in the corner. The layout of the room created a lone cranny with a single table in it. At first, I thought we had been relegated to outer darkness. Adding to my wonder, I noticed that unlike the rest of the dining room, which had beautiful framed paintings on the walls, the wall in our little corner displayed the rusted top and bottom of an old barrel as decorations. Nonetheless, I soon appreciated the coziness of our corner nook and the additional quiet and intimacy it afforded us.

The Porch did not have an extensive menu, but it still managed to have plenty of interesting options. We began with the London Broil Bruschetta, and wow. I loved it! This “New American Cuisine” version of bruschetta did not have the familiar balsamic glaze. Instead, it had a mustard and spice sauce that was just as delicious, though in a very different way. Instead of basil, arugula topped this dish. Instead of mozzarella, an herbed cream cheese. The seared London Broil’s pink center revealed that it had been perfectly cooked.

I thought Kathy would avoid the Grilled Bavette Steak because of its juniper rub, so I set my own attention on it. By the time Kathy found she could order it without the rub, I already had my heart set on it. That’s okay; nothing says we can’t order the same thing. Since she ordered hers with the buttermilk whipped potatoes, I ordered mine with French fries. They both came with the whipped potatoes, though, and no fries. After taking just one bite, I found I didn’t mind at all, though I wished the potatoes had been warmer. I also didn’t mind that they came with Brussels sprouts because the carrots had run out. That was a great substitution.

The steak also hit the mark, delivered perfectly medium-rare as I had requested. I don’t think either of us missed the coffee and juniper rub we had foregone, as the sear was well seasoned, with flaky salt and grated peppercorns. The meat was tender and full of flavor.

She said:

When we checked in for our dinner reservation, the first thing I noticed was the crowded layout of the seating. The second thing that caught my attention was the noise level. There was a full house, and the din of the conversation spoke to that.

The Porch is a small restaurant and space is tight. It’s got a modern chic vibe with its large, black-framed windows, ivory walls, black baseboards, black metal chairs, and blond woodgrain laminate-topped tables. Overhead, illuminated patio lights intertwined with vines of real ivy. I really liked the ambiance.

As Brian mentioned, we were ushered to a corner table tucked into its own private nook. It leant some much-appreciated intimacy a step away from the rest of the noisy, packed dining room.

I had eyed the Beef Stroganoff on the menu, but I heard the waiter explain to the patrons at the next table that the kitchen had run out. When he approached us to take our order, I instead mentioned that I would have liked the Grilled Bavette Steak, but it comes with a coffee-juniper rub, and I am severely allergic to juniper. No problem, he said. The chef can simply leave off the rub. Great! Sold.

When my highly anticipated meal was served, it looked really delicious sitting there on a heavy, attractive blue stoneware plate. I practically salivated at the meat, potatoes, and Brussels sprouts. All of that enthusiasm was quickly dampened by the temperature of my meal. It was cold. I mean, it wasn’t even room temperature. Sorry, but I prefer my hot food served hot.

My experience at the Porch would have been much better if the service had been less disjointed and slow, if my food had been appropriately warm, if the temperature of the room had been a tad more comfortable, and if they had not been out of carrots, dessert, and Beef Stroganoff.

I might have stayed for dessert, but they were out of the Chocolate Decadence, with its salty caramel. For me, it’s all about the chocolate.

Conclusion:

The Porch restaurant had great food in an urban-chic environment. The kitchen excelled with its delicious new American cuisine but suffered from some shortages. The added inattentiveness and several mistakes by the waitstaff diminished our experience somewhat.