I'd just come out of a store, glanced across the street, and there was The Porch. I'd heard a lot about this place, that is was down home comfort food w/ a laid back atmosphere. And that it was. I loved how their space was laid out, about 3 rows of booths, some the popular combo of 1/2 booth, 1/2 table w/ chairs, red, cushy, roomy booths. Love that. Their bar lined the entire back wall, and the kitchen serving window made up the majority of the adjacent wall, below a large black board of specials, simply called "The Big Black Board."
On this day, I decided on a cocktail, because they were offering their version of an Arnold Palmer, which they called an Arnold Collins. There is a huge trend in Dallas right now, and maybe everywhere, to offer this sweet tea flavored vodka 7 ways from Sunday. I've found that I only like it mixed with lemonade - it's sure to become my new summer drink in a few months. :) The Arnold Collins was perfectly tasty.
After persusing the menu, I was conflicted between the BBQ Brisket Sliders or the Garlic Chicken and Avocado BLT. I went for the BLT because, well, isn't everyone doing a brisket slider these days (hello Jack's Backyard)? I chose the pasta salad as a side, after I found out it was actually orzo with feta cheese, minced purple onion, and red pepper.
When the plate arrived, I knew I had made the right choice. First of all, just look at the crusty exterior of the bread...totally slathered in butter and grilled for a bit. Tastebuds were watering at this point.
At first bite, the garlic was subtle, but it was there, and not too overpowering. The avocado schmear, combined w/ the tomatoes, provided just the right amount of moisture - not to mention the chicken was perfectly moist. Imagine that, a chicken sandwich that wasn't dry for once! The arugula as the lettuce was a nice touch. But there was something about the applewood smoked bacon...it was chewy, almost like jerky. At first this threw me off, thinking maybe it was overdone, but if that were the case, it would have been crunchy. I picked a piece off and shredded it lengthways, it was most certainly like jerky, more 'shreddy' than chewy. I decided I liked the texture.
The pasta salad was a nice touch as well, just needed a little S&P. Another little detail I liked, they use commercial bar mop towels as their napkins! I'm diggin' that. Completely unpretentious, and adds to the branding of the whole place at the same time.
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