The Porch – Redux

How did I kick off 2012? With a good ol’ southern style brunch from The Porch.

The first day of 2012 wasn’t just the first day of a new year, it was the first day of brunch for The Porch. Ambitious, right?! Going forward, they will be serving brunch on Sundays.

First off, it was an absolutely gorgeous day. While we chose to sit indoors, when we left, the outside patio (porch) was fully occupied.

There’s no better way to start out the day, and a new year, with a wonderfully presented mimosa! It wasn’t bottomless, which was probably a good thing, but refills are just $3.50.

Kila cava with orange juice

Now came the fun part: the agonizing task of trying of decide what to order. There were several items on the menu that looked fabulous. Which to choose? The vegetarian omelet with mushroom, broccoli, cheese and hollandaise sauce? Or the jambalaya omelet….crawfish and Louisiana red rice and blue crab gravy. Or something simple like grits and eggs? As you can see, the menu isn’t designed for vegetarians, aside from the veggie omelet. After all, this is Southern food, so you have to expect bacon, cheese, and eggs in pretty much everything! However, if you’re pescetarian, you will probably be okay with a few dishes. Plus, you can modify, if need be. However, I might be concerned with cross-contamination. Vegans, stay away! This is NOT the place for you!

The Porch brunch menu

Before bringing out the meal, the chef sent an amuse bouche of bacon infused cornbread muffins with honey and a little bit of a kick. I believe this comes from their jalapeno butter!

Super crabby crab cakes with a lemon and mustard hollandaise sauce, applewood smoked bacon, and potatoes that had a delicate vinegar flavor. This was absolutely delicious. The crab cakes were, well, super crabby! No skimping on the meat in these suckers! The hollandaise sauce was very unique, as were the potatoes. They were actually unlike any standard breakfast potato I’d ever had.

Eggs and biscuit, with The Porch gravy, andouille sausage and house potatoes.

I like to do it my own way… Okay, so this is how I’m like a “Sally”: If they don’t have a dish I like, I make my own! Side of cheesy grits, with biscuits and blue crab gravy. The grits were really authentic. I could feel and see the corn kernels. They make them savory, and I don’t know if they have a sweet option. As for the biscuits and gravy? Holy shmoley these were good. Three huge biscuits and a crock of gravy that was so full of bad stuff, it almost turned healthy. I was eating these for three days! The gravy is almost reminiscent of some kind of amazing, ridiculously thick chowder, minus the potatoes. It’s delicately seasoned, so as not to overpower the crab flavor, with an amazing texture that worked awesome with the crunchy exterior of the biscuits.

Because he is such a fan and wanted to share them, the server brought out ramekins of their apple blueberry jam and huckleberry jam for the biscuits. I really liked the huckleberry jam, but I said, screw the fruit, gimme the fat! Both jams are made in house. They try to do pretty much everything on the premises and are very adamant about sourcing their meats and produce from local purveyors. In fact, the server whipped out his cheat sheet to tell me the exact name and location of where they get their pork, chicken, beef, and anything else I might be wondering about.

Some of the items on the brunch menu are also on their lunch/dinner menu, like the Porch Burger, Seafood Cobb Salad, and Shrimp and Grits. Just like with dinner, it’s likely you will get two meals out of this!

If you’re looking for a fun place for brunch, check it out. It’s not someplace I would regularly visit, just because it is a tad pricey and the food is a bit too rich for me (insert: fattening!), but it’s super tasty and fun for special treat.

http://www.theporchsacramento.com/index.html