The Front Porch (San Francisco, CA)

During my travels to the Bay Area, specifically San Francisco, I wanted to highlight specific foods that the city isn’t known for.  I spend hours researching the perfect restaurant for when I travel.  Nothing is worse than going to another state and eating at the same restaurant that’s in the state where you just came from.  Where’s the excitement in that?  By the way, there’s no possible way that I-Hop pancakes should taste the same no matter which state you’re in, they’re artificial.  One thing you don’t hear much of when you think of popular San Francisco eats are southern food.  San Francisco is near the water, so generally anything that has seafood in it would be a fan favorite, but during my trip I decided to seek something that the Roman’s weren’t doing while in Rome.

I was able to find a couple of southern style restaurants in San Francisco, but I landed on The Front Porch (no pun intended) of one of the best Fried Okra places I’ve ever tasted.  The Front Porch is located off of 29th St. down the street from the “Full House” type of homes.  (Shame on you if you don’t know what Full House is/was)  The interior is one of a college house party, with its tin ceilings and bright lighting.  If you’ve never been to a frat house party, then go inside of this restaurant.

What intrigued me most about this restaurant was the concept that they had on their “Bucket of Fried Chicken”.  While I was there, I had the opportunity to speak with Kevin and he explained to me the reason for the popcorn being served with its Fried Chicken, is because when they wanted to introduce the “Bucket Of Fried Chicken” the only bucket they had been one that was used for popcorn.  If you decide to order a Bucket of Chicken in this establishment, don’t look around crazy because there’s popcorn on your plate.  I can admit, I was a little thrown off, but after I tasted the buttered flavor of the popcorn to go along with the crispiness of the Fried Chicken, I fell in love.  The Fried Chicken was juicy, seasoned to perfection, and savory.  I went for brunch and the amount of Fried Chicken that’s provided makes you wonder how much chicken they’ll give you during dinner.  I also chose to have the creamed corn and collard greens as my two sides.

The creamed corn was made with bacon and truffle oil.  Whoever came up with the idea of putting those two together is a fucking genius.  The mushroom flavor of the truffle and the saltiness of the bacon, along with the creaminess of the corn will make your taste buds go into another journey your mouth has never experienced.  The collard greens were made with ham hocks, which I generally wouldn’t like, but they were pretty good.  I think ham hock makes collard greens too salty, especially if you add vinegar so this specific side wasn’t my favorite.  I wanted to give it a shot, because everyone makes their collard greens differently, but I’m glad I did give it a try.  It wasn’t bad, but I didn’t enjoy it, doesn’t mean you won’t.

The two other dishes that were ordered was the File’ Gumbo which was spicy as fuck.  If you like your Gumbo filled with spices and packed with different flavors, then this is the dish for you.  The dish incorporates white rice with okra, andouille sausage, and other spices and blends.  The sausage was the main event of this dish which helped kick it up a notch, but if you don’t mind sweating while eating gumbo than this is the dish for you.

The last dish that was ordered was the Fried Okra with Aioli Sauce.  I first started eating Fried Okra as a kid growing up.  My grandmother and mom used to make them with fried fish, or they would make it with tomatoes.  I wanted to order it from here because I knew for sure it would be something I loved and I wasn’t wrong, AT ALL!  If you’ve never had Fried Okra some would say it has the same taste or consistency as an eggplant.  I say that it tastes like Okra.  Okra has a unique taste because it’s slimy but has the taste of a mild green vegetable.  If you’re in town and decide to go to this restaurant, make sure you order this dish.

Overall, this restaurant is a must go to.  There were a couple of southern style restaurants that I would’ve chosen in San Francisco, but I’m glad I chose this one.  The flavors and atmosphere are all amazing.  If it’s nice out, make sure you get a seat outside.

OVERALL RATING : BUSINESS CLASS