Highlight #138: better as a pub - pub: the Porter

Someone told me that the only economy-proof business is a pub at a foot traffic heavy intersection. And this has proven to be true at the Portor. On a Friday evening, this place was packed to the hilt with all walks of life. Apparently a beer was a great idea whether one is celebrating a birthday or getting over the shock of being fired. And believe me, I met both kinds that night.

Unfortunately, with the crowd did not come a culinary revolution. Instead, it appears that the Portor has take a step backwards, but none of those elbowing their way up to the bar for a drink seemed to care. Besides the still lovely sinuous clearing salt and vinegar popcorn, my group, after an hour and half of fun conversation and good drinks, received the pictured forgettable food.

The fried goat cheese fritters had a very crispy outer layer, but were just a little too mushy and bland in the middle to deserve total adoration.

I got the mussels and was happy to receive none fishy ones. It was, however, somewhat bland...

My J had previously gotten their burger when they first opened and liked it's juicy medium interior. You can see for yourself the doneness here, so I won't say more.

The redeeming Irish car boom, however, was awesome. Simple yet sublime, it had ice cream that was creamy, caramel sauce that was sticky and slightly salty, and Guinness that was well just classic Guinness. It all worked so well together. It put smiles on all our faces.

In comparison, the chocolate thing was just fine. Really not bad at all, but not the bomb.

If the Porter is a restaurant, I would have been a very unhappy camper that night, but the Porter is not a restaurant. It's a pub, a place where you catch up with friends you like, find kindred spirits in misery, or just enjoy safety and body heat in a crowd. The Porter is all that. The food is what you get to keep the drinks flowing and, for that, it is adequate, as long as they stop touting about that Seeger's pedigree. :) Truth be told, I am so happy that we all have a place to go where we can forget the depressing state of the economy for awhile. So, I'll toast to a long and prosperous life for the Porter.

The Porter
1156 Euclid Avenue
Atlanta GA 30307
404.223.0393