The Porch in Winter Park
643 N Orange Ave, Orlando, FL 32801
Hours:
Mondays 4 pm to 2 am
Tuesday - Sunday 11:30 pm to 2 am
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of dining at The Porch in Winter Park for lunch with a couple friends. I was psyched to try the place out after reading reviews about their unique menu online. The environment that The Porch offers is so comforting and country-home like. The outside patio is lighted at night by the over-head lights that are strung from side to side which I imagine looks so cute. One of the things I was really excited about was the diverse drink menu; each one of their cocktails are made with at least one unique ingredient.
Two of us got "Honey Boo" and my other friend got "The Serendipity;" each drink was delicious and unique. The Honey Boo (pictured right) was a peach iced tea made with lemon and cucumber and Tito's vodka. It was very light and refreshing. The Serendipity (pictured left) was a spin on gin and tonic made with apple juice and chamomile syrup. I didn't personally like the flavor of this one and in comparison to my drink it was kind of syrupy but my friend said that it was good!
For the meal options there were almost too many good choices; I will definitely have to return a few more times to try everything that I was interested in. I chose The Club Brie, the other two got Taco Shorties and The Porch TV Dinner. The Club Brie was so delicious! I recently became fond of sandwiches made with Brie so this one stood out right away- I'm also not a huge fan of bacon but with everything else going on on this sandwich you could hardly taste it. The Taco Shorties were more Asian inspired than the Hispanic inspiration you would expect from tacos. They were made with braised short rib and green peppers, they were quite delectable. The TV Dinner brings so much food! You get chicken tenders, mashed potatoes with gravy, corn on the cob, mac and cheese, and a sweet treat. You could also substitute the chicken for meat loaf for two dollars more. This dish was particularly cute because it's served on a lunch tray and the sides are served in measuring cups!
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| The Club Brie |
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| Taco Shorties |
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| The Porch TV Dinner |
We also tried each of the dessert options that were available that day. Everyday they offer Mom's Peach Crunch and Fun Fries as well as a Chef's Special. The Mom's Peach Crunch is a cobbler served with a cute little cup of vanilla ice cream. The Fun Fries are a mixture of Apple Pie fries and Funnel Cake Fries tossed in cinnamon sugar and served with caramel sauce. The fries were okay, I think they could have used a little more flavor. The sauce that was served with the fries was served cold, I think it would have been much better served warm. I ordered the Chef's Special which that day was a Chocolate Cake served with berries. The cake was moist and the ganche was rich. The berries added a very nice flavor too.
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| Chef's Special |
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| Mom's Peach Crunch |
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| Fun Fries |
All in all I believe that The Porch is a wonderful lunch option, they advertise a Bloody Mary Bar on Saturdays and a Bottomless Mimosa special on Sundays which would make them a wonderful brunch selection. I will definitely be returning and I encourage you to try them out as well, you won't be disappointed!
