New Coffee House Opens

"The Porch" offers free Wi-Fi, great food, and a relaxed atmosphere near campus

Braylin Jenkins

Issue date: 11/16/09 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: Dan Cutrer

I visited The Porch around 1:00 in the afternoon on a Wednesday and was ready for lunch. The building has a brick exterior and a charming look. After sitting down, the server asked what I'd like to drink. I scanned the menu and was actually shocked to see some of their food items and could not even decide on a drink. I needed to moment to think it over.

Listed under what they call, Center Stage On The Porch, was the food items. Pizza with either pepperoni, beef, ham or chicken. You can also make your own creation with different types of bread, meat, cheese and spreads. The Porch also offers soups, salads and Porch Teasers (appetizers). They have many breakfast options listed under Breakfast on The Porch like biscuits, breakfast sandwiches cinnamon rolls, french toast sticks, muffins and yogurt.

Of course there is also coffee. The price of their Porch Coffees are a lot lower than your other coffee shops and they sell everything. From Americano to Macchiato, Cappuccino, Hot Chocolate, Lattes and more. Whatever you want, I'm sure they have. You can choose from flavors such as: vanilla, hazelnut, caramel, toasted almond, amaretto, Irish cream, raspberry and white or dark chocolate.

I spotted the Porch Burger on the menu for $5.49. There were different cheeses available so I asked the server for her recommendation. The server suggested the Jalapeno Cheddar Sourdough bun; the other option was a corn dusted Kaiser. You can choose from American, Swiss Pepper Jack, or Provolone. She suggested pepper jack. I also ordered the latte with vanilla and hazelnut flavoring.

When the burger arrived, my attitude changed. The Porch Burger looked really fresh and perfect. It comes with lettuce, tomato, onion, mustard and mayo. The burger was beautifully presented, but the one thing that caught my eyes was the bacon. The bacon wasn't the shriveled stuff that you can hardly taste and see at most fast food places.

I waited to give into my habit, but after a few bites I couldn't help myself and added some ketchup. My vanilla and hazelnut flavored latte was awesome too. The whipped cream had to be one of the best I've ever tasted; it was so rich and thick. I even thought about going back the following day.

When you arrive its obvious to see why they named the coffee house The Porch. The Porch is very nice, with its cast iron seating and tables with plants. A brick wall surrounds the porch allowing privacy, but allows for the cool wind to travel through. There are also fan, for those muggy days and nights.

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