The morning before I went to Portia’s, I had a check-up at the doctors. I received great news – I had lost weight and was in great health. I am glad I made this appointment previous to dining at Portia’s because it’s definitely not a place for counting calories. Seriously, imagine all of your favorite comfort food items all on one menu!
Decadent Comfort Food at its Homemade Best
The morning before I went to Portia’s, I had a check-up at the doctors. I received great news – I had lost weight and was in great health. I am glad I made this appointment previous to dining at Portia’s because it’s definitely not a place for counting calories. Seriously, imagine all of your favorite comfort food items all on one menu! They have fried chicken, meatloaf wrapped in bacon, chicken and dumplings, fried bologna sandwiches, chicken a la king, country fried steak and much more. This, my friends, is a place to splurge!
J and I dined at Portia’s on a recent Wednesday evening. We’ve been dying to try it out – J’s family is from the South and he is a sucker for this kind of rib-sticking food. I, for one, put on my eating pants for the occasion because I knew I would be putting a lot of grub away.
Our friendly and attentive server Ed gave us a nice table near a window with an outdoor scene set in it. He set down a bowl of cracklins, which is fried pig skin. I’ve never had cracklins before and became a fan of these crunchy snacks, which are served warm.
Ed recommended two appetizers: Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites (8) with Peanut Satay Sauce ($6.95) and Potato Rolls (4) with Cheese Sauce ($7.95). The Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites were tasty morsels tossed in a light syrupy sauce. The Peanut Satay Dipping sauce tasted like a sweet barbecue sauce with a peanuty flavor. I thought these were very tasty and enjoyed this carb-free moment, because next we had the Potato Rolls. These reminded me of Knishes, Southern-style. They were mashed potatoes wrapped in flaky dough. They came with a warm sauce made of three cheeses and a side of chopped bacon pieces. No joke – I could live on these.
Next, we decided to try out Portia’s Southern Fried Chicken (two piece $10.95, three piece $12.95). I had heard good things about it and was very eager to try it, since I am a total fried chicken fanatic. We ordered a breast and a leg. The chicken at Portia’s is marinated for 24 hours in a brine made by Chef Greg and then coated in “secret spices and batter” and deep fried. These pieces of chicken were crispy and crunchy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. They were incredibly juicy and not greasy at all – which is a feat when it comes to fried chicken. The fried chicken was heavenly and definitely finger lickin’ good.
The chicken came with two signature sides. We chose the Sweet Potato Casserole and Lima Beans with Ham. I couldn’t stop eating the amazing Sweet Potato Casserole, which was topped with pecans and shredded coconut. The Lima Beans with Ham were also very good.
Next, we tried the Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf ($11.95) which came with two sides. We chose collard greens and peanut coleslaw. The meatloaf had a good texture to it and had shredded carrots and other veggies in it. Of course, the bacon brought it to another level, as bacon tends to do. This fantastic dish was topped with brown gravy. We enjoyed the greens and really appreciated the unique peanut coleslaw. Eating those two sides made us feel like we were at least eating some veggies with all of these sinful dishes!
We were super stuffed, but knew we couldn’t leave a fine Southern establishment without sampling the biscuits. We ordered the Rolled Biscuits ($2.95) with Sausage Gravy ($1.95) and were not disappointed. The biscuits had an almost velvety texture – they melt in your mouth! The creamy sausage gravy was perfectly flavored.
All of the desserts at Portia’s are homemade, so we had to order one. They offer Coconut Crème Pie, Devil’s Food Cake, Peach Cobbler (which is made to order!), Strawberry Shortcake and Pecan Pie (all desserts are $4.95). We went with the Coconut Crème Pie and, OMG, it was worth every single calorie. We said we would take a bite and then take it to go, but moments later, I was knocking J’s fork away with mine to get more pie! It was so rich, creamy and fresh that my mouth is watering as I type this.
We had such a great time and fabulous food at Portia’s. Yes, you will feel guilty afterwards, but don’t we all feel guilty after some of our best experiences?
