Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Red's Porch

3508 South Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX 78704-7934
(512) 440-7337

www.redsporch.com

I recently had dinner with my family at Red's Porch. The food is only OK, but, I have to say, the view is spectacular. It's on South Lamar down by Ben White behind a bank. But it backs up to one of the best view's in town, the Barton Creek Greenbelt. Why no one has taken advantage of this great location before is beyond me, but I'm glad there's finally a bar there.

They have a lower level patio (that's dog friendly) and an upper patio. The upper patio, obviously, has the best view. I went back in February when it snowed, thinking this would be a great place to watch the snow fall on the greenbelt. It was, only it was pretty frosty. Despite the fact that the upper patio is enclosed, and there are heat lamps everywhere, the the wind and cold come in through the cracks in the deck. This is definitely a warm weather hang out.


Check out the lower patio. The trailer is a fun touch, but it just serves as a very large tv stand. Really. Thats a tv on it. They could have turned the trailer into an awesome food cart to give it a little less corporate feel and more "indie food" panache.

They've really put some thought into how to bring the outside in. Check out these garage doors.



So onto the food. It only Ok. It has a sort of upscale Chili's feel to it. As far as appetizers go, the queso is decent and the biscuits and gravy are pretty good. The fried olives were ok, but they just don't compare to Fino's (I will forever compare all fried olive's to the Fino gold standard of fried olive awesomeness). There are vegetarian options, but they skew heavily to side salads and deep fried appetizers. And fear not, parents, there is a kid's menu (including a 2 veggie plate, that SHOULD be on the adult menu too!).

The Smoked Chicken Corn Chowder (pictured below) is pretty good. It had a nice smokeyness that wasn't overpowering. It wasn't unique, but it was nice and homey. I'd definately order another bowl if I went there. The Spinach Salad with feta dressing was good but rather basic. The pickled onions added a nice touch but didn't make the salad pop as much as they should have.


My dad's enchiladas were, I have to say, your rather basic gooey enchilada. Nothing special about it.

My sister-in-law's burger. It was piled high with stuff, including a fat avocado. The meat had a nice flavoring. I'd recommend it if you're in the area, craving a burger and can't stomach going to Fudruckers.

My brother's tacos. I don't remember which tacos they were though. Sorry!

All in all, decent food, a great view, and a lovely patio (and porch) make Red's Porch an enjoyable al fresco destination in South Austin.

~Mariah: 7