Steak Out

The best part of a visit from parents is venturing out to the fancier restaurants in Athens. I've always heard that when your parents come in town, you should go to Porterhouse and have them treat you to a nice steak dinner. Well, when my parents came in, we went to Porterhouse — but not for steak. We chose to enjoy the Sunday brunch buffet that I have heard so much about.

Before opening at 11:30 am there were already groups of people waiting outside – I took this as a good sign. Upon entering, we were seated and placed our drink orders with our waiter. He then suggested we get in the buffet line since it fills up quickly. The buffet consists of two long sections with quite a variety of foods. There were selections for both breakfast and lunch. The breakfast selections consisted of: fresh fruit, grits, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy. They had an omelet station with all the typical accompaniments (cheese, onions, etc.) where you could have your omelet made to order. For a change of pace, there was also a person manning a pancake griddle with an assortment of items to mix in — my personal preference is blueberries.

Lunch items included a crab bisque soup, salad with various toppings, a carving station of prime rib of beef, and three different trays with lunch items. These consisted of meatloaf, fish, and chicken entrees with an assortment of vegetables and mashed potatoes. When a variety of foods are in front of me, I tend to eat a strange combination. I had pancakes, meat from the carving station, a biscuit, grits, fruit, and mashed potatoes (I know, carb overload). The pancakes were good, they were small and satisfying; just enough to whet my appetite. The meat was delicious — a little on the rare side for my liking though since I usually prefer my meat well done. The outer crust was crispy and luscious with that wonderful salty flavor. The biscuit was light and fluffy but I chose not to try the gravy with it. The grits were just plain grits. This I could have done without. Overall, I had a great meal, and so did the rest of my family.

For those wishing to try the other selections, I polled my family on their meal choices: My father had a made to order omelet, my sister just ate grits and bacon, and my mother had the prime rib of beef. They all raved about their choices. (My dad and sister kept talking about how they could not get enough bacon!). Other items were not tasted, so I guess I will have to return to try them.

There was also a table at the end of the buffet line filled with desserts. They had cheesecakes, some topped with various fruit, pecan pies, chocolate cakes, and parfaits. My mom tried the parfait, which ended up being a little strange (it was made of graham cracker crumbs and whipped cream). She liked it but thought maybe they forgot to put the chocolate mousse in the center. I had a slice of cheesecake topped with strawberries, which was very tasty.

There was one thing I would like to suggest to the proprietors of Porterhouse: The buffet line begins right near the front door. It was confusing if you were just entering whether or not you should wait to be seated or get right into the buffet line. Also, it gave very little space for the line to form once you actually were waiting for the buffet. I would suggest they move the buffet tables to the rear of the restaurant.

While normally I am not a fan of buffet places, I really enjoyed this brunch. Everything seemed clean and orderly, there were plenty of staff on hand to make sure things kept running smoothly and it was overall a very pleasant experience. Although the price might seem a little higher than a traditional brunch, it is a respectable price considering all the options. For eleven dollars a person, I really don't think you can go wrong.

Blogbecue

Being Southern born and bred it was just a matter of time before I decided to seek out the best barbecue in Athens. Northerners think we have BBQ sauce in our veins when it comes to cooking. I took along my friend Pamela with me since I don't eat pork and wanted another opinion.

We decided to try Jot Em Down Barbecue after getting referrals from friends. We found the small wooden building on Macon Highway and entered to experience the distinctive BBQ ambiance of a mishmash of pig décor, checkered table cloths and bread loaves. Their menu consisted of the typical fare of pork, beef and chicken as well as some interesting alternatives: trout, catfish and quail.

Since a tornado warning was issued just after our arrival, we decided to take our order to go. I ordered the beef rib plate with potato salad and green beans and my friend had the pulled pork plate. There were eight different sauces to choose ranging from sweet ketchup and tangy mustard based all the way to XXX Green Hell vinegar based. We tried the Medium Bill's, the house recipe with a zesty ketchup base, and Mild Elrod's, described as flavorful vinegar based sauce.

Rather than a rack of ribs like most people think of when they order ribs, mine was one large rib. The beef rib was awesome. It was charred black and crispy on the outside and the meat inside was juicy and tender with a distinct smoky flavor. The sides, however, were just mediocre. The potato salad was good, but nothing out of the ordinary and the green beans had a little too much pepper for my taste. The sauces were both full of flavor but the drawback was they didn’t give us enough! Overall, I thought the food was really tasty and would love to go back.

Since pork is such a large part of barbecue for most people, I asked my friend to write her opinion on the pulled pork plate and her take on the restaurant in general: "I absolutely loved Jot Em Down! I had the pulled pork, green beans, and Brunswick stew and it was exactly what I expected and more. The atmosphere gives off a typical hole-in-the-wall small town barbecue vibe and the food completely reinforced it. There were so many sauces to choose from and the pulled pork was tender and delicious. Everything was just great and I would tell any barbecue lover to go there asap!!"

Weather permitting, I will have to go back to try their dessert selection of banana pudding, chocolate pecan pie and cheese cake. I think I will need to try some of the other barbecue places around before I decide who really has the best barbecue in Athens.