Birthday Party at The Front Porch! I was looking for a place to accommodate 30-to-40 people for my father's 80th birthday party. The Front Porch seemed like a good option and I was pleasantly surprised by the accommodating Katie who made planning this event very easy.
We had the large upstairs dining area to ourselves with two servers taking drink orders and another filling water glasses. We enjoyed appetizers of spinach artichoke dip with tortilla chips and assorted cheese platters with warm fresh bread and chutney. The cocktail hour began at 5:00 p.m. and by 5:30 everyone had arrived - I must say, we're a noisy bunch!
Just shortly after 6:00, we sat down to dinner. Adult plates had an assortment of field greens with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Children received plates of apple and cheese slices - on a bed of field greens! (This is an extra that I requested so that the youngsters would have something to munch on while we ate salads. Some of them may have enjoyed a salad too but they seemed to like picking the apples and cheese with their fingers.) Youngsters (and some oldsters as well) were entertained by a birthday word search primarily about Reggie and his farm life. Some children even enjoyed coloring farm animals and connecting the dots projects - I came prepared!
I chose the adult catering menu consisting of options: crab cakes, prime rib, rockfish with crab cake, chicken breast with crab imperial. Sides were mashed potatoes and seasonal veggies. Juniors chose from chicken nuggets, pizza, hamburger.
Anyone who ordered the crab cakes (and that was the most popular entrée) had a wonderful dinner. The scallion aioli sauce looked a little lighter in color than what I had a week prior but several folks commented that it was really good (garlic, mango chutney, Chef Jeff's secret blend of spices). I had Rockfish Hemingway (baked rockfish topped with a crab cake) - the crab cake was fabulous. I'm telling you, this is a must order when you visit The Front Porch. The rockfish was dry; I ate about half of it to try to get the flavor and it may have been good on its own with some lemon and butter. Folks who ordered the Chesapeake Chicken (fried chicken breast topped with crab imperial) also got a dry piece of chicken and it looked very dark - deep fried and over done? Perhaps I should have just told everyone that we were having crab cakes since I know them to be A+.
The mashed potato side was interesting - spiced with nutmeg? Took us a second to determine the spice but it grows on you. The seasonal vegetables, a squash and pepper medley, would have been delicious if not over salted. The vegetables were tended but still held their shape and color - not sure if it was a heavy hand or just a forgetful moment and they were salted twice.
The Front Porch was very accommodating about us bringing in a specialty birthday cake (Anita's Cake Shop - half vanilla and half chocolate with chocolate mouse filling - perfect end to the birthday event). Two of my sisters-in-law provided the cake. The Front Porch staff provided tables and cloth for the cake and when it was close to serving time, brought in a knife, dessert plates, and cocktail napkins - no prompting needed.
Brianna was the head server during our event and she kept tabs on us throughout the evening. She mentioned that they had a full house for dinner on the first floor so I was especially impressed by the service we received. The staff even came through to refill water glasses. All three staff members who served us delivered dinner plates - they had every entrée served in a matter of minutes.
The staff were also accommodating in helping our elder guests to and from the dining area - upstairs. Dad even pulled out his inhaler when he got to the dining room! I think it was easier going down. They guided folks to the back stairway - the rise is not as steep as the main staircase in the main entrance.
We received excellent service making this an overall enjoyable birthday event and party experience. Thank you very much to The Front Porch staff! Even Chef Jeff came upstairs to make sure everything was satisfactory.
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