I threw out a question to a couple of co-workers a few days ago. I wanted to know if there were any good places to get fried chicken livers around the Brentwood area. Instantly, their eyes lit up (they knew I was a bit of a foodie), and simultaneously exclaimed that Porter’s carried them and they have the best fried chicken around. I definitely had to check this out, although, I was a bit skeptical. I’ve had bad experiences before with what STL calls ‘the best.’ This is a city that thinks the stink pit of El Maguey is some of the best Mexican you can get in the city, and that claim couldn’t be farther from the truth. Following the restaurant reviewer’s code, I decided to make multiple trips at different times, trying dishes across the board. Here’s what was cooking:
On my first visit, I decided to go for what I was craving and found myself staring at a pound of chicken livers and a small side of potato salad. A thin layer of breading coated each chunk of liver. They were really nice with the crispy, peppery breading complementing the creamy livers quite well. I grabbed a couple of tubs of hot sauce and proceeded to dunk away, finishing off the whole box. Then, I dived into the potato salad, which was a sweet mustard blend with perfectly cooked potatoes and crisp touches of onion. It wasn’t bad, but I wasn’t too keen on the sweetness of it. I prefer a little more savory in my tuber salad.
The second visit was a trip down the river with catfish. I spotted the catfish nuggets on the menu last time I was in. I’m a huge fan of fried fish and the taste of catfish reminds me of Friday night’s during lent back in Central Illinois. Just like the livers, it was a huge portion. This was served with a roll(pre-packaged and not worth discussing), cole slaw (which a yelper had raved about) and mashed potatoes with gravy. The catfish chunks were some of the best I had ever had. Unfortunately, about midway through my meal, I bit into a scale from improper cleaning and later a bone. It turned me off a little, and I cautiously finished off the rest of the fish. The slaw was up next for tasting as I was curious to see why this was considered someone’s favorite. It was a finely chopped blend of carrots, onions, and cabbage that suffers from the same sweetness the potato salad did. The mashed potatoes were, also, quite unremarkable, and appeared to be an instant mix covered in a pre-packaged gravy. These sides were a little disappointing.
Finally, I was on my third trip and this famous fried chicken was the obvious choice. I got the 2 piece, taking it easy as this was my third trip that week with deep fried fare and my body was starting to feel it. It came with the same sides as above, and since these were pretty unimpressive, I asked about getting another side. I questioned my cashier on a few of the other sides and was told that they were all frozen goods and not made in house. I wasn’t about to review something that I could do just as well at home, and stuck with the chicken getting a side of fries to fill me up. I was served a wing and a thigh for my 2 pieces and each were blissfully greasy, moist, and crispy. This was probably what I should have been eating the whole time and I can understand why people rave about it. I’ll definitely be back to take a stab at some more, and possibly go for the spicy breading on my next visit.
That fried chicken was Porter’s saving grace. It’s probably the only thing that I would go back for, getting just the chicken and letting them keep those shitty sides. On the positive side, I never spent more than $7 on a meal there and was served a filling portion. But, that’s probably because they save a whole bunch on frozen foods, pre-packaged sides, and sauces that come in packets. There’s a bunch of flaws that Porter’s needs to deal with, however, the staff was nice, the prices right, and the fried chicken delicious. Porter’s will get my nod when it comes to chicken. Just don’t expect too much out of the rest of the menu.
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