The Porter's House: Not Your Traditional Steakhouse
Background:
The Porter’s House is owned by the Rare Roots Hospitality Group, and it was brought to our attention by its current chef, Rob Clement, who reached out as a fan of the pod and graced us with his presence one fine Sunday afternoon as a guest. After his pod appearance, we could tell this guy meant business, and we knew we needed to try his food ASAP. We decided to take my dad here when he was in town, as we know he likes a good steakhouse.
After being blown away on that first visit, we knew this would be a regular spot for us. We went back for our anniversary recently, and there’s no denying that The Porter’s House is a true contender in the Charlotte restaurant scene, and it runs laps around every other steakhouse in town.
Eat This:
Grilled Peaches
With burrata, sorghum, pickled banana peppers, and oregano
This is a seasonal menu item, but if it’s offered on your visit, you need to order it! Rob’s pickled peppers are a revelation in themselves. Add burrata to that, and you’ve got yourself a damn fine time.
Pimento CHeese Beignets
With bacon aioli
Maybe Jason’s favorite thing on the menu. Pillowy, tangy, cheesy…do we have your attention yet?
Shrimp Cocktail
Cocktail sauce, lemon horseradish gremolata
An elevated classic.
Filet Mignon
I always order the filet, and every steak at TPH is cooked to perfection. No overdone meat here!
RIBEYE
Look at that bone marrow butter melting its way into your heart!
TPH serves its steaks with fresh vegetables and herbs, which is a lovely addition that lightens up the meat. They also make their own in-house sauces – our favorite is the horseradish!
SCALLOPS
Cauliflower, bacon, Sunchokes
Another seasonal option that blew us away. So many textures at play here!
Halibut
Spaghetti squash, peppers, and aji dolce coulis
TPH offers a seasonally-rotating fish option, if that’s more your style. We personally can’t see ordering it over a steak, but you do you, boo.
DUCK
With okra
We hope this seasonal dish makes it back on the menu, because not enough restaurants offer duck, and Rob knows how to do this cute yet delicious animal justice.
Cowboy RIBEYE Filet
A steak that will cure what ails you.
Scallops
With field peas, peppers, lardons, and tomato-corn dashi
More scallops! We liked the version above even better than this first scallop dish we tried, but both were top notch.
Lobster Mac & Cheese
Bechamel, chives
Creamy, dreamy, and a menu staple at TPH. And really, what goes better with steak than mac and cheese and mashed potatoes?
Bucatini
With clams and chorizo
One of Jason’s top dishes of the past six months. He couldn’t stop raving about this one, and I agree – it was a deliciously unusual flavor combination that hit the high notes.
Gnocchi
I can’t remember exactly what all was going on here, but I can tell you 100% that we loved it.
Dessert:
On our first visit, the desserts were your typical steakhouse options – cheesecake, brownies, etc. However at our anniversary meal, we got to try some of Chef Clement’s new and creative ice cream flavors that he was testing out, including taro sprinkled with dehydrated carrot, pomegranate chocolate chip, and peppercorn and lime leaf. We loved them all!
Ice Cream Trio
Taro with dehydrated carrot, pomegranate chocolate chip, and peppercorn and lime leaf
Dessert Trio
Brownie, cheesecake, and carrot cake
Drink:
The Porter’s House boasts an amazing cocktail program. We especially dig the inclusion of whiskey-based margaritas.
Mel’s Campfire
Vida mezcal, passionfruit, amaro nonino, tajin-pineapple oleo, sea salt, lime
Atmosphere:
The Porter’s House is located in the Waverly shopping center, which is massive. I always love coming here because they have the best Whole Foods in Charlotte, and Whole Foods is my mecca. The interior boasts high ceilings and a more modern and lightened up vibe compared to more traditional steakhouses. They offer valet parking if you’re not down to fight the Ballantyne crowds.
Carnivorous Hospitality:
Shoutout to server extraordinaire Zack for taking great care of us on both of our visits. No complaints here.
Frankie’s Notes:
Typical steakhouses put us to sleep; Wayne is now the finest connoisseur of fine dining after his experiences at El Celler de can Roca and Enigma; On our first visit, Rob tried to kill us with food – he served us enough for 12-14 people, and we tried to take on that challenge and barely lived to tell about it; On our second visit, I was getting over my post-Mexico trip stomach issues that continue to linger to this day. My apologies to all of the servers and chefs for my 10+ bathroom breaks; If you don’t get Zack as your server, you should ask for him. We think he would love that.