pretty by the bay

After nearly three years, I’ve finally found delicious fried chicken in San Francisco. It was crispy and well seasoned and almost as good as my beloved Mama Dip’s. I found it here:

I resisted going to The Front Porch because I figured it was yet another  restaurant that turns simple Southern fare into (unnecessarily) fancy and overpriced haute cuisine. I don’t like paying exorbitant prices for fried chicken, collard greens and mashed potatoes. I don’t care if it’s all organic and cooked with fancy spices and oils; I just want it to taste authentic. And more importantly, I want it to taste good. I’m happy to report that The Front Porch delivered on both of my requirements – so much so that I didn’t mind the somewhat high prices.

As you wait for a table, you can sit a spell in a lovely rocking chair. Surprisingly, Corey looked much more like a supermodel than the semi-redneck-NC-native I know him to be.

Or…perhaps not.

I loved the interior decor – really homey with an awesome pressed tin ceiling. Adding to the ambiance was an interesting mix of songs from our middle school years. Clearly, fried chicken tastes better when you wash it down with a little Dr. Dre, Warren G and Digital Underground.

I wasn’t planning to order an appetizer, but once I saw fried okra on the menu, I knew I had to try some and see if it was up to snuff. This was perfectly done – crispy, salty, not at all greasy. The accompanying jalapeno-lime  dipping sauce was subpar, but the okra was good enough to stand on its own.

And as for the main course…

The fried chicken is served in a single order or as a bucket, which I assumed was an order for two. Truthfully, this seemed like an entire chicken, and was definitely a large enough portion for three or four. Props to The Front Porch for serving it in an actual bucket – and for the creative popcorn garnish. It looked great, but how did it taste?

Crunchy. Tender. Well-seasoned, and by that, I mean you could actually taste the various spices that had permeated the meat, including garlic, cayenne and just the right amount of salt. They definitely coat the chicken with something – cornmeal, maybe? – because the resulting crunch isn’t just from the skin. Originally, I thought I’d hate that, because I think the skin should stand on its own. But I have nothing but love for this chicken. The accompanying garlic mashed potatoes and collard greens were equally delicious.

The portions were so generous that we had enough to take home for a second meal. Regrettably, the large portions also meant we were too full for dessert from nearby Mitchell’s Ice Cream. No matter. I got my Southern food fix and am happy to add The Front Porch to my list of favorite SF eateries.