One of the spot that came up during our foodie research was this place, offering made-from-scratch bowls, sandwiches & salads. Their menu looked interesting, not a huge menu, but had a good variety of dishes. They had a small outdoor seating space that looked nice and cozy.
The entrance was narrow and long, with a nice little bench for people who are waiting for table when it gets too busy. The long wall was used to put their manifest, which was actually an interesting read. Good to have something to do if you have to wait for your table.
When we arrived, it was mostly full with just a few tables left. But I think we caught the back end of the lunch rush hour, as about the time we were leaving, it was nice and quiet. The décor was simple and art-y, modern with warmth from lots of wood used in this space.
They had one really long communal table in the middle, then several two- and four-persons tables. It was nice and open, airy and spacious. It had some home-y, cozy feel to it, as if you are sitting at someone’s living/dining room.
The ordering counter is located at the back end, with everything written up neatly on the black chalk board. The staff was very nice and friendly, welcomed us with a smile. They had a couple of chairs at the counter connected to the ordering counter, I guess when it becomes full house, you can take a seat there.
They had a good amount of beverage offerings, including some wine, cocktail, cider and beer. They had coffee, some condiments, and silverware to the right of the ordering counter for convenience. On the chalk board behind here, you can see all the alcoholic offerings, and also information on “this week’s coffee” as well.
We decided to share there Smoked Beet Toast ($6), which is made with smoked beet spread on seeded sourdough with Point Reyes Blue. It was kind of like beet version of avocado toast to me, with bright, fresh arugula on top like a crown. I am not a huge fan of beet, so I was not very sure about this dish. But, after one bite, I was pleasantly surprised. It was actually really tasty! It had some natural sweetness to it from beet, creamy without being mushy. The bread was perfectly toasted without becoming too hard, still keeping its fluffy texture. It was quite flavorful, we enjoyed it!
For main, I chose Pork Belly Hash ($15), which was indicated gluten-free. It is made with potatoes, duroc pork belly, stone fruit, yams, chard, snap peas, and a slow-poached egg with tarragon salsa verde. It was a nice large size, and looked filling!
The egg was cooked nicely, giving us some egg porn… the pork bits were a bit tougher than I expected, but flavorful. The salty flavor of the meat went great with potatoes with minimum seasoning. It had nice variety of other veggies, all cooked really well with nice textures. It certainly was filling.
My hubby went with one of his favorite dishes, Shakshouka ($15). They had an option to add chick peas, sausage, or bacon, so we added sausage for additional $3. It is made with two slow-poached eggs in a spiced tomato sauce with kale, feta, cauliflower. This one was also a nice size, came in a terracotta-looking deep dish, dressed with three thinly sliced and toasted bread, like feathers on fedora hat.
I didn’t really much in there other than sausage and eggs, but underneath the toasts, they had more ingredients playing hide-and-seek.
The eggs in here were also perfectly cooked, giving us double the egg porn. We used the bread to scoop up all the goodies, and ate them up. it was pretty darn good, I must say, I liked this dish more than the Pork Belly Hash… The tomato sauce had rich earthy flavor with a nice little kick to it. The kale was an interesting addition, a good way to get extra veggie in here. Cauliflowers were cooked until it was nice yet still holding onto its firm texture. All the ingredients in here soaked up the tasty tomato sauce flavor, it was really good!
Their bathroom is located all the way in the back, just go though the short hallway between the ordering counter and coffee section.
The bathroom was very spacious, clean, simple with no décor. It had a nice table in there to put your purse or whatever you might be carrying with you. It was handicap-friendly which is always nice.
We had a nice, relaxing lunch here, pleasantly full after a tasty meal. The beet toast was certainly interesting, and yes, tasty. The main dishes were well prepared with high quality ingredients. As I mentioned, they make everything from scratch using seasonal, locally sourced ingredients. They even smoke, cure, pickle and preserve everything in house! What! With this much love and devotion to your ingredients, no wonder they tasted so fresh!
Porkchop & Co. – 5451 Leary Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107