Bayou Bellies!!

The Back Porch

We love to travel, we love to eat obviously, we love to be together, but one of our favorite activities is to spend time with wonderful friends that you really wouldn't call our friends, but our family. Two of our very best couple friends are Max and Jennifer and Shalon and Kristin. Both couples have a very special place in our lives and Max, Jennifer and Shalon have been around since we started our lives together 10 years ago! Kristin is the newest member to our group and she fits right in! 

This past Saturday we all decided to try out a particularly interesting spot called, The Back Porch. This foodie favorite brings the ambiance and excitement of the "Big Easy" right here to Spartanburg, SC. The Back Porch provides the electricity of Bourbon St mixed with just the right amount of sophistication that is reminiscent of the French Quarter. With it's bohemian, almost prohibition-style design and decor, The Back Porch certainly delivers the atmosphere you'd expect to find if you were visiting New Orleans. A few adjectives we use to describe the decor is seductive, elegant, mysterious, magical. We could name off many more descriptions, but it is safe to say this place is unlike anything in Spartanburg. You fully expect to step out into a New Orleans alley and feel the steamy evening air of the tropical gulf coast waters and smells of the exotic city itself! Colorful walls with fleur-de-lis appliqués, unmatched furniture, exposed brick and intricate ironwork all make this masterful re-creation of one of the most romantic and fanciful cities on point!  

The Back Porch is open Monday through Thursday from 11:00-10:00 and Friday and Saturday from 11:00-12:00. With seating at the Bourbon St bar, French Quarter dining room, or our personal favorite, the back porch rest assured you will relax, unwind and fill your tummy with all things yummy!

Jason had the Mardi Gras, which includes a grilled, marinated chicken breast topped with sautéed Crimini mushrooms, black pepper cane bacon, melted cheddar and Swiss, glazed and finished with a creamy Creole honey mustard and fresh garden herbs. This dish is served with creamy mashed potatoes. The dish was extremely juicy, had amazing seasoning and with all the flavors of the toppings provided a very satisfied diner! Also paired with the Mardi Gras was the Abita Turbodog Draft. A perfect pairing for the dish.

Audra had the Back Porch Signature Sirloin aged, marinated in a secret house recipe, then char-grilled to a medium temperature. This steak dish is also served with mashed potatoes, fried onions and a vegetable medley. This particular steak was impressive enough to fool you into believing it was filet! So incredibly juicy and seasoned to perfection. We always say when it is a good steak you don't need any steak sauce, well we say kudos to the chef because no extra was needed to make this the perfect steak dinner! 

Our friends also enjoyed their entrees as well, including a starter of Fried Pickles, the Cajun Alfredo Ribeye, Mushroom and Swiss Burger and the Cajun Fettucini Alfredo! The servers were personable and effective in giving us the right direction for our food choices. Also, a big thanks to one of the Co-Owners for allowing us to walk around and take all of these lovely images you see. 

Next time we will be getting some dessert!! With options like Lights Out Back Porch Moon Pie Extravaganza and A Peach Bread Pudding that pulls double duty as a cobbler, how could you go wrong. Unfortunately, we were all too full to indulge! 

Co-Owners Tom Maiolo and Frank Bauer, along with Kitchen Manager Marcus McCall create and execute a menu tasty enough for many more return trips! What do you all think about The Back Porch? Share your thoughts and comments! Sound enticing enough to try?! We hope so!

For more information, check out:

www.backporchspartanburg.com also locate them on Facebook for all the details on what entertainment graces the Back Porch's stage weekly.

Stay tuned for another Creole/Cajun adventure when we blog our recent trip to the real "Big Easy," we plan to share all the fantastic experiences and of course the FOOD from New Orleans, LA.