DINING REVIEW
Porter Beer Bar
1156 Euclid Ave., Atlanta. 404-223-0393
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday, November 28, 2008
Thank goodness for the English language. We have so many words that mean the same, or similar, thing. The word porter, for instance, can mean a baggage carrier. It can also mean a janitor or dishwasher. It can, according to Webster’s, even be a dark brown beer.
Becky Stein/AJC special
Shrimp BLT: lemon marinated shrimp, shaved fennel, bacon, lettuce, tomato, preserved lemon aioli, tomato foccacia.
Hyosub Shin
Customer Van Crisco sips a pint of Autumn Fest at the Porter Beer Bar.
Hyosub Shin/hshin@ajc.com
The Porter Beer Bar opened in September in Little Five Points, serving hip bar food and more than 100 beers.
Looking for great pubs? Try these spots for beer and good food:
• Brick Store Pub, 125 E. Court Square, Decatur. 404-687-0990, www.brickstorepub.com
• Holeman & Finch, 2277 Peachtree Road, Suite B, Atlanta. 404-969-3034, www.holeman-finch.com
• 5 Seasons Brewing, 5600 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs (with another location in Alpharetta), 404-255-5911, www.5seasonsbrewing.com
MORE ON RESTAURANTS
But Dishwasher Beer Bar doesn’t have much of a ring. And Beer Beer Bar seems a bit redundant. Bell Boy Beer Bar: nice alliteration. Nahhh.
Porter Beer Bar. Now there’s a name that works. Behind the name, add a young couple with a culinary résumé that most people in the restaurant business don’t acquire until they are much older; some never at all. To their abundant smarts add a bit of panache on a very low budget, and a prime spot in Little Five Points where they serve hip bar food and more than 100 different beers.
Voilá, a gastropub is born.
Chef Nick Rutherford and Molly Gunn once worked for Seeger’s, mega chef Guenter Seeger’s five-star wonder in Buckhead. Rutherford went on to work for Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison at another high-end five-star, Quinones at Bacchanalia, then took a chance on a no-name dessert spot in Decatur, the Chocolate Bar, that he helped catapult to national acclaim. Gunn most recently had Delia Champion, founder of Flying Biscuit, as mentor, working to open franchises of the popular Candler Park eatery.
Married in October, Rutherford and Gunn opened Porter in September on the thinnest of shoestring budgets. Early buzz made it nearly impossible to get in, but word was that Rutherford’s menu didn’t hold up to the acclaim: Where was the groovy, gastropub-ish menu everyone was waiting for? And truth be told, scratch the surface hard enough and the space, which was most recently Grandma Luke’s Bakery, looks pretty barren, especially at tables toward the back.
I reserved judgment, waited, and tried my first visit after about three weeks, when the pub was rolling on all cylinders, but hardly standing room only.
Sure, there are the usual pub grub suspects — burgers, fish and chips and, since this is Little Five Points, a black bean burger. But there are also “signature” hush puppies fried with applewood-smoked bacon and served with a tangy (and blessedly not in that honey mustard sort of way) apple sauce.
The little brown orbs are so perfectly crackled on the outside and fluffy hot inside that eating them can only result in the eater uttering gratified animal sounds. And afterwards, there’s the realization: It’s just a hush puppy, calm down. But how can something that simple make you so happy?
And there is brandade, served with toast slices for dipping, smearing and generally rubbing around until there is absolutely none of this classic, a puree of salt cod, garlic and potatoes, left. Rutherford house cures the cod; the result is a creamy mixture of potato and fish that’s a very clever appetizer.
It’s this kind of extra work in the kitchen, even at a beer bar, that pays off at the table: consistent small touches such the lightness of the french fries, served with snappy dips such as charred onion mayonnaise, Belgian style.
Beer tastings are smartly served in fruit jars presented on tiny wooden trollies that were most likely put together by Rutherford, who has as handy a hand with a hammer as he does with knives and fire.
Problems? Of course. The fish part of fish and chips is a drag, heavy and lifeless. The burger is, well — a burger. The only thing interesting about fried green tomatoes with Sweet Grass Dairy’s chevre is the pickled red onions served on the side. The wait staff, while ever affable, can sometimes be out to lunch — by the time an apple beignet with ice cream and buttery pecan sauce arrived at the table, the beignet — otherwise wonderful — was cold, the ice cream a puddle on the plate. Smoking is an issue, even in the dining room — where it’s not allowed.
But then there’s the duck confit, perfect in its slightly fatty skin, tender shreds of meat giving way to creamy barley risotto mixed with organic butternut squash. Or a humble reuben with house-made sauerkraut on marble rye, possibly the best sandwich in Atlanta.
Truth told, Rutherford and Gunn have learned a lot from their auspicious mentors. And, apparently, each other. It shows: Porter Beer Bar is proof that it doesn’t take a million bucks to open a restaurant. It takes guts, lots of elbow grease and talent.
Food: Gastropub
Service: Ranges from pretty bad to very good: Some servers have the menu and Gunn and Rutherford’s concept figured out; others are just in it for the paycheck.
Price range: $-$$
Credit cards: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover
Hours of operation: Open for lunch, dinner and bar bites Mondays-Thursdays noon until midnight, Fridays noon until 2:30 a.m., Saturdays 11 a.m. until 2:30 a.m. and Sundays 11 a.m. until midnight.
Best dishes: Duck confit (if it’s on the menu), brandade, hush puppies, Belgian fries, Shrimp BLT, apple biegnet
Vegetarian selections: Organic black bean burger, arugula salad, soft pretzels with roasted red pepper mustard
Children: Maybe for lunch
Parking: Street parking or in a free lot at the back of the building
Reservations: Accepted Mondays-Thursdays for parties of 10 or more
Wheelchair access: Dicey. Enter through the back door and alert management
Smoking: Bar only
Noise level: High
Patio: Yes, very small
Takeout: Yes
Address, telephone: 1156 Euclid Ave., 404-223-0393
Web site: www.theporterbeerbar.com
KEY TO RATINGS
Outstanding: Sets the standard for fine dining in the region. 
Excellent: One of the best in the Atlanta area. 
Very good: Merits a drive if you’re looking for this kind of dining. Good: A worthy addition to its neighborhood, but food may be hit or miss. 
Fair: The food is more miss than hit.
Restaurants that do not meet these criteria may be rated Poor.
PRICING CODE: $$$$$ means more than $75; $$$$ means $75 and less; $$$ means $50 and less; $$ means $25 and less; $ means $15 and less. (The price code represents a meal for one that includes appetizer, entree and dessert without including tax, tip and cocktails.)
