The Front Porch: Lunch At The Front Porch

Last weekend, we ventured over to Leonardtown for a 50's Festival which we realized once we got there was actually taking place two days later. Whoops. But, we were there so we figured we might as well eat. We decided to try out The Front Porch. We had gotten drinks at the bar here before, but never tried the food. The location is a remodeled historic home with a beautiful wrap around porch. If the weather is behaving, drinks and food out on the porch makes for a lovely day. This time, since it wasn't the best weather, we ate inside. The interior is cute and kitschy with antiques decorating the walls. My only complaint about the interior of this restaurant is that, as it is I'm sure with most historic buildings, it's a little grimy and seems like it could use a really deep cleaning. The walls right next to our table were a little dirty which isn't entirely appetizing. An aspect I love about this location is that it is a remodeled historic home which means the restaurant is broken up into rooms. It allows for a more intimate setting and helps keep the noise level down on busier days. The room we sat in had a fireplace, large windows, and about 5-6 tables. It would have been really cozy and lovely on a cold winter night and would be perfect to rent out for a bridal shower or any kind of small event. The service was good; really friendly and enthusiastic. I think we got in there right as they were opening because our food came out really slowly. Once the crowd started to get larger, it seemed like people were getting their food quicker than we did so it might have just been that they weren't ready for us when we showed up. The lunch menu is pretty simple and classic with many American favorites. The specials were a little more unique than the rest of the offers and they were seasonal which is something I always really like. I ordered the grilled chicken and avocado sandwich with a side salad that had raspberry vinaigrette on it and Mike ordered the chicken cobb salad without cheese and with honey mustard dressing on it. We both enjoyed our meals and are freakishly excited to have found a local place that makes a good salad. Both of our chicken was cooked perfectly and the sauce on my sandwich was delicious. I loved that my side salad included feta cheese which you don't see very often in American restaurants. Mike's salad was very fresh and all his veggies were nicely chopped and were perfectly ripe. Our only complaint was that neither of us really liked our salad dressings. His was more like a sauce; in fact I'm pretty sure it was the same sauce found on my sandwich. Mine was far too sweet and didn't have enough oil in it. Overall, our meals were very satisfying, fresh, and nicely cooked. I noticed on the lunch menu, that they do lunch boxes to go which, if we lived closer, is something I'd definitely be tempted to do since they have such good salad and sandwich options. We're both interested to go back for dinner to check out the quality of their higher-end entrees and deserts.