A Good Trip Back to Basics
By Fritz Hahn
Washington Post Weekend Section
Friday, August 19, 2005

Porter's Dining Saloon is something of a sleeper on the downtown scene. I'll admit I was underwhelmed the first few times I stopped by the bar, which occupies three stories of a rowhouse near the corner of 19th and M streets NW.

Everything is so simple: The main floor features exposed, weathered brick walls decorated with a few antique-style mirrors and lightened by panels of stained glass. A sturdy wooden bar runs down one wall, facing a long green banquette and a couple of tables. In the very front of the room, a bay window, outfitted with a couple of high stools and a rail for resting drinks, has become a favorite place to perch.

Lights are perpetually dim, barring the luminous row of six flat-screen televisions on the wall. An upstairs dining room sees most of its use on weekends, when a young crowd comes out to dance, as does a narrow, low-ceilinged rathskeller. Both floors are similarly decorated with a minimalist combination of brick and televisions -- 17 screens in all.

Porter's reminds me of taverns and old pubs I've visited in London, New York and Philadelphia, but honestly, nothing about the place jumps out. I was thinking about this the other night as I sat at the bar there, sipping a pint of ale, munching on a very good blue-cheese burger and waiting for the Nationals game to come on on one of the televisions.

Sometimes, this is enough.

It makes me long for a hot new trend: bar and lounge owners spending less time and money trying to get their establishments into Interior Design Magazine or attempting to convince me that I've popped across the pond for a pint in a "traditional" pub, and spending more time just creating a comfortable space with thoughtful touches.

I like that Porters is a pub that reliably has sports on TV but doesn't try to hit me over the head with dozens of super-size screens or cover the walls with memorabilia and sepia-toned photos. Nationals, Red Sox, Yankees and Orioles seem to get priority right now (in that order), but come football season and March Madness, Porters attracts Terrapins, Nittany Lions, Boston College Eagles and other ACC and Big East fans.

I like that it's nondescript enough that it attracts twentysomethings in jeans and older guys in suits to the same happy hour. An internet jukebox cranks out a steady supply of rock (the Band and the Dave Matthews Band pop up repeatedly), the bartenders are usually quick to replace an empty glass and the food is better than you'd expect: above-average burgers (both full-size and mini, served on brioche), a good selection of sandwiches and crab dip that actually tastes of lump meat.

And, I have to say, I really like that Porter's is a bar for the budget minded. Not only are rail drinks and beers half-price from 4 to 7, but there's a nightly special from 7 to close, plus additional discounts when the Nationals are on TV.

It's not surprising that a veteran bartender is the person behind Porter's. Scott Porter spent more than a decade working in College Park, Midtown and Cleveland Park, and says he always wanted to open a place on M Street. So when Porter got the opportunity to take over the space once known as Le Jardin, he jumped, and deliberately stuck to the basics. "It's about as rustic as you can get -- like an Irish bar in Manhattan," he says. "Putting $1,000 pictures on the wall isn't going to pay the bills."

It's an approach that serves him well, both here and at his other bar, the Ugly Mug on Capitol Hill's Barracks Row.

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at Porter's, tables on the upper level are cleared to make room for a dance party that's vaguely reminiscent of a college mixer. A fresh-out-of-school (or about to be) crowd grooves to Lil' Jon, 50 Cent and the occasional retro hit; women are dressed in their tight-and-glittery best, guys seem oblivious to the beer spilled down the front of their Oxford shirts. Giggling, gossiping groups congregate on the edges to talk over the music. (DJs change every week. Some are pretty good at mixing it up. Last weekend's selector, an older guy loaded down with binders of compilation CDs, was a bit too "wedding reception" for my taste, but he got the job done.) The outdoor patio, surrounded by a low stone wall, is a nice place to relax after work or late at night, but service can be astoundingly slipshod. Friends and I have sat, glasses empty while servers walk by, and I've seen couples -- obviously tourists -- wait 10 minutes, head inside and track a waiter down just to get menus. And, though I felt slightly guilty about it, I've given up waiting for someone to notice my empty glass, gone to the bar and ordered my own beers.

I can forgive the occasional misstep, though, because for the most part, Porter's fulfills some basic needs: good food, beer at a fair price, a place to meet friends and watch a game. Sometimes, that's all I ask.