i had the queso fundido and and chicharrones. also had a johnny something or other cocktail and then the $4 sipping mezcal. all delicious as expected.

place was packed. someone was taking photos inside. i'm not a huge fan of the lightning inside. throughout the sunset it was bright and was kind of ruining the atmosphere.

One thing that they did not plan for as well, a decent bar crowd. There were tons of people hanging out behind the bar and not really enough space to do so.

Tried going last night but was locked. Did you guys hit a soft opening?

Yeah, they did a soft opening. Not sure when the official open is, I'm kinda out of the loop.

edit: Yes, yes, because I don't use the twooters.

from facebook:

"thanks for all of the interest in the opening! we are going to be closed today and will do a few more soft openings on wednesday and thursday evenings. these will be by invite/reservation only. if everything goes well, we'll open up on friday and saturday evenings to the public, stay tuned for that. sunday we will be closed so that the Port Fonda can enjoy our evening cooking at Green Dirt Farm. we will be closed monday the 2nd, open for dinner to the public on july 3rd from 6pm-1am, closed july 4th and will re-open officially and for good on thursday evening, july 5th- sunday evening, july 8th. we will open for lunch and dinner starting tuesday, july 10th and the hours will be 11am-1am. hoping that clears some things up, thanks everyone!"

Thanks, chriz. I don't facebook either. I have an account, but I log into it about twice a year.

very cool that they will serve food until 1am. this place is going to be an instant hit. it is so refreshing to see westport being reclaimed by midtowners/urbanites again.

Perhaps the single best thing Cordish helped accomplish.

Are we sure the kitchen will be open to 1? Lots of place stay open but only for the bar after 11 or so. I assume, given his food truck pedigree, that the kitchen will stay open, but it doesn't say that specifically.

yeah, i guess it doesn't explicitly say food until 1am, i was just assuming. i suppose we'll find out!

also, the employees wear "uniforms" made by Baldwin Denim, our local designer of selvedge denim (which was recently named by GQ as the best denim in america). judging by what i saw friday night, the "uniform" is a grey baldwin t-shirt, baldwin jeans, and selvedge denim server "aprons." pretty cool to support the local designer and it's consistent with the urban-rustic feel of the space.

I need to get a job there just to get some new Baldwins

I think you still have to pay $150 out of pocket for the uni.

Hopefully that eliminates some of the riff raff servers getting jobs there LOL

Ha. There were probably enough people excited about working for this project, I doubt it disuaded the type of server they wish to attract.

we are definitely going to try and serve food until 1am. can't say for certain that we'll make it that late during these soft openings but once we open for our regular and set schedule, the kitchen will be open as late as the bar. we've got such a good core support system from the service industry, i want to continue to cater to them and their schedules.

yay!

port fonda continues to impress. tried their lengua tacos the other night and they were by far the best i've had.

I had the single best meatball sandwich I have ever had there. Not the best meatballs, but certainly the best sandwich.

Went to Port Fonda last night and my wife and I loved it. I had some kind of pork belly/pork shoulder soup and she had a shrimp dish. Sorry I don’t remember the names of these dishes but I would just butcher the spelling anyway. The food was simply great. We like the atmosphere a lot, the only drawback was it was about 6:30 and the sun was really streaming thru the windows. We were at the bar so our backs were to the sun so it didn’t bother us. But I can see where it could be a problem. The place just has a nice vibe to it and with that food and the great drinks they make its nice to have another go to spot.

I was told it was going to be finding its way into our dining rotation and I have no problem with that.

yeah, we have been several more times, and take people there. it's definitely a hit, although mercifully not as insanely packed as the first couple of weeks.

the ahogada is insanely good. i like that all of the sauces (and salsas) are complex, with a nice balance of heat, citrus, acid, spices, etc. also the semifreddo dessert with the peanutty sauce on it is ridiculously good.

protip request?

do they take reservations?