The old Calendar’s restaurant on Sherwood Forest and Coursey boulevards has received a drastic makeover, reopening last week as restaurant-bar Portico (Map it!). Started by owner-partners Stephen Walker, Kenny O’Neal, Trey Woods and Kyle Edmiston in Monroe in 2006, the concept has proved a hit in both its home city and a location in Ruston, open since 2009. The four partners are hoping Baton Rougeans will also welcome Portico with open arms.
Although the interior is slick and modern, Walker says customers are as welcome to walk in wearing shorts and flip-flops as a coat and tie. “We want it to have a neighborhood feel,” he says. “We want the city to feel like this is their restaurant as much as ours.” A garage door in the bar opens up onto a spacious patio that’s nicely shaded during the summer months, and will be kept warm by a fireplace when the weather turns cool. The menu includes a wide variety of dishes— everything from classic bar food like buffalo wings and shrimp po-boys to filets and lasagna. There’s also a daily $8 lunch special for those looking to grab a bite to eat on break.
The “flatboy”—a sandwich that combines pulled pork, roast beef, turkey and black forest ham on a single bun has proven extremely popular with diners so far, according to Walker, as have the Low Country shrimp, served with bacon, garlic and green onions. Between great food, a full bar, live music nights, daily happy hours and much more, Portico offers quite a bit to put it on Baton Rouge diners’ radar. porticoetc.com
