Week 3 of the pro football season has come and gone and I have had yet another football watching experience in my new home of Lawton. We started with week one with the restaurant that claims that the football watching experience and followed it up week 2 with an underdog that came to play. This week, I take on a local eatery that I came upon by accident.

I had never even heard of the Back Porch Draft House until Saturday night. Upon the suggestion of a friend, I went in to watch the Oklahoma Sooners take on West Virginia. The first thing that struck me was the size of the restaurant. SMALL, does not say it. The bar area alone at Buffalo Wild Wings was larger than all of the Back Porch Draft House. It was truly the size of my back porch. It didn't take much to make it feel truly crowded, which it did.

There was definitely a college air to the crowd on this Saturday night.

I sat at the bar as the few tables in the lounge area were occupied. The bartender was pleasant and attractive. One of the allures of a brewhouse for me is the ability to experience brews that are not available in most places. I decided on the Coop F5 IPA, a very tasty brew; I have a soft side for IPAs and pale ales. For selection, the Back Porch rates well.

Service at the Back Porch seemed overwhelmed. While the bartender, who never identified herself, was pleasant, she failed to offer me several things that should have been no brainers. My beer came in a standard size glass and though it was available, I was not offered a larger sized stein for my brew. When my food order was delivered, I was not offered something as simple as silver ware. I had to ask for it. These are things that should be second nature. The rest of the staff seemed professional, yet not overly friendly.

The crowd, mostly because of the size of the establishment was small. All of the seats were filled, but it still wasn't a large crowd. I saw Sooner and Cowboy jerseys to go with jerseys representing the Arkansas Razorbacks, Georgia Bulldogs, LSU Tigers and Oregon Ducks. The crowds were into the game, but the interaction was limited at best. Few of the crowd were involved with others in the room, and try as I might, I couldn't get a sustainable conversation going with anyone.

There was a fair amount of televisions in the lounge (according to their website 17 "large screen tvs") but because of the size of the room and the large bar right in the middle, it was hard to watch any tvs other than ones directly in front of you. It made it next to impossible to watch a game that you wanted unless you lucked out and got a spot in front of the right tv and the right game.

I ordered an ordered of their chili cheese fries, again a personal weakness. I have eaten my favorite "delicacy" across the country and across the world. I am well versed and well qualified to judge this item. Lets say I have had better. The fries were soggy and the chili tasted like it just came out of the can. They were incredibly average. No kick, no attitude.

The pricing at the Back Porch was not anything to save the day. I ordered 1 appetizer and 2 brews and with tip it came to $27. To put it in prospective, week one say me order 2 appetizers and three beverages and pay $51 with tip while week two saw the same two and three with a final total with tip of $23. I will give the Drafthouse a slight benefit of the doubt on the pricing in that it was Saturday, not Sunday or Monday were many places give pricing specials to draw in the NFL crowd.

Because of the smallness of the house, I was bumped several times by customers and employees. That coupled with the crampness of the tv locations, made it very uncomfortable to watch more than the Oklahoma game on the two tvs directly in front of me.

Total it up and it looks like a rough week for the home team at The Back Porch Draft House, they fall in a tough contest 20-13.

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