Much Ado about NOTHING

What exactly is porridge, anyway? Is it like oatmeal? It's not on the menu at Applebee's.

My son, who has heard about porridge in fairy tales -- it's what the three bears eat -- keeps mentioning it at odd moments, which I take to be his stabs at absurdest humor. I jokingly asked how much I would have to pay him to try to order it at his favorite restaurant (Applebee's), but he declined the offer. Porridge sounds like a ridiculously antique dish intended for paupers, like something David Copperfield would eat. Does anyone still eat it today?

For some reason, I imagine porridge is similar to oatmeal, or perhaps like the milk-softened Grape Nuts cereal I eat every morning. It doesn't sound terribly appetizing. I imagine it would be only a step above gruel, yet admirably filling. After all, if anthropomorphic bears like it, porridge must have something going for it.