Chase W

Review of Skillet Diner

Skillet, skillet, where are thou O Skillet. I've b...

Skillet, skillet, where are thou O Skillet. I've been dropping in at Skillet for at least 5 years. So I have a basis for comparison when I write this review. Laugh if you will, but a great testament to Skillet was their five dollar peanut butter and jelly sandwich with fries. Why? Because even something so banal, something just about anyone could make, was done with love there, and done well. I've eaten other food there, and it's been good. Enough to pop in 2-3 times a year, and I don't live anywhere nearby. However, my last visit, Wednesday, 10th January, at 4:30 pm, with my sweetheart, was absolutely shameful and worst of all, loveless. No love in my food. I went out on a limb and ordered the shrimp po' boy. What you served me, Skillet, AIN'T A PO' BOY. It was 16.00. What I received for 16.00 was chintzy near-stale piece of baguette with a few shreds of lettuce, a small glop of mayonnaise on either side, and 4 tiny overcooked cornmeal fried shrimp, more cornmeal than shrimp. The corn was crunchy, the kind that makes you wonder if there is sand in the food, poorly seasoned to boot. In any case, it was nasty. And no tomatoes? The fries were ok, though there weren't much of them. Thoroughly unsatisfied, I ordered a piece of chicken and extra mayonnaise and stuck the chicken on the crappy bread. That sort of made a meal. The chicken from the specials sheet was ok, but unfortunately titled "chick on a stick". My sweetheart had a kale caesar salad, with blackened salmon added. The kale was under-dressed, and looked like a large plate of garnish. Ordered another side of dressing. The salmon was incredibly salty, and had what seemed like a "spice crust" on it instead of a good blackening. Proper blackening occurs when you *dust* the fish with the spice blend and then sear it on a very hot skillet or sautee pan. Blackened salmon, not burnt-on-crusted salmon, thanks. This stuff was a quarter of an inch thick, inebriated with salt and, again, not tasty. The stuff they call ranch was ok, but with nothing worthwhile to dip in it, kind of moot. The server was perfunctory, agreeable, and wisely did not inquire about the quality of our experience. For his friendliness, that is the one star, because the food was a less than zero experience. The place was mostly empty, which made me wonder if we got caught in that thing restaurants do---make the line cooks cook while they are also prepping for the dinner rush. In any case, a disappointing and regretful meal.