Skillet Rustic. Urban. Food.

This post is part of my Local Foods Week series. Local Foods Week is an 9-day celebration of the fantastic experience that is locally-focused eating in Columbus, Ohio.

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The Caskey family doing their thing–and smiling through all the work.

I had the great fortune of sharing breakfast this past Sunday with my cousin.  We took the opportunity to kick off Local Foods Week at Skillet just southeast of German Village . She had never been, but had read a lot of stellar reviews and I was all too happy to share with her the wondermous concoctions of Chef Caskey & his team.  Since I live so close, I’ve been fortunate to be able to try a lot of different dishes at Skillet–which isn’t hard to do as the menu changes depending on the ingredients that are available.  My only disappointment at Skillet was when I tried to visit this spring during the week they had shut down to tour and work on the partnerships with local farms.  The fact that nearly everything on the menu comes from local farms just makes me love the restaurant that much more.  I really feel like I’m practicing what I preach when I eat there.  Well, that and the food is just so damn good!

Here’s what we shared:

Savory Heirloom Tomato Cobbler w/ Simple Arugula Salad

Braised Pork Cheeks in a tomato-demi glace sauce over White Cheddar Grits topped with a local fried egg

…and because one day this week was apparently not sufficient I went back today with my husband.  He got the Griddled Cheese sandwich which had plenty of heirloom tomatoes on it.  I neglected to photograph it, but according to Chad it was “buttery savoriness.”  The sandwich came with not just a side salad, but a choice of soup.  Chad chose the gazpacho.  The cup of it that came didn’t seem large, but in flavor it most definitely was.  Any more than a cup might have actually been overwhelming.  Still, I want to go back just for the gazpacho.

My choice was the Picnic Chicken sandwich which showed up with delicious surprise panzanella:

Picnic Chicken: local chicken shallow-fried, chilled, sliced then mixed with tahini, garlic and lemon–all served on a Dan the Baker baguette with heirloom tomato and local lettuce

I’m already looking forward to my next visit.

My advice: Go. Go for weekend brunch (get there early!). Go for lunch during the week.  Go back for dinner some time.  Whenever you choose (other than Monday or Tuesday), just go.  Tell me what you got and what you thought of it.

2 Comments Add yours

  1. John Schumacher says:

    Great post, Scott; so glad you chose to do Skillet. I think it’s one of the restaurants that bests epitomizes Local Foods Week!

    1. elderjscott says:

      Thanks, John. You’re so right. Every week is LFW @ Skillet!

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