Iron Skillet dinner rivals its great breakfast
By M.K. MEANS
The Iron Skillet Cafe sounds like the name of a place that could be featured on Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives," but it's none of those. It's a chic little restaurant tucked away in a small strip mall on Cortez Road at 71st Street.
I've had breakfast there before (the blueberry pancakes are awesome), and I was eager to bite into their dinner menu, so a friend and I went there on a recent weeknight to unwind with some good eats and conversation.
The Iron Skillet's new dinner menu features, appropriately, comfort food: chicken pot pie, a vegetable pasta dish, fish and chips, chicken tenders and liver and onions. The ambience is comfortable and relaxing, perfect for letting the stress of work slip away.
We started with an order of Curry Crab Rangoon, wontons stuffed with curried crab cream cheese. Six crispy, plump pillows were served on a bed of truly edible greens accompanied by a chili lime dipping sauce. The rangoon, while just a tad heavy on the curry, were a bit decadent, and the chili lime sauce - made with red chilies, simple syrup and fresh lime - was so good we could have eaten it with a spoon. In fact, I snatched it from the plate as our server was clearing the dishes.
For the entrees, my companion chose the fish and chips and I opted for the chicken pot pie. The white, flaky fish was in an English-style beer batter, and it was hard to tell if it was fresh or frozen. If you can't discern that, you know it's good. It was served with a nice helping of cole slaw and a mound of french fries.
The pot pie came to the table in an iron skillet topped with a puff pastry that reminded us of a hat, it was so big. Seriously, this pie could feed two people easily. There was enough to share and take some home, too. The creamy filling was loaded with chicken and vegetables and it didn't need a bottom crust. It was rustic, yet elegant, and our server obligingly packed it to take home in two containers - one for the filling and one for the hat to keep it crispy.
Aside from the main event, we also decided to add some onion rings. The ample order arrived hot and crispy in the same beer batter as the fish. These were the real deal, fresh onions cut nice and thick, and a quick dip in the chili lime sauce gave them a little extra kick.
Drinks at The Iron Skillet include the usual soft drinks, iced tea and coffee, which, by the way, is as good if not better than some of the area coffee shops. Since I've had their coffee before, I knew it was a large cup, so I asked our server if he would pour me a cup of half-caff. He willingly complied, with the caveat that it would take a few minutes because he had to brew a fresh pot of decaf. No problem there; fresh is always best.
The Iron Skillet also has a nice wine list if you prefer a little vino with your dinner. Selections include both domestic and imported whites, reds, sparkling and dessert wines by the glass, or you can have a house bottle of Cooperidge in chardonnay, white zinfandel or merlot.
Dinner prices at The Iron Skillet are moderate. Most appetizers are in the $5-$7 range and the dinners in the $9-$11 range. Our bill for the evening was $36, which was not bad for all that we had and with leftovers to boot. They also have an extensive breakfast menu featuring omelets, skillets and pancakes, and the lunch menu offers salads, soup and cold and hot sandwiches.
The Iron Skillet is definitely worth another visit. The food is top-notch and the ambience is wonderful. It's definitely not a diner, drive-in or dive.