Lunch #82: Skillet Walk-up Window, Seattle International District

Skillet Walk-up Window is no longer in business. It has been replaced by The Swinery.

We've been big fans of the Skillet Airstream ever since their debut on the Seattle scene in 2007 with their "Bacon Jam," their "trailer," and their inability to follow "basic health codes." And God dammit, as soon as they appear, they leave. For a brief period in the Summer of 2009 the Skillet opened a walk-up window literally across the street from MSG150 HQ.

Gone from our zone (but not forgotten), here is our overdue, still somewhat relevant, review of the Trailer-gone-Walk-Up-gone-back-to-the-streets food place.

Skillet Walk-up Window, Seattle
Address: 220 Fourth Ave S, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: American: Burgers
Average rating: 4 chopsticks
Lunch date: 9/1/2009 @ 12:15:00
Time taken to be seated: N/A minutes
Time to take order: 8 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 13 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 23 minutes
Chopstix quality: Plastic Fork
Do they use MSG?: No
Where is the owner/chef from?: Josh Henderson
Number of tables: 0
Number of occupied tables: 0
Number of business lunch tables: 0
Number of "local" tables: 0
Healthcode Score: 15
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Pho - $8.00
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

Geary's Review

The walk-up window is located on the back side of an abandoned looking building next to the trash cans. Really. There is nowhere nearby to sit, but from what we can see from our office, the back of the building is a popular place to pee in the early evening. So it's got that going for it. We've been a few times since it opened, but never in our official capacity as MSG150 lunchers until today.

Everything on their menu except the burger changes daily. Today I went with one of the specials, Vietnamese Pho. We ate back at the office in a conference room so the time between order and eating was longer that I would have liked. I was ravenous by the time I popped the lid on my soup and dug in. There were fewer fresh veggies that with traditional Pho, but the broth was sweet and delicious with a much richer flavor that most Pho. The beef was tender and tasty as well. We also shared some Poutine, decadent, and Carrot Cake, yum. As usual the food was fantastic, but I can't get over how crappy a location the walk-up window is, other than it being across the street from me.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Tacos - $7.50
Rating: 5 Chopsticks

Emmett's Review

Once upon a time there was a Hip Hop Night Club here. Not that I would know anything about such things. It's been derelict for awhile so good god were we excited to hear that Skillet was setting down roots here.

I had the Tacos and we all split some Poutine. Their Tacos - delicious, savory, fresh. Kind of what you wish every Mexican restaurant in town could put on your platos, but consistently fail at it, inexplicably. The French Fries/Gravy/Cheese Curds need no review. On previous visits I've had their breakfast Tacos - yum, their Burger - 5 chopsticks, their Summer Lasagna - probably the best lasagna I've tasted in my entire life, and it was vegetarian to boot.

This window is closed (their replacement ain't bad), but you can find the Skillet round town still. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Dal - $6.00
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Adam's Review

I feel kind of morbid about writing this review, because the Skillet Street Walk-up Window (SSWW) is already dead. We miss you, and your delicious Bacon Jam'ed eats.

On this occasion, I got something new: Dal. I'd never had Dal before. I'd never heard of Dal before. But, the sign made it sound tempting: "Curry Lentil Soup over a bed of garlic ginger rice with cachumba and yogurt." Sounds pretty damned tasty, right? Unfortunately, it was lacking the flavor explosion of awesome that I'd come to expect from SSWW. This was mostly just a bland Indian Soup on a bed of bland rice. Next time we hit up a Skillet Trailer (and there will be another time), I'm definitely going back to the Bacon Jam covered burger. Oh em gee, it's so good.

Long story short: skip the Dal (if it's available) and just get "the burger".

On a side note, if you haven't had the Bacon Jam yet... get it. Great "Authentic Seattle" Christmas/Hanukkah present(s). On second thought, maybe you'd be better with just a coupon for Hanukkah.