"Tucked away in an alley", this phrase alone can bring up all sorts of thoughts and connotations, but when it comes tumbling out of the mouth of a local, you should really sit up and listen. Such is the case with Little Skillet, a literal hole in the wall on a tiny one way "street" off the beaten track in SOMA. You order at the window and either head back to your home or office or just plop down on the concrete curb just across the street and soak in the sunshine with your other fellow eaters.
As you can see from the menu they serve up Southern dishes with a specialty in chicken and waffles and without a doubt, it is the highlight of the dishes they serve.
As you can see from the menu they serve up Southern dishes with a specialty in chicken and waffles and without a doubt, it is the highlight of the dishes they serve.
Little Skillet is in my neighborhood and I've been here a fair number of times and each time this dish has been consistently good. The chicken is cooked fresh and hot out of the fryer with crispy skin and juicy tender meat. Lightly seasoned with salt, pepper, some paprika, it's just enough to bring out the natural flavor of the chicken. The waffles are not overtly sweet which I like and you won't go into sugar shock when you cover it in the tasty, sweet pure maple syrup. These are also cooked to order and hot, crispy and fluffy. Me personally, I'd like some butter, but that's just a minor quibble, most people are not going to need it to enjoy these little squares of flavor. Next I had the bbq pork sandwich.
I've had this sandwich roughly five times and sorry to say each time it has gotten worse. The first time around I thought it was great--the pork was cooked perfectly, there wasn't too much sweet sauce on it, the cole slaw was plentiful and crisply vinegary and the bun was soft and hearty. But each time the meat has been progressively overcooked, drowned in sauce, less and less cole slaw (which could counteract some of the too sugary bbq sauce) and harder and dryer rolls. It saddens me more since I thought the first time I had finally found some pretty decent pulled port close to home but over time repeat visits have proven this not to be true. The first couple times also it came with some pickled carrots but those have gone away also. I can only say a silent prayer that they will eventually be able to resurrect this back to the way it used to be in the beginning, till then I'm just gonna skip it. Same goes for the grits. I decided to get a small side and while I don't have a picture, they were coarse ground grits that looked weirdly lumpy and had an odd flavor and texture. Not your standard white grits and not what my taste buds enjoyed. Plus they only gave one pat of butter, seriously(?), come on, it's grits for goodness sakes, load it up. Of course, I won't be getting them again so I guess it doesn't really matter.
Since this place opened a few years ago people have raved about it and mostly they highlight the chicken and waffles as the best in town and for that I would have to agree. As a local I highly recommend you search this place out and most definitely get the dish they consistently do best. As for the rest of the stuff, well, order at your own risk.
