Seattle’s Skillet Street Food looks to the future at five year anniversary

Skillet Street Food celebrates its five year anniversary this month, commemorating the date with a party and a cookbook based on their classic recipes. Rumor has it, they might even be opening a new restaurant on the east side. (Photo: Skilletstreetfood.com/File)

By Jillian Raftery

This weekend marks the five year anniversary of Skillet Street Food, an American-style food truck started in Seattle in the summer of 2007 by chef Josh Henderson.

When the Skillet food truck started out, it was one of the first in the Seattle area and certainly one of Seattle’s original chef-driven gourmet food trucks. In just five years they have been so successful that they have added a brick-and-mortar location at the base of Queen Anne Hill called Skillet Counter. Though it was once one of the only food trucks around, a new law passed allowing trucks to park around the city has opened Seattle up to much more mobile food. Josh said he welcomes the competition.

“I’m stoked about all the newcomers and I hope there’s many, many more and I think that’s great. I think that how we’ve gone about it in this city is actually, for once, is actually pretty forward thinking and I think it’s going to turn out pretty well for not only the small business owners, but the city itself,” Josh tells KIRO 97.3 FM’s Rachel Belle.

Skillet has drawn a cult following for their artfully made sandwiches. Rachel Belle loves their hamburgers, made with toasted brioche buns, a combination of blue and brie cheeses, arugula, and their famous bacon jam.

“I think your burgers need it [toasted buns] because your burgers are super juicy, so once it starts to gush the meat juice it has to go somewhere,” says Rachel of the famous burgers.

To celebrate their five year anniversary, Josh and his team are releasing a cookbook based on all their favorite menu items – minus the bacon jam. The cookbook includes classics like their crab cake po’boys, fried chicken sandwich, maple braised pork belly and waffle, and Josh’s mom’s granola recipe that is used at the diner, as well as other recipes from Skillet mobile and Skillet Counter.

Some of the recipes, like the pork belly and waffle, which takes three days to marinate and roast, are very offbeat and complex. Others, like the granola, are much easier.

“I think it also shows that, while our food is basically a fried chicken sandwich, you know we put a lot of thought and finesse into it,” says Josh, “So there’s some complicated recipes, but there’s also some stuff that’s simple.”

On Sunday July 22 at 4pm the Skillet team will host an anniversary party and book launch at the Shilshole Bay Yacht Club to commemorate their five years on the street.

“We’re roasting a pig, we have a buddy who’s going to be spinning some Soul ’45s the whole time, so hopefully there’ll be a little bit of dancing. There’s going to be a bunch of kids there, the beach is right there, and it’s just a great setting,” says Josh.

Josh is also announcing that he is going to open another restaurant. This time his venture will be in Woodinville, which is a distinct departure from the urban ‘street food’ where he started out. Josh likes the idea of filling a niche and says he thinks people on the eastside feel left out when it comes to restaurants and culture.

“I love the idea of wine country. I think that we have an opportunity out there to create an area that could be similar in a sense to a Sonoma or Napa,” says Josh, “And I think that there’s the possibility for that to happen in the next five or ten years. And I’d love to be a part of that.”

And people in Woodinville appreciate the restaurants that are already there. Josh says that he often sees Purple Cafe packed for lunch.

Josh envisions his restaurant as a sort of roadside stand to support Woodinville’s eclectic mix of wineries, distilleries, and small farms, with cool spaces, great food and a casual environment.

“I love the idea of bars with great food. The way I like to eat is – I think of restaurants as a little bit of a commitment, sitting down and feeling a bit like a hostage – when I go to a restaurant I want to sit at a counter. I love going to bars, but most bars don’t have great food. I think there could be both. And the tavern will be right next to the [whisky] distillery,” says Josh.

Despite this ambitious project, Josh says he’s committed to the Skillet Street Food team. He even hints that the Skillet team may be looking at a new location on the eastside.

“Not leaving skillet. Never leaving skillet. I’m hoping to explore more chef-driven projects, but no, I’m never leaving skillet. They’ve got me forever,” says Josh.

Listen to Rachel Belle’s interview with Josh Henderson:

Listen to Ring my Belle with Rachel Belle on 97.3 KIRO FM Saturdays at 5pm and Sundays at 1pm or any time on demand at MyNorthwest.com.