Skewer

Skewer
5101 Sanderlin Ave Ste 105
(901) 682-9919

I wanted to try Skewer the minute I heard about it. I decided to take the boys (all three) for an early Valentine's dinner last Thursday. We ended up taking two cars in the middle of rush hour traffic and in the middle of the tennis tournament! BUT! We still found parking and there were plenty of tables waiting for us at 6:00pm. Jiro (age 9) and I arrived first.



It is super cute inside. I love an open kitchen.



Jiro looked at the menu for about two seconds before deciding exactly what he wanted: Yakitoridon. (Yakitori, or skewered chicken, served over rice with an egg.) Since there was a picture, he also knew he needed to order it without green onions.

I told him that there was a very similar dish on the kids' menu, called Three Sticks, but he wanted nothing to do with the kids' menu.



I was still perusing when Warren and Satchel (age 11) arrived. Satchel was starving and unable to focus, so Warren picked two things for them to share: Toriyakidon and Tonkatsudon. All three of them were getting donburi (rice bowls), I couldn't believe it. "No one is getting Ramen?" I asked. Crickets.



I am not really a Ramen fan, so I decided to at least try the restaurant's namesake. Skewers are available a la carte, sort of like sushi, which they also sell.

We got our order in, and added some edamame to calm the monkeys. I went to check out the bathroom (very nice, but no changing table) and by the time I got back, the edamame was practically gone.

Both Warren and Satchel were on their phones, which totally embarrassed Jiro. We decided to talk to each other and have an "old fashioned" meal. Ha! I noted that there were several different types of patrons dining with us--a few families with small children, a couple of tables that definitely looked like "Girls night" groups, and so on. We also watched the guys in the kitchen and looked at the menu item pictures scrolling across a big screen TV. (There was also another TV showing actual TV.)

The food came out fairly quickly, but not all at once. The kids were first.



Jiro was very happy with his selection and noted that he got 4 skewers instead of 3 like on the kids menu. I noted that his egg came scrambled instead of soft boiled like in the picture, but he didn't care.

Satchel started on the Toriyakidon, which is fried chicken cooked in house yaki sauce.



He seemed pleased, but the chicken was actually once large piece and he needed more than chop sticks to really tackle it.

Warren was very happy when the Tonkatsudon came out. It doesn't look much different, but it is pork instead of chicken.



I ordered an assortment of skewers--basil chicken in black sauce, miso beef tenderloin, giant shrimp, mixed veggie, and miso tofu.



They ranged in price from $3-$4. The tofu and veg were as much as the beef and chicken, but came with two instead of one.

I really liked the beef and chicken, probably due to the sauce. The tofu was a little boring, and honestly I think they forgot to cook the shrimp. Or reheat them. Or whatever. They were cold and tasteless. (They were also advertised as "giant shrimp with heads on.")

Unless you are trying to go gluten free, I think the donburi bowls are more satisfying.

We all agreed we wanted to come back and try other things on the menu, so it was definitely a win. Our total tab was $58 plus tip, so it's not an every day kind of place, unless I can convince the kids to share or eat from the kids' menu.