Frequently, the Shreveport-Bossier Journal’s always-hungry reporter has lunch at a local restaurant and tells you about the experience.
By ANON E. MUSS, Journal Services
I’ve always had a fascination with airplanes and flying.
Back in the day – way back in the day – I loved going to Shreveport Regional Airport and watching planes take off and land. I wondered where they were going and from where they were coming. As a kid, I would spend nights in my room listening to air traffic conversations on a portable radio from Radio Shack.
A few years ago, I even reached out to a pilot instructor, expressing an interest in learning how to fly. He took me up for a ride. It was mid-summer, and the two-seater didn’t have air conditioning. I came back pale as a ghost and weak from losing my lunch, so my interest faded.
Those memories came back to life when I heard there was a restaurant at Shreveport Downtown Airport. So, on a recent Monday, I invited a friend to meet me at Sky Grill (1550 Airport Drive), hoping to enjoy a good lunch and see planes going to and coming from parts unknown.
There is a sign with an arrow pointing toward a corner entrance to the terminal, indicating the restaurant’s location. However, if you go, I encourage you to walk through the terminal’s main entrance.
The reason? You can see an enduring symbol of America’s past—a pay telephone. I would love to see the reaction of someone 25 or younger!
No matter how you get to Sky Grill, once there, you will find a shiny, clean, comfortable dining area. Even though we arrived at 11:45 (the restaurant is open from 8am-2pm Monday-Friday), most of the tables – and several of the counter stools – were taken. So, we grabbed one of the last open tables next to the window. In fact, most every table is adjacent to large windows, which make for good plane-watching.
Sky Grill’s lunch menu consists mostly of sandwiches and wraps, along with a “Today’s Special”. On this day, the special was a Fried Green Tomato BLT with fries ($12.99).
My friend was sold.
“I’m an easy sell for a special,” he explained, after barely looking at the menu. “The chef/cook has gone to special effort to create something that’s not ordinarily on the menu. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be special, would it?”
The BLT normally comes with fries, but my friend was offered the opportunity to substitute for a bowl of Chicken-N-Rice soup ($1.00), which he did. My friend ordered a Coke Zero ($3) to drink.
I had a more difficult time deciding what to have. I was leaning toward the Muffuletta Croissant when my friend – who is much smarter an sophisticated than me — made a comment. He suggested that when visiting a restaurant for the first time, it’s a good idea to go with a staple—like a hamburger. If the eatery can’t deliver something simple, they probably can’t deliver something a little more complicated.
Made sense to me, so I ordered the Aviator Burger ($13), which came with fries.
It took a while for our food to arrive. In fact, my friend – who despite his impressive work title doesn’t not have an unlimited lunch hour – made mention of the fact it was taking a long time. But soon after, our server was carrying a tray to our table.
My friend’s BLT was cut in half and absolutely loaded with bacon (and lettuce and tomato), stuffed between two pieces of bread which looked fantastic in its own right. His sandwich was accompanied with a sizeable bowl of soup, and – in case he wasn’t already getting enough bread – a roll.
“This bread was perfectly toasted,” my friend said afterwards. “This white toast was the perfect vessel for the hand-held lunch: a compliment to the sandwich without overwhelming it.”
He, as I, took notice of the amount of bacon in the sandwich, which was much more than I have seen in BLT’s served at other restaurants. “The bacon came in layers. It wasn’t cooked crunchy, but crispy – just crispy enough to be easy to eat . . . . The fried green tomatoes were a welcome twist on the traditional BLT . . . . They gave the sandwich a modified flavor, but it was delightful. (The sandwich) couldn’t have been better.”
As for my friend’s soup, well, let’s just say the bowl in which it came really didn’t need to go through the dishwasher afterwards.
“The rice was well-cooked. The stock was flavorful without being salty. The chunks of chicken were in various sizes, deliciously flavorful, and in harmonious balance (my friend has a way with words) with the rice. A basic soup, but as they go, a really good one.”
My burger wasn’t the biggest I’ve ever had, but it was one of the best, for three reasons. First, it (as well as the fries) was hot. Second, the 6-ounce beef patty had that chargrilled taste, as if it was cooked on a charcoal grill behind the restaurant. Third, the bread – which our server explained was a Brioche Bun – was outstanding. It, like my friend’s bread, was cooked just right, and had a taste you don’t find in a regular hamburger bun.
I thought the restaurant was a little stingy on the amount of lettuce which came with the burger, but three pickles helped ease my disappointment.
The fries were thick and, more importantly, hot! Oh, my goodness! An entire meal that was supposed to be hot, was actually served hot! What a concept! (If you are a frequent reader of these reviews, you understand my joyful surprise and sarcasm.)
One small complaint. I was given a packet of (real) mayonnaise and a packet of mustard. My friend asked for, and received, butter (He was thrilled to get butter and not margarine). What we didn’t get was a knife. So, I had to use the packet to spread the mayonnaise. Same for my friend and his butter. Yes, we could have asked for a knife, but it would have been nice to have been given one with our meal.
Sky Grill’s menu indicated the restaurant offers one dessert – Chef’s Choice Cobbler. However, when I asked for a serving, I was told there wasn’t any cobbler available. However, there was Caramel Banana Bread Pudding ($3.99). Hmmm. I don’t like bananas, but I love caramel, and bread pudding. So, I went for it, and convinced my friend to do the same. We were offered the opportunity to add ice cream to the pudding, but both of us showed extraordinary willpower.
My friend took his first bite of bread pudding, immediately lowered his head, and buried it in his hand. Wow, was it that bad? No, just the opposite. He was overcome with the feeling you get when you taste something so good, it renders you useless.
“Hoo-Boy!” he exclaimed afterwards. “It’s not often a food causes my eyes to roll back in my head, but this one did.”
Removing the banana slices, I dove into the surprisingly large portion of bread pudding, and immediately understood my friend’s reaction. If that wasn’t the best bread pudding I’ve ever had, It was certainly in the top five.
The cost of our meal before tax and tip was $37.97. I paid by using one of those hand-held things our server brought to our table. The device offered tip suggestions, but those suggestions were based on the after-tax amount, and not the pre-tax amount. (I thought my friend’s head was going to explode when he saw me calculating what would be the correct 20% tip amount.)
Without hesitation, I give Sky Grill a solid Three Forks. Because of its sandwich and wrap offerings, I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to return, as I can get those in most any part of town. But if I’m in or near North Shreveport, I would definitely “fly” on over to the downtown airport. Sky Grill proved that just because you’re not going on a trip, doesn’t mean you don’t have a reason to go to an airport.
1 Fork: Would rather eat a box of dirt
2 Forks: Will return, but only if someone else is buying
3 Forks: Will return and look forward to it
4 Forks: Will return and go out of my way to do so
Is there a restaurant you would like the Journal to visit for lunch?
Email SBJRestaurantReview@gmail.com.
