Skoog's Pub & Grill — Restaurant in North Utica

Review Date: August 26th, 2015

Skoog’s. Swedish for ‘jumbo tenderloin’.

The first thing you’ll notice (or not) is that the bar signage for Skoog’s is overlaid on a Swedish flag. This had me wondering if we were going to experience some kind of Swedish/European eatery on the inside. Sadly, that wasn’t 100% the case.

Inside Skoog’s was a pretty typical pub. It had a dining area and a bar area. It had this feeling of aged wood that has seen enough stories to last a lifetime. It had a small level of coziness and welcoming to it that seems to be hard to capture in words or replicated by other places. The decor on the walls was sparse but effective in making the walls feel full without being cluttered. But, I don’t remember there being much of a Swedish theme to the place. That really isn’t concerning as I was more curious if it would based on the signage out front.

My girlfriend and I needed some grub and needed it fast. We spent the afternoon hiking at Matthiessen State Park, getting lost, and then hiking some more once we got ourselves re-orientated with where we were. Who knew getting lost could build up such an appetite.

As we sat there, looking over the pretty standard bar menu, I noticed they served tenderloins. I was on a tenderloin addiction around this time of my life so it was only natural that I would get one here. My girlfriend got something different than her usual burger. She ordered some chicken tenders. If you aren’t familiar with tenderloins, let me fill you in. They are a big piece of deep-fried pork and is about 4x the size of the bun it’s served on. It is a sandwich that requires you to eat half of the pork patty before you get to the bun and toppings. It’s a big pain in the butt to eat and I love every second of it.

The size of the tenderloin did not disappoint. It looked and smelled amazing. As I nibbled on the tenderloin, I knew it was just what I needed after a long day of hiking. The tenderloin was a bit juicy, which is how I like them. The toppings complimented the ‘loin perfectly. It was easily the best tenderloin I had in all of 2015. The fries on the other hand, were just okay. They looked great but only tasted so-so. My girlfriend agreed but said her chicken tenders were the bomb. Her words, not mine.

After a long day, Skoog’s was perfect. Not a perfect score in my books but a perfect way to start the winding down for a relaxing evening. We did stop for ice cream at the Country Cupboard Ice Cream Shoppe, but that is another story for another day.

P.S. – Skoog’s is actually Swedish for the word ‘forest’, not ‘jumbo...

My family and I were very upset with our service this past Saturday. It was a busy weekend for Utica and it's completely understandable that things would take longer than usual. I don't even know where to start with how unhappy we left. First our waitress Jenny came to our table and announced "I guess you guys are my table." So we were turned off because we felt like she didn't even want to serve us. She took our drink order and came back fairly quickly with the water and beer. Then we didn't see her for 30 mins! Another family got sat 10 min after us and we heard them ordering their food with a different waitress and we started getting worried and annoyed. It was so hot and we were looking forward to good food. Jenny didn't come back out until one of us went in to ask for her to come back. She finally comes and takes our order, seemed very annoyed that we went to get her but we only got our drink order and we were out of all our drinks by then. We ordered chili, soup, 2 apps, and a chicken strip meal. That's all. None of that was hard to cook. We didn't realize how long it had been until the other family literally paid and left and we still didn't have our food. At that point it had been an hour and still waiting. Jenny came out with more water and we had to ask if it was almost done. We went to eat at 2:30. The wine fest ended at 5 and it was almost 4 until we got our food. While we were eating a different couple sat and got their appetizer and were eating at the same time we were and they were only there for 10 mins. So obviously the kitchen wasn't back up if they got their food so quickly. It seemed like we were put on the back burner. We were very unhappy with our service and left hoping the wine fest wouldn't be packing up and our whole day was ruined. There's no acceptable reason for this to happen when many families around us came and went by the time we got our food. The only problem would be...

On our journey around the US we often times find these wonderful little gems and Skoog’s in Utica was one of them.

Our original intention was to go to another place in this nicely-restored little town but we walked past Skoog’s and saw the menu and the outdoor dining and this is where we ended up. Sitting out in the middle of what was once the street there is a pergola overhead with nice garden lighting and it’s a neat setting. We love finding these towns where new life has been breathed into them and this is a fine example of just that.

Skoog’s had a nice selection of local craft beers and I got an IPA and, doggone it, I don’t remember the name of it but I did enjoy it. My partner in crime got a pineapple wheat and, this being May, it was the perfect compliment to the newly-emerging good weather.

On special was a combination of ribs and fried chicken. I love ribs. I love fried chicken. But I am apprehensive is this isn’t the specialty of the house. With a name like Skoogs you expect something like pickled herring or something like that. But, when the food came and our taste buds got a sample, I realized I had made a good choice. The ribs were just what you’d want - meaty and cooked so that they fall right off the bone. The fried chicken was seasoned perfectly and had a nice crunch but the chicken under that crunch remained juicy and flavorful.

There was enough food on the plate for lunch the next day and I had a second local IPA and it ended-up in my photo so I can tell you that it was a Tangled Roots Honest Hazy IPA. This was a good compliment to the barbecue.

This being the start of the season I suspect the machinery and people that make things works are just getting their groove on so things were a bit slow but with the great weather and, ultimately, the great results who cares? Besides we weren’t really in a hurry and it was all fine. I’d definitely go back if I find myself in...