Local Hero: Gastropub
An Interview with Isaac Sandoval, Owner and Chef
Photos by Douglas Merriam
Left: Tacos and cocktails. Right: Customers in front of mural at The Skillet.
It began with a three-hundred-pound, three-feet-wide cast-iron skillet. That’s right! Isaac Sandoval cast the skillet during his art school days at Fort Hays State University in Kansas. He’s even cooked in it. Now it hangs above the entrance to The Skillet, a gastropub in Las Vegas, and is its namesake. Most commonly referred to as an “art bar,” the majority of the artwork at the restaurant was created by Sandoval himself, who grew up working in his parents’ iconic New Mexican restaurant, Charlie’s Cafe and Bakery. “My goal is for The Skillet to be a place where every single one of your senses are activated, a place where visitors are immersed in the environment with bright visuals, lively sounds, wonderful smells, and a genuine good energy,” he says.
You are an artist, and in February you created a new, permanent installation inside your space in partnership with New Mexico Highlands University. What should people expect to experience when they enter The Skillet these days?
I love to watch people walk in for the first time. Although the restaurant business is strong in my blood, my artistic practice plays a major role in my daily life and at The Skillet. I invited NMHU Media Arts Club to help develop a set of projected animations over the existing murals and sculptures at the restaurant. What they came up with is really exciting and literally brings the room to life. The restaurant was built inside a ninety-nine-year-old building with great natural light, and the best time to see this installation is after sunset.
Left: Isaac Sandoval, owner and chef. Right: Green chile cheeseburger.
Your menus are playful, with dishes and drinks that feel energetic and innovative. How do you decide what makes the final cut?
Ultimately, what makes the final cut are dishes that we find delicious and authentic to the restaurant. I like the food to reflect the space—I want to make things that I would get excited to eat and that would make other people excited. It’s also important to me that my staff is excited about the food they serve. I get so psyched hearing the staff talk to customers about their favorite items and be genuinely excited and proud of the food they’re making.
Before your brick-and-mortar space, you ran a food truck. Is there anything you miss about working that way?
I learned so much while operating the food truck. The food truck way of life is a tough one. Everything needs to be tied down, the crew is usually one or two, which means you’re running every station, and lots of times sales are limited to what you can fit in the truck. It’s worth every ounce of work though.
The scale of the food truck gave me the opportunity to keep the menu small and work with local farmers selling produce and meats, and helped keep it affordable, something I have a difficult time with at the volume The Skillet is currently operating at.
The food truck had a very different energy than brick and mortar. Everything was more “in the moment” on the food truck. There were always some unforeseen circumstances we needed to adapt to. Now, the stakes are higher, planning is more crucial, and I have to anticipate farther into the future than I had to on the food truck.
How are creating food and serving customers similar to creating visual and performance art?
Both art making and cooking go through similar stages—the concept, development, researching, practice, repeating steps over and over again. A burrito, a five-course dinner, and a drawing all take their own time, attention, and care. Cooking on the line is a time when a cook can have the same gratification as an artist creating a work, making something with their hands and bringing an item to completion. The most common factor between the two is that both require time and tons of hard work.
What’s next for The Skillet?
Hopefully, the busiest summer ever, filled with patio cookouts, cocktails, giant joints, and tacos.
623 Twelfth Street, Las Vegas, 505-563-0477, giant-skillet.com
