The Iron Skillet, Petro Stopping Center by Apryl Parcher

As she greeted us at the Iron Skillet Restaurant in the Petro Stopping Center on Rt. 279 in Elkton, second-shift manager Jane Schweizer announced proudly that she’s been a fixture there since the restaurant opened in 1986.

“I’ve been here 21 years,” she said with a smile, and then introduced our server, Freedom Rice. After going over the menu with us, Freedom had a few suggestions.
“If you’re going to try one of our breakfast meals, do not miss the chicken-fried steak,” she said. “We do it right.”

She also recommended the Friday seafood buffet. “It’s all you can eat for $14.99, kids are $9.99, or free if they’re in a high chair,” she said. Then she wanted to know if we’d like the king crab legs, available with the buffet.

My husband Ken decided he’d go for the seafood, and since I was raised on chicken-fried steak down in Texas, I decided to try that, with two eggs over easy, hash browns and biscuits. That meal really blew my diet for the day, but was well worth it!

Like most patrons waiting for drinks, we checked out the unusual décor. Photographs of old trucks, as well as farm implements, tools and gears, adorned the walls. Tucked into the front corner of the restaurant, under a makeshift shed roof, the front end of a 1936 Mack truck stood guard over the clientele.

The Iron Skillet features staple grill fare—assorted burgers, salads and sandwiches, hearty breakfast items, plus shrimp and seafood platters, steak combos and specials—all at very reasonable prices. Customers can order breakfast any time of the day (the restaurant is open 24x7), so if you have a hankering for a short stack with eggs and bacon, you can belly up whenever.

Lots of customers took advantage of the Friday seafood buffet. However, the Iron Skillet also has a steak buffet on Mondays, breakfast and lunch buffets every day, and the always-popular Sunday dinner buffet includes roast beef and turkey with trimmings. A fruit bar is also available daily from 5 to 11 a.m. Breakfast buffets run from 6 to 11 a.m., and lunch is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., although you can order anything from the menu as well.

Ken came back to our table with a sampling of everything from the seafood buffet. His plate was loaded with grilled pollock, seafood pasta, fried clams, steamed cherrystone clams, shrimp fettuccine, fried shrimp and a huge mound of steamed shrimp. He decided to skip the generous assortment of breads, soups and salads.

I enjoyed helping him tackle the king crab legs, which were quite sweet, (especially when dipped in warm drawn butter). But after inhaling all that seafood, he was too full to share my country breakfast. He did manage to find room later for strawberry shortcake and half my Boston cream pie (both very good). Diners with a real sweet tooth can choose from blackberry cobbler, apple pie, hot fudge or strawberry sundaes or just a bowl of chocolate, vanilla or strawberry ice cream.

I liked the fact that our server, Freedom, was so friendly—and very helpful while we were selecting our menu items. Evidently, other customers felt the same way about their servers as well. While we were taking a photo of the second-shift personnel outside, an Asian gentleman approached us and gestured toward Diana Lopez, who didn’t speak much English.

He caught her attention and (with much bowing and smiling) said in painstakingly pronounced Spanish, “Muchas Gracias!” His companions waved their thanks as well. Diana blushed and smiled sweetly as her coworkers grinned and patted her shoulder. Then they hurried back into the restaurant and their waiting customers. We hope Diana got a big tip, too. —CSM

BELOW: Some of the interesting, eclectic decor at the Iron Skillet. — photos in collage are by Ed Belote, Sr.