Photo by BOB HALLINEN / Anchorage Daily News
Karen and Robert Obermann the co-owners of Sizzlin' Cafe at 523 3rd Avenue, downtown Anchorage. Chef Robert Obermann holds a Leonardo da Veggies Panini and a bowl of Buffalo and Black Bean Chili.
Sizzlin' Cafe
Cafe has sizzle but isn't yet red hot
Published: April 26, 2006
Last Modified: June 29, 2006 at 03:58 AM
Many people dream big.
But chef Rob Obermann's was a cozy, small dream.
After years of working in fine-dining establishments, he wanted to open his own family-run eatery. Obermann finally reached that goal in December when he and his wife, Karen, opened the Sizzlin' Cafe, a snug lunch spot in downtown Anchorage.
The cafe smells like warm bread, just-baked cookies and fresh-brewed coffee. An attached dining room is softly lit, sprinkled with tables topped with bouquets of fresh flowers.
Obermann typically mans the counter and kitchen or is somewhere nearby. He is friendly and accommodating, with an impressive resume: A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, he most recently worked more than two years as executive chef at Alyeska Prince Hotel, and he is president of the Alaska Culinary Association.
With such experience behind it, the tiny cafe lugs large expectations for the curious diner. I visited twice recently and discovered gems among Sizzlin' Cafe's comprehensive and at times uneven lunch menu.
Do not miss the soup. On three separate occasions, Obermann's soups proved dazzling. His recipes produce the stuff of tummy dreams, inventive mini-magical cauldrons of brothy goodness.
On my first visit, I had the steak potage ($4), a savory stew of ground steak, soft chunks of broccoli and white potato, silky pea pods, translucent onion and nuggets of carrot and celery.
Later, I tried the chicken and mushroom soup ($4). The velvety broth held cuts of juicy chicken, semi-crisp flecks of scallions and celery and chewy portobello pieces -- not just stems but caps too.
On this trip, my roommate opted for a salmon bisque ($5), the regular Friday soup and an indulgent alternative to the clam chowder that most restaurants serve up that day. It was salty and rich but not so much that he didn't finish the generous portion.
Obermann regularly has two soups a day -- one fixed, another of his choice. Add a soup to a sandwich, wrap or panini, and the soup is half-price.
Not that it's necessary to add anything to the variety of sandwiches on Sizzlin' Cafe's menu. Most are filling as stand-alones, served with pickle spears and a mound of corkscrew pasta salad.
The pasta was cooked perfectly on each of my visits and tossed in a tastily balanced mix of oil and vinegar. Obermann adds strips of crunchy carrot, diced onion, teensy sprigs of broccoli, tomatoes, hand-sliced green olives and a dust of salty feta.
We tried a variety of sandwiches from the cafe -- and there are a lot to choose from: The menu includes basic subs ($7-$8); wraps made from tortillas that hint of garlic and basil ($8); and grilled panini sandwiches served on traditional Roman flatbread, brushed with garlic butter ($9).
Obermann bakes the flatbread and hoagie rolls daily. The rolls, he said, are challah, a traditional Jewish bread that's simple and made with whole-grain bread flour "so the flavor is more neutral, so it goes with anything," he said.
I had a slightly different take: The bread was on the bland side, which, in a way, is Obermann's point. But when we're talking fresh-baked, I wanted something special.
The steak sandwich ($8), on a white hoagie roll, included Sizzlin' Cafe's seared and roasted dry-rubbed beef -- juicy, salty folds of meat topped with a sturdy slice of cheddar cheese, more caramelized onions and a horseradish aioli. One pal objected to the subtle zing of the aioli: When he read "horseradish," he expected greater punch.
The smoked turkey panini ($9) was a treat, with sweet caramelized onions and a saucy pesto ranch. The mellow havarti cheese and thick slices of sugary bacon were complementary additions, though the turkey itself tasted similar to the stuff in a grocery store deli.
The agreeable chicken panini ($9) came topped with slices of sauteed portabella, white mushroom pieces and melted swiss cheese but was dry and would have benefited from some sauce or spread, especially to enhance the "neutral" flatbread.
My favorite was the smoked turkey club wrap -- thin-sliced smoked turkey, hickory-smoked bacon, tomato, pesto ranch and a medley of spring greens in a doughy garlic herb wrap.
And my roommate, who has worked at some of Anchorage's finer restaurants, was impressed with the curry almond chicken salad sandwich, a zesty mix that included chunks of apple and fresh greens.
Here is a bonus of Sizzlin' Cafe: Delivery's available for orders of $20 or more in downtown and Midtown.
The cafe is, in some ways, a work in progress. The Obermanns will start serving breakfast May 15. Rob Obermann promises super-fresh veggies once the Valley growing season starts and he can buy directly from Arctic Organics in Palmer. And the cafe is working toward getting a beer and wine license so Obermann can offer evening tastings paired with food.
"Doing the food" has always been Obermann's passion, he said. Working in some top-notch kitchens and overseeing staffs taught him the business side of the industry.
"Alyeska was pretty much the ceiling, as far as working at great establishments in our state," Obermann said. "But my goal was still to open my own place."
• Contact food reviewer Katie Pesznecker at kpesznecker@adn.com.
Sizzlin' Cafe
***1/2
Location: 523 W. Third Ave.
Hours: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday; closed Sunday. Opening at 6 a.m. for breakfast beginning May 15.
Phone: 929-5400 (fax or phone in orders for pickup; also offers catering)
Web: www.sizzlincafe.com
