Classic but inventive, Anchorage’s Southside Bistro is as relevant now as it was nearly 30 years ago

“They grow up so fast.” This phrase always rang hollow to me when heard in a restaurant that doubles as a video game arcade or whose menus come with a box of crayons. At those moments it seemed to me that my kids were growing up very, very slowly. Which is why, when my youngest daughter came home from her first semester at college and asked to celebrate at Southside Bistro, she immediately got her wish. To be fair, it has been many years since my children were on an all-beige, French fry and buttered noodle-based diet and watching your children become grownups does have its pangs. But — and I’ve done the research — they’re much easier to deal with when contemplated over a nice glass of cabernet and a beautifully cooked New York steak.

Southside Bistro had been on my mind anyway. Ever since my husband and I paid a visit to old-school favorite Jens’ Restaurant to find that it’s as good as ever, I’ve been thinking about classic Anchorage eateries. Southside Bistro was one of the first reviews I ever wrote for the ADN, well over a decade ago, and I was overdue for a follow-up.

Jens Nannestad — not to be confused with the late, great Jens Hansen though, delightfully and confusingly, the two Jens have worked together — opened Southside Bistro almost 30 years ago and it’s a compliment to the operation that I find this fact shocking. In my mind, the restaurant has always had a feeling of and reputation for contemporary relevance.

Which is not to say that it follows trends. The dining room alone shows its resistance to changing when the wind blows. I’m old enough to remember a time when you couldn’t throw a crème brulee without hitting a restaurant bedecked with vintage French food posters. I’m pretty sure Monica Geller had several in her kitchen. Southside Bistro, when it opened in 1995, was right on trend and then never was again. Add a few Provencal roosters that continue to serve as the kitchen’s mascots, and some pleasantly busy booth upholstery, and the restaurant is serving up mid-90s nostalgia alongside their bistro fare.

The menu similarly walks the line between familiar and fresh. On the one hand it emphasizes Nannestad’s European culinary roots with, for example, a schnitzel dish that has long been a menu mainstay. Other entrees like veal tenderloin medallions with a lingonberry sauce, and the Swedish meatballs that occasionally make a special appearance, are a nod to his Swedish upbringing while classic French bistro dishes like the chevre salad and wood-fired escargots bring a Left Bank vibe to the proceedings. On the other hand, inventive dishes with farther-flung global flavor profiles have found their place on the menu as well. Think woodfired cauliflower in tahini sauce with pomegranate, mint and chilis or chili rubbed skirt steak with a tomatillo-cilantro sauce and chipotle cream.

To begin, we opted to share the wood oven rosemary flatbread ($12) with French brie, apple, and seasonal greens, as well as the shaved Brussels sprouts salad with toasted pine nuts, pecorino Romano, and a light, tangy citronette ($11). First, while it’s hard to go wrong with a dish featuring the meltiest of all melty cheeses, I want to give credit where its due. There is a mastery in the balance of this dish. The rich buttery brie is the perfect foil to the light bright apple slices and herbaceous greens. We were absolutely in love with the Brussels sprouts salad, a dish we ordered to feel virtuous but which we polished off because it was delicious. This salad is crunchy, zippy, with a lovely nutty aftertaste. It is a salad I could eat every day.

My steak was simply and correctly prepared which, let’s face it, is all you ever really want when you order one. The meat was a perfect medium rare, the sauce was rich and flavorful, and the vegetables were steamed to a proper al dente ($49). My very grown-up daughter opted for the fresh pappardelle with the classic pork ragu sauce ($24) which I maintain is just a fancy way of saying spaghetti and meatballs because she is, in fact, still 9 years old. But seriously, this is a grown-up plate of pasta. The wide silky noodles are cooked to a perfect tenderness and the meaty, buttery sauce clings to them for a perfect bite every time.

For dessert, we shared the Southside peach and mixed berry cobbler ($11) which was packed with freshness and flavor. The tartness in the berries is offset with sweet, creamy, melty vanilla ice cream and the rich brown sugar and pecan crust. I don’t know when most restaurants stopped doing fancy feathering on their dessert plates but Southside Bistro emphatically hasn’t. I loved the blast from the past delivered via squeeze-bottle.

Service is attentive and friendly with just the teensiest bit of ceremony — not to be confused with stuffiness. I enjoyed seeing Jens himself, who now co-owns the restaurant with Travis and Amanda Haugen, chef and general manager, respectively, in his immaculate chef whites setting tables and running both food and a very tight ship. The whole feel of the evening was one of relaxed refinement.

Southside Bistro is a restaurant that makes serious food without taking itself too seriously. And while some things in life do in fact go by “too fast,” Southside Bistro manages to keep up with the times while holding tight to the best things of the past. Long may it reign.

If you go:

Southside Bistro

1320 Huffman Park Drive

(907) 348-0088

www.southsidebistro.com

****1/2

$$$