In a competition for the warmest welcome at an Anchorage restaurant, Roscoe's Catfish and Barbecue would win, hands down.
"Welcome! Welcome! Have a seat. Is this your first time here?" My daughter Clover and I were guided to a table by Roscoe himself, and suddenly an ordinary midweek lunch felt special. The small space was half-full -- Motown classics played, and the mood was lighthearted. One woman at a nearby table caught my eye and smiled conspiratorially, as if I'd been let in on a secret.
Of course, Roscoe's reputation for good barbecue is no secret. He's been in the business for decades, with past restaurants on Government Hill, the Mall at Sears and a bustling stand at the Alaska State Fair (a non-negotiable part of my family's annual fair pilgrimage).
The menu is a nice representation of Louisiana favorites -- gumbo and jambalaya -- along with other Southern specialties like ribs, catfish, pork chops and chicken. Burgers, hot dogs, gyros, sandwiches and subs are also available.
After we placed our order -- fried chicken for Clover ($17), Alaska seafood gumbo for me ($20) and a plate of cheese fries ($6) to tide us over -- Roscoe disappeared. He had chicken to fry. The charming front-of-house man became the kitchen's one-man show.
The fries, covered in a nuclear-orange cheese sauce, appeared to be hand-cut and were perfectly crispy. Happily, this isn't a cloth-napkin kind of joint. Finger licking is tolerated. We both gave this old-school guilty pleasure two cheese-covered thumbs up.
My gumbo -- arriving as it did on the first day of our recent cold snap -- was the perfect antidote to the outside chill. This hot, deep bowl of comfort was thick with shreds of dark chicken, chunks of reindeer sausage, whole shrimp and a few morsels of perfectly sweet king crab (still in the shell, so proceed with caution). This is not a spicy version, though it's topped liberally with a smoky, salty, Cajun seasoning, so I sauced liberally with one of the variety of Louisiana hot sauces on the table. This dish warmed me up from the inside out.
My daughter's fried chicken was exceptional -- so crispy, you could hear each bite. Roscoe came to check on us. "How do you like your chicken?" he asked. Clover, mouth full, just nodded. "What other chicken do you like?" We admitted to our love for Lucky Wishbone. "That's OK. You can like them both."
When he walked away, Clover leaned over the table and whispered: "Mom, I think this is my new favorite restaurant."
A quick note: Food is cooked to order and, in some cases, takes time. Since we were in no hurry, we enjoyed the somewhat leisurely pace of our meal. But if you're on a one-hour lunch break, you might be cutting it close.
We returned the next week for a takeout meal to share with friends. We ordered the chicken again (at Clover's insistence) and also opted for baby back ribs ($18), the fried pork chops ($17) and the pulled pork ($17) with a variety of sides including red beans and rice, cut corn, collard greens, potato salad and coleslaw.
The sides were all solid, though I found the potato salad and coleslaw to be a bit on the sweet side. I loved the collard greens -- bright and acidic with smoky, meaty undertones. The red beans and rice are flavorful with a perfect texture: not too firm, not too mushy. The cornbread, crumbly and ever-so-slightly sweet, was your basic sauce sponge. And there's nothing wrong with that.
Surprisingly, the baby back ribs weren't our favorite. They were big and meaty, but also a bit chewy, and the meat didn't fall away from the bone the way I like. Also, the sauce seemed to lack depth (though it smelled incredible). I was looking to taste the smokiness that I could smell.
The pork chop was very tasty but, I think, suffered from traveling in a takeout container. Hot out of the fryer, I think it would have held onto its juiciness. As it was, it was a tiny bit dry. But it was full of flavor and fun to gnaw right off the bone (we tolerate finger licking at my house, too).
My favorite dish of both meals was the pulled pork. This dish has become ubiquitous on menus in recent years and I've come to expect it to be nothing more than a pile of meat with a squirt of sweet barbecue sauce. At Roscoe's, the dish is so much more. Tender, earthy, salty, tangy with vinegar and redolent of smoke, it was a revelation and I ate way more than my share (sorry, not sorry).
There's no doubt that Roscoe is one of the most charming people in the industry and it's hard not to be dazzled by his oversized personality. But his charisma is not limited to the front of house. His culinary chops are formidable and his latest endeavor has both style and substance … and a little Motown.
Roscoes Catfish and Barbecue
Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday
Location: 120 E. Sixth Ave.
Contact: 907-279-8961, roscoescatfishandbarbecue.webs.com
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