Friday, April 28, 2000

Becker's Loft offers taste, feel of home

By Brian Bethel
Reporter-News Staff Writer

Your average sandwich shop is a fairly utilitarian exercise. Pick a combination of meat, cheese and bread. Eat. Go.

A Becker's Loft sandwich, by comparison, is like a little slice of home, wrapped up in a warm blanket of homemade bread and then served by smiling faces.

Perched above the sweet-smelling, colorful displays of the Under One Roof gift shop at 244 Pine, owners Brenda Becker and Sherry Zonker dish up homemade sandwiches, salads, soups and desserts with distinctive characters and delicious tastes and textures.

The atmosphere is informal, but cozy. Folksy craft displays fill shelves and counter space as far as the eye can see, while sweet intermingling scents of potpourri and the aroma of goodies from the kitchen accent a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere conducive to genial conversation (bring a friend) and perfect for a spot of lunch.

Sandwiches are the main menu feature, and for the most part they are marvels of culinary engineering.

The ham sandwich ($5.45), to be fair, is just a ham sandwich, although made with healthy slices of ham and cheese and served on the restaurant's characteristically delicious bread. Not excessively distinctive from any other ham sandwich one might find lurking about the streets of Abilene, but still extremely good.

The real stars of the menu are the Italian beef sandwich and the chicken salad sandwich, both $5.45. If someone can find me better sandwiches within the confines of the city, I'll eat them.

My dining companion and I enjoyed the smooth texture and delicious taste of the chicken salad, served on a soft, buttery croissant. Made with white meat chicken, water chestnuts, apples, celery, almonds and a creamy dressing, it is both tasty and filling.

The Italian beef sandwich, spicy beef with mozzarella cheese on a homemade white bread bun, is my personal favorite. The taste, texture, smell and even look of this particular delight are mouth-watering, and the full-bodied flavor of the tender beef intermingling with the melted cheese will keep you in a state of continual bliss.

Each sandwich plate comes laden with a side of pasta salad, a delicious, creamy medley of green and white pastas, broccoli shoots, tomatoes and onions, a traditional pink fruit salad made of fresh, crisp fruits in season, and a small helping of dessert.

Particular note must be paid to the desserts served at the restaurant, which are invariably excellent. Past trips have yielded treasures such as apricot bars, moist brownies, coconut macaroons, and a wide variety of cakes and other traditional goodies.

The dessert selections vary, so be sure to ask your server what is available the day you choose to go. It is doubtful you will be disappointed.

If you are unsure as to which of the three types of sandwich you'd like to try, try them all on the sampler plate ($5.65). Well worth the slight elevation in cost, you get all of the goodies of a regular sandwich plate with three smaller but still good-sized portions of each type of sandwich. Without a doubt, the best deal in the house.

One of the things that makes Becker's Loft so delightful is the staff's attention to small details and accents that make a great meal even better.

For example, the restaurant offers a variety of unique, home-made flavored teas sure to please discriminating palates. The pineapple tea, a personal favorite, is made with real pineapple juice, forming a pleasing mixture of sweet and tart that elevates otherwise excellent brewed tea to a genuine experience.

A decaffeinated raspberry tea was a favorite choice for my dining companion. Coffee, regular tea and sodas are also available.

Other menu items available include chicken, Caesar, fruit and pasta salads served as entrees. A variety of soups are regularly available, including Mexican chicken, vegetable and rice.

With a relaxing atmosphere, friendly wait staff, fast service and excellent food, Becker's Loft deserves to be high on your lunchtime list of favorite places to relax after a stressful morning or to catch up on happenings with an old - or new - friend.

Contact Brian Bethel at 676-6739 or bethelb@abinews.com. Check out our Web site at www.reporternews.com.

IF YOU GO

The restaurant is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Most entrees range from $3.95 to $5.45. Daily specials, such as teriyaki chicken served as either a salad, sandwich or by itself, are offered. The owners also handle catering needs. Call 673-1309.