Joan Heineman doesn't have a sweet tooth, but she loves Dave Harris' cookies.

"I would walk out of the classroom and smell his cookies. I just couldn't resist," says Mrs. Heineman, a student at Pittsburgh Filmmakers in Oakland.

Mr. Harris runs Dave's Cafe Obscura out of the Filmmakers building at 477 Melwood Ave., in a corner of the main lobby. Although quite small, the cafe has some devoted followers.

"His sleek is the best," says Mrs. Heineman about this Middle Eastern dish, which Mr. Harris makes with black-eyed peas, bulgur and collard greens. "I would get it almost every night and occasionally, I would take it home."

Mr. Harris doesn't look like your typical chef, nor does he run the cafe in typical restaurant fashion. Outfitted in a T-shirt and shorts with his long hair pulled back in a ponytail, he talks about his love of food, his love of photography, and his love of chatting with people.

"Since I was a young child, I have always loved preparing healthy and delicious foods," he says from behind the counter. "Having the cafe gives me a chance to interact with people and talk about eating healthy foods and living a healthier lifestyle."

Mr. Harris started cooking at a young age. "I was 3 when I first made my parents breakfast in bed. I'm not sure how good it was."

It was also at an early age that his love of photography started. "My mom bought me this little Kodak Instamatic camera. I loved it. I would play around with lighting and just get into these very inspirational moods where I would take all these photos until I ran out of film."

Mr. Harris, 41, grew up in Hanover, York County, and studied at Pratt Institute in New York, majoring in photography. Stopping a few credits shy of a degree, he worked at restaurants until he ended up in Pittsburgh, where one of his sisters lives.

Three and a half years ago, he decided to open the cafe at Filmmakers, a place he was already familiar with since he was using the photography labs. "It (the cafe) had sat empty for over a year, so they were delighted I was interested in reopening it and I was delighted for the opportunity to be my own boss."

At the Cafe, he offers only vegetarian foods with most also fitting vegan criteria. The menu changes daily, although some patron favorites, such as his toasted cheese sandwiches, are staples.

"Honestly, he makes the best toasted cheese sandwich in the world," says Jessica Futrell, who works at Filmmakers. "He uses really sharp cheddar and you can get tomatoes and olives on it. It is just the best."

He shares the secrets behind his toasted cheese sandwiches. "I use Earth Balance on the bread because it doesn't burn like butter, and it takes 13 minutes to make it, like it says here," he says, pointing to the hand-written sign on the counter. "You have to take your time so that you don't burn the bread and the cheese melts."

Mr. Harris' daily offerings also include the hummus wrap, salads, steamed veggies with brown rice and sesame sauce, almond butter with honey, banana and or/raisin sandwiches, granola and soup of the day. He also offers a variety of specials, depending on what he finds at the market, including Mediterranean couscous, Indian and Thai curries, and baked potato and cauliflower cheese casserole. Soup offerings vary and include black bean chili, gumbo, cream of asparagus and gazpacho. Desserts may include lemon ginger cookies, chocolate chip cookies, carrot cake, banana bread, and sesame seed candy.

Also on the menu is the occasional Slovakian dish such as halushky, leco or zemlovka -- dishes Mr. Harris learned from his Slovakian wife, Katarina Sumanova. "We met in the darkroom here," he said, "She taught me how to make some really great dishes that I sometimes offer here."

Mr. Harris manages to make all of his offerings on limited equipment. He has a small convection oven, two industrial hot plates, a tiny microwave and a toaster oven. "I just got a dishwasher, so that will help."

The cafe is decorated with several of Mr. Harris' own photos.

Until recently, the Squirrel Hill resident did all of his commuting and shopping by bicycle. "My dad just gave me a car so I can load up my food in there. But I have saddle bags and hang things off the handle bars. People who know me would see me doing my shopping for the cafe and laugh when I loaded up the bike."

Since he is small scale, he does all of his shopping locally, including at the farmers markets. At the Citiparks Monday farmers market in East Liberty, he sells his hummus. "Now that is a secret recipe that I will not share."

Mr. Harris works at the cafe only when Filmmakers is open. During summer, low enrollment makes for a difficult go. "I had to close last summer because there simply wasn't enough business since there weren't any students during the day," he says. The cafe is open to the public. His summer hours this year are noon to 3 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. Mon. through Thurs.

He hopes to build a catering business to tide him over during leaner months. "I love cooking. I love teaching people about healthier eating. Any way I can do that is great."

For more information, contact Dave's Cafe Obscura at 412-681-5449 ext. 363.

Lemon Ginger Cookies

PG tested

• 1 cup salted butter or Earth Balance (for vegan version)
• Juice of 1 large lemon and 1 orange
• 3/4 cup brown or cane sugar
• Zest of 1 organic lemon
• 1 to 1 1/2 inches ginger root, minced
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose unbleached flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• Mix the butter, juice, sugar, zest, ginger root and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually add mixed dry ingredients into mixed wet ingredients. Spoon the mixture onto ungreased cookie sheet.

  Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 13 minutes or until golden brown on edges.

  -- Dave Harris, Dave's Cafe Obscura

  Kathleen Ganster is a freelance writer who lives in Hampton and teaches at Point Park University.
  First published on July 9, 2009 at 12:00 am