The Beef Dip

The Beef Dip
Now that's what I'm talking about!!

In Search of the Perfect Beef Dip

It sounds simple, but it's not. And surprisingly, not everyone likes them. For the lovers of the mighty beef dip, this is unbelieveable. A group of beef dip fans are out to find the best dip in Edmonton. Over the next months, we will endeavour to feast on dips throughout Edmonton and beyond in search of beef dip perfection! And we will be sharing our impressions.

A good dip consists of a good bun or roll that doesn't break down in the dipping process. It must be hard on the outside (not stale) and soft on the inside. There is nothing worse than having your beef dip experience ruined when the bun becomes a soggy mess after being dipped. The roast beef should be tender and sliced thin enough so it's easy to bite into.

And the au jus, well that's the deal breaker. It needs to have the right balance of beef renderings with the right spices to enhance the flavour.

Au jus comes the French phrase that translates to "broth or with gravy". The flavour of au jus can make or break the entire beef dip celebration. And of course, au jus must be in a container that is large enough so the beef sandwich can be dipped easily.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Beef Dip at Original Joe's

Well our anticipation was high. A large group of us headed for lunch to partake in the Original Joe's beef dip. It had been recommended and we were all looking forward to it.

First impression, the service was not great. It may have been because we were a large group ... and we get that. But the server was really detached from us and did not even acknowledge we waited over 45 minutes for our food. A little "I'll check on your order" or "we want to make sure that everyone gets their food at the same time" would have been nice. But she basically avoided us. A little word of advice, if you don't like being a server, quit.

The sandwich came with onions and mushrooms, with cheese as an option and there were lots of choices for sides: fries, sweet potatoe fries, slaw, pasta salad, fresh or grilled vegetables, soup. Their were no end to the choices.

Once we received our food the presentation was amazing and the au jus was served steaming. As dippers we were all hopeful. First impressions were that the size of the bowl containing the au jus was incredible. Bravo, plenty of room to dip away. However we were all concerned when we picked up the sandwich.

The roll was basically a fresh hot dog bun. We totally knew that it would disintegrate when dipped ... and we were right .. it ended up as a floating (er ...sorry about this) bread turd. The worst possible thing to happen. Not only that, a few of the buns were cut on both sides. This makes it impossible for the sandwich to stay together.

We found the roast beef to be rather bland, and the au jus seemed to be prepared from a beef Oxo cube and was much too salty. As for the sides, thumbs up for the regular and sweet potato fries and the dill dip. The mango pasta salad was sadly missing mangos. The roasted vegetables were good, but not balanced between plates and the coleslaw was rated high. Finally, the company was great, the food was okay and and the service was poor.

And once again, someone ran out of au jus ... unbelievable. It's not like au jus costs a lot of money people! Come on.

Two dips out of five on the Dip-O-Meter.

And so the search continues. According to ARV, Hudson's has mini beef dips. Bring it on!
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