Best Beef Dip ... Where are You???: The Moxie's Beef Dip ... High Hopes

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.

Friday, August 13, 2010

The Moxie's Beef Dip ... High Hopes

The title says it all. We were hungry and ready for a quality beef dip. Moxie's on Kingsway Avenue is close to work and we wanted to be impressed. The service was excellent and our large group was accomodated quickly without a reservation.

The description of the beef dip on the menu is as follows: shaved beef, sautéed mushrooms and swiss cheese served on a baguette, with au jus for dipping. How could we not be impressed when the description of mushrooms comes with a French accent? " l'amener!" (That's French for "bring it on!"

The beef dips arrived quickly and our mouths were watering. Lots of different sides were ordered - salads, fries and soups - and the presentations were good and appetizing. The first few bites were everything that we had anticipated, but remember, we were all pretty hungry.

The au jus bowl size was perfect. Points for that. And then we started to break it down. We are getting good at this so we ask lots of questions. Tastes great, but then "oh, the bread gets kind of soggy and mushy when it's dipped"; and "oh, the beef kind of tastes like it is processed rather than freshly sliced"; and "oh, the au jus tastes pretty artificial". The fries and the salads were okay, but the soups were described as being a bit salty and not that hot.

Now that we have had a few beef dips we are becoming more discerning. We all wanted to like this dip ... but sadly the more we ate, the more we became, well ... meh. Not to say we all didn't finish them because we were hungry. They weren't bad ... but really they weren't really that good. Our advice, when at Moxie's "skip the dip."

Two and half dips out of five on the Dip-O-Metre ... Meh