Smokin' Hot Au Jus at Original Joe's

Sunday at the Buena Vista - July 11, 2010

It could have been the Buena Vista draft beer, but this may have been the best dip I've had in a long time. Located at the corner of Hyde and Beach in San Francisco, the Buena Vista takes credit for inventing the Irish coffee. I don't like coffee, but I really like this place and their beer. They have a bartender who has worked there for 47 years.




Stayed put to make friends and watch the soccer game.



Around 4 p.m. I ordered the French beef dip. Wow, this was no mistake. These folks know how to serve the dip in all its simplicity. The bread was incredible. The crust was hard and stayed that way when dipped; the roast beef was sliced,perfectly; the portion was very generous; and the au jus was served in a wide mouthed bowl. It was perfect.

When dipped, the breaded softened enough to allow the first bite to explode in my mouth. Yum. Exactly what is suppose to happen when you dip. Again the au jus was not spectacular, but it did the job. It flavoured and softened the bread only enough to enhance the taste of the sandwich.

Trust me, this was a great dip. Again, they don't put a lot of effort into au jus, but they serve it so that the sandwich can be dipped. And the coleslaw, again, was amazing. Check it out if you go to San Francisco. You will not be disappointed.

Here is their website: http://thebuenavista.com/

On the Road in San Francisco - July 9, 2010

I had no plans to have a beef dip while on vacation, but there it was on the menu ... French Dip and I couldn't resist. Remember that beef dips were invented in the U.S. I was at Lori's Cafe for breakfast, but it was almost noon. Bacon and eggs or a beef dip. How could I resist? And I wasn't disappointed. Beef dip on a French bread, au jus and coleslaw. Heaven!

Americans just know how to do it. The plate arrived with a sandwich cut in half and generous serving of tender roast beef. I ordered coleslaw as my side and the au jus came in a cup that was big enough to accommodate the sandwich being dipped. Very simple and very pure.


The first bite was a surprise. The crust of the bread was hard, but when dipped the bread inside broke down and became a little gummy. It was actually a little weird. But the more I dipped and became accustomed to the breakdown in the bread, the better it tasted. The beef was excellent, moist and tender. The au jus was more of a broth, but that worked just fine. Not too salty and very tasty.



I'm not going to rate this dip, but it was very, very good.

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!

The Birth of the Dip

Like me, I'm sure many of you have wondered where on earth did this glorius sandwich come from. Was it sent from the gods above or did some mere mortal stumble across it? According to legend, it was invented by Phillipe Mathiew in 1918 in his Los Angeles delicatessan,"Phillipe the Original". While preparing a roast beef sandwich, Chef Phillipe accidentally dropped a French roll into a pan of beef drippings. The customer liked it so much that he returned the next day to order another sandwich "dipped" in the meat pan.

And so the magnificent beef dip was born. Merci beaucoup Phillipe!

Check out the Phillipe the Original website at http://philippes.com/

Make Your Own Beef Dip Sandwich

Sawmill at Oliver Square - June 11, 2010

The folks at the Sawmill know a good beef dip. They obviously understand that a great dip is simply made up of a perfect roll and a generous amount of thinly sliced roast beef. Nothing fancy here. The plate is delivered with the beef sandwich, our choice of sides and au jus.

The beef was very tender and easily bitten through. This is extremely important. There is nothing worse that having a slab of beef hitting you in the chin. The bread was excellent. Soft on the inside and hard on the outside. The roll kept its integrity throughout the dipping process.

Unfortunately, and once again, our resident au jus shlumpa ran out of dip. She is such a voracious dipper that the amount of au jus never seems to be enough. That being said, to run out of dipping nectar is very disappointing and it results in the remainder of the sandwich being very dry.

The fries were excellent.

All agreed that this was a pretty decent beef dip. Nothing spectacular, but very flavourful and fullfilling. And if you go during happy hour, you get a pretty good deal.

Dip-O-Meter .... three and one half dips out of five.