Vive La French Dip Sandwich

I love when a place tries to "class up" their menu by featuring a french dip "with au jus".

There is only one place to go for "French Dip" and that is Philippes Original in Los Angeles. You can have your choice of beef, pork, lamb. Also try it with thier own homemade hot mustard. Great place to eat.
Mike

No offense...but a French Dip in South Florida? Go out and find a good Cuban (sandwich that is). Guess I'm kind of a stickler for "when in the region, eat the region". I do like a French Dip...meet you in Lenox, MA. Better yet, (much better), Eastham for a clam roll!

A restaurant I worked for back in NE, used to do a great French Dip. We roasted our own beef, and made our own rolls. We would paint a little butter on the roll and toast it on the grill (while the meat soaked) then put it together with frys and a cup of sauce. Killer good. But we ( the staff ) got bored with them after awhile and they evolved....the best was to add two crisp slices of bacon, some of our sliced sauteed mushrooms and an extra slice of cheese. I'd have some of our homemade French Onion Soup instead of the frys with it. Man that was good eating.

I suppose! Quit it right now!

quote:

Originally posted by UncleVic

If you ever get to a retail outlet for places like Gordon Food Service, get the LeGout beef base. It comes in a small plastic jar. Stuff looks and feels like black tar. Used it all the time in food service for my fake AuJus.

I like the LeGout products.
Their soup bases are also very good...

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Hoffman

quote:

Originally posted by baconman

How could you not know what a French Dip sandwich is, till a few months ago?

Well, for starters the French Dip is not known over most of the United States. That might have something to do with it.

I have seen it in almost every state I have been to.
Hmm.......
One of my favorite sandwiches......

No offence taken Pancho but I gotta tell ya----Man does not live on Cuban Sam-itchs alone. I have had quite a few since moving to St Pete and I love 'em dearly, but I was touted onto this great roast beef lunch by a guy sitting waiting for his wife who was trying on a dress in a swanky dress shop, while I was waiting for the lovely Mary Ann who was doing the same thing. Un Zoo after she decided not to buy the dress I took her to lunch and fed her enough to make the dress too tight anyhow !!!!!!!!!! I fikkered it was a good deal to buy her lunch instead of a $150 dress.

And, Big G your post sounded like you had fun in the business. It makes it nice when a job is fun. I almost got killed in the kitchen of a restaurant I worked in when two cooks got mad at one another and decided to have a duel with carving knife vs. meat clever. Thank God there was a cop in the joint to break it up.

French Dip lovers of the world unite in South Florida, New England or the left coast----vive le French Dip---bon appetit !!!!!!!

Ancient Mariner....
Yes Sir, I worked my tail off, but had a ball doing it. I really like the industry, but ( there is always a but) if you don't own it...and just manage it....it 'can' suck the life out of you. If you own it and really try to do something it 'will' suck the life out of you.
But once in your blood....you are a foody for life! At times I think it would be fun to go back to it...I just don't think I have the stamina now.

quote:

Originally posted by Niagara

I love when a place tries to "class up" their menu by featuring a french dip "with au jus".

Even better, as witnessed at a diner in upstate NY somewhere, "Roast Beef with Au Jus Sauce" Huh? With with sauce sauce?

quote:

Originally posted by Pigiron

quote:

Originally posted by Niagara

I love when a place tries to "class up" their menu by featuring a french dip "with au jus".

Even better, as witnessed at a diner in upstate NY somewhere, "Roast Beef with Au Jus Sauce" Huh? With with sauce sauce?

At least, au jus was spelled correctly...I've seen "au juice" before!

quote:

Originally posted by Pigiron

quote:

Originally posted by Niagara

I love when a place tries to "class up" their menu by featuring a french dip "with au jus".

Even better, as witnessed at a diner in upstate NY somewhere, "Roast Beef with Au Jus Sauce" Huh? With with sauce sauce?

Jus means juice. Sauce in French is sauce.

I have now made several batches of French Dips using a sauce called Johnny's FrenchDip made by Johnny's Fine Foods. I like this stuff! I have tried several ways but my fave is to heat the au jus and put the thin sliced roast beef in to soak for a few mins. It added flavor to the au jus and to the beef. Then put it on a lightly toasted bun or roll and put the au jus in a bowl for diping. I even used a large toasted hamburger bun and cut the sandwich in half, not bad. Oh, I cut the beef into strips before soaking.

Did someone say what kind of bread is correct? Or, does that differ by location.

I'm going to try seasoning up this au jus to make some Italian Beef sandwiches. I know, I know, it won't be the real thing but....
Joe

Oh, I used the Johnny's concentrate that comes in a plastic bottle. They make a dry pack also.

Philippe's in L.A. is great, but The Hat in Simi Valley (also 9 other SoCal locations) is a solid choice for French dip. The Hat is best known for their pastrami dip, but the roast beef is excellent as well.

I don't know how I missed this thread last year. I've been eating French Dips since I was a little kid. My mom made often made them. I often request it when I'm visiting (thst is, when she asks for requests)

around north texas you can buy au jus in a plastic jar in the aisle where they have gravy I've never bought it but it's there.

Score, better late than never! Now for your mom's recipe....

Ynot, it was with the sauces at my store, right next to the BBQ sauces. It's a little white bottle.
Joe

I like a good French Dip sandwich. Although the bullion or beef broth might be a fair substitute, nothing like a slow cooked beef stock broth to bring out the best flavor. To achieve this it takes a lot of time, long slow simmering, a feat thats best left for the winter months. Not sure if you could get the same success with a crock pot, never tryed.
Chow Jim

I like french dip sandwiches. I also like and prefer Chicago style Roast Beef sandwiches. Similarities are the beef is similar when served, both served using a dip, both are on rolls. Differences I have found are Fr. is served with dip on the side, in Chicago, if you request dip, your sandwich is literally dunked in the kitchen, rolled in sandwich wrapper, then served. The other difference, Chi. will add giardinera in the sandwich( a mix of chopped olives, carrots, celery, etc. kept in olive oil. What a delicious messy delight.

My husband and I love beef "debris" po boys in New Orleans...

Bon Jour Mon Ami, for your edification may I present a recipe I found on the net
and tried out on a few buddies the other night. The Au Jus Juice was very juicy
and you will see why when you read the recipe.

As per Karen

3-4 # roast
2 envelopes of onion soup mix (French Onion I assume)
3 cans beef broth
AND---1-12 oz can of beer (if you only have quarts you must drink all but 12 oz)
The brand is not important--the French don't know the difference.
1 small onion, quartered

Heat oven to 350oF
Place roast in large broiling pan
Combine soup mix, broth and beer in a bowl and stir till soup mix is desolved
Pour over roast and place onions around it

Bake for 2/3 hours, basting frequently, or until beef is tender and looks
stringy when pulled with a fork. (I didn't know what that meant but it
looked done to me so I took it out.) If it gets too crisp cover pan with
a lid or foil.
Slice beef thinly and serve on hero rolls or whatever you call them.
Serve the very juicy au jus in bowls to dip sandwiches in. Magnifique !!!!

Supply lots of paper towels, and don't eat in any carpeted area or wear
an expensive necktie !!!!.

We like ours with carmelized onions- I useJohnny's Au Jus concentrate to make the dipping suace.

Here is a link http://www.johnnysfinefoods.com/products/10100.php

I love French Dips & have been eating them for 35 years; I make my own & nothing like it !

When I see a particularly well executed Roast Beef in a deli, I'll order the appropriate amount, thinly sliced and hit the bakery for a French Bread, with sesame seeds or without. With Knorr's Au Jus, a very simple, and very good, meal or snack. I like the French Bread as it's size makes it easy to dip...

quote:

Originally posted by Peachpie9



A friend took me to her favorite restaurant where the French Onion Soup is the featured item, and the rest is history. I love that stuff! And the French Dip sandwich! Even better!

A French dip and a bowl of french onion soup sounds *wonderful*!
I make a mean french onion soup. (and a Swiss onion soup too made with Swiss cheese)

When I was a kid I travelled with my grandparents a lot and generally, depending on the restaurant, I ordered one of two things, either fish & chips ... or french dip. I still crave a good french dip.

As far as Au Jus ...
Classic Au Jus is a sort of Brown Stock made with beef bones that have been browned (and sometimes cracked) and then put in a stockpot and simmered for at least a few hours ... adding along the way some vegetables, generally celery carrots and onions ... and a bundle (or cheesecloth bag) which includes celery stalk, parsley stems, thyme sprigs, bay leafs and leek leaves ...and sometimes some peppercorns and garlic. Then the au jus is strained, reduced and seasoned.

A quick version at a restaurant might include beef base (kinda like professional boullion) and the juice and drippings from the prime rib pans that have been deglazed.
At home, seasoning might include a herb/spice seasoning like Mrs Dash and some Kitchen bouquet.

I crave a good French Dip. (I also crave a good Open Face Hot Beef Sandwich, but that's another topic.) Sad to say, tho, I have not been able to find a respectable French Dip in the Portland, Oregon vicinity. Any recommendations?

It was interesting to read that it's possible to do-it-yourself. Since I think I have demonstrated on occasions I DO have cooking skills, I should give it a go.

In my brief stint at BBF in my High School days, one of the "Premium" sandwiches they made was roast beef. A big 5 to 10 lb hunk of roast beef was sliced on a rotary slicer per order, then placed in this burger bun sized metal basket and dipped into the roast juices. It had a plunger that squeezed out the excess juice after dipping. Then the order was placed (and salted) on a sesame seed bun that had been previously toasted on the grill. Let's see, that was almost 40 years ago, and I still crave them!!??

I'm still intending to pick up a deli slicer one of these days for slicing/shaving roasts and such for making things like French Dips.

We were clearing out the unwanted equipment from a restaurant project a while back and I had set aside a Garland 4-top range and a standard rotary deli slicer that we were replacing, to take home to use in my new kitchen.
I'd wheeled them to the back of the restaurant kitchen to take out to my van when I left. Shortly thereafter, without checking with anyone, one of the nitwit laborers we had hired to remove construction debri from the second floor decided to move both items out onto the loading dock in the alley ... where, within about 15 minutes the slicer and two of the top grates from the stove disappeared.
I booted the guy from the job site on the spot ... I'd wished I had evidence of him actually stealing it ... but it might have just been kids.
Still burns me.

Even though I've got a few big hollow-edged slicers (knives) ... it's still so much easier to make really thin roast beef with the rotary slicer ... and quite a bit cheaper than buying it from the deli.

Based on Ancient Mariner's great experience at the Reef in St. Pete Beach, FL, my wife and I went there for the first time this past week and had their special French Dip beef sandwich. The sandwiches were --as reported -- outstanding. The beef was so tender it melted in your mouth and the bread was fresh and crispy and was served with a little bowl of au jus, which was very tasty. The Reef's version of the French Dip is served with provolone cheese melted over the beef, which while unusual on a French Dip sandwich from our past experiences elsewhere, it was delicious. I would highly recommend their restaurant and their special French Dip sandwich to anyone traveling through the area.

And, Brother BTB one day a week the French Dip is on sale. The special of the day takes a buck off the price. Makes it an even better deal. The "joint" is like a Key West shack isn't it? No water view though.

I absolutely love French Dip sandwiches.They are not on alot of menus around here anymore, but thankfully I found a place near my home called the Grecian Inn.Their version is huge-very tender roast beef, excellent roll and tasty au jus.I do agree with the Johnnys au jus-I use that when I make my own version at home.