0 of 5 DeliciScore™ (Terrible) Awarded to Monsieur Benjamin for their French Dip Sandwich in San Francisco, CA on this 15th day of April, 2015 -

Now, I know a French Dip isn't actually French at all - it originated in Los Angeles. But after arriving at one of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco (Absinthe) to find that there was an hour long wait to be seated, I decided to peruse the neighborhood on the south end of Market Street to see if there was somewhere else worth a try. Right across the street, there just so happened to be a French restaurant called Monsieur Benjamin, and as I browsed the menu...well, you know what I found - a French Dip sandwich. Done and done - I had my restaurant picked out.

"The portion was just disappointing..."

I wanted an appetizer to start out with, and chose the leek, potato and gruyere croquettes. They came with a dill/herb creme fraiche, and though quite delicious, consisted of 4 or 5 small bites of potatoes for $7.50. The portion was just disappointing, but I still had my hopes up for the French Dip.

Potato and Leek Croquettes. Yes, this is a $7.50 portion.

"When it arrived, the small sandwich, which cost $18.50, was just that - a sandwich."

When it arrived, the small sandwich, which cost $18.50, was just that - a sandwich. No fries or any side items. "Oh, you wanted french fries with that? I'll have them right up," the waiter said. I probably had them within 90 seconds of ordering that, but didn't realize at the time that a side of fries was $5. So being that I expect a sandwich to come with a side - whether it's fries, chips, veggies, a salad...whatever - that basically brings the French Dip at this place was really $23.50, very much on the pricey side. 

"a side of fries was $5."

The meat was medium rare to medium, but lacked any flavor whatsoever.

What a puny little sandwich! And that meat doesn't look all that appealing...

Gosh, what a disappointment this place was. The meat was medium rare to medium, but lacked any flavor whatsoever. The creamy horseradish was tame enough for a small child to eat. The French bread nothing to write home about (c'mon, it's a French restaurant for goodness sakes!). The Gruyere cheese - well, you just can't go wrong with Gruyere. That was the only redeeming quality of the sandwich.

"The Au Jus: It wasn't salty. It wasn't beefy. It was just sweet, and full of onions." 

So on to the au jus, what I consider the most important part of a French Dip. I can't begin to describe how much of a disappointment that was. It wasn't salty. It wasn't beefy. It was just sweet, and full of onions. Now, I know that the broth for French Onion soup can very closely resemble a perfect au jus for a French Dip. But they must have used Vidalia onions. Or a pound of sugar. Not sure which, but the jus was just way too sweet. it also had a bit of thickness to it that I just don't like in an au jus. It reminded me of what you get at Quizno's or Arby's in consistency. And Quizno's and Arby's au jus is much better than what I had at Monsieur Benjamin.

"...Arby's au jus is much better than what I had at Monsieur Benjamin."

Puny sandwich, meet puny au jus ramekin.

The fries were good, served with an aioli and ketchup. But not great. Overall, there really wasn't any part of this meal that I loved. In fact, it all pretty much was below average or average. And the centerpiece of the meal, the sandwich itself, was just a plain disappointment. Not recommended if you are in San Fran and looking for a French Dip fix.

This might just be the worst French Dip I've ever had.

The Bread: 3
The Meat: 2
The Au Jus: 0
The Price: 0
Overall Score: 0 out of 5

2 of 5 DeliciScore™ (Not Quite There) Awarded to Turf Restaurant for their French Dip Sandwich in Seattle, WA on this 22nd day of October, 2011 - I meet Misty of @FrenchDipSEA at The Turf, Seattle for a (Ham and Roast Beef) Dip

Setting the scene

The outside of Turf Restaurant and Lounge, Seattle downtown.  There's a lot of rather seedy foot traffic around here.  I believe I witnessed drug deals while waiting. : )

When I started the French Dip Reviews blog, got a Twitter account and soon thereafter was very surprised to learn of @FrenchDipSEA, who is owned by Misty, a great gal who I've since gotten to know.  This was our first time meeting in person and we had a very fun lunch and got to talk about the dip.
Turf's dip was recommended to me by my good friend Charlotte's brother Owen.  Owen is in the food industry and told Charlotte that Turf had a good dip.  I was about to find out!
When I showed up, I pretty much laughed at the place.  It was in a pretty seedy part of Seattle (2nd and Pike) and while I waited for my dining partner for lunch, believe I witnessed drug deals even.  The place looked pretty seedy and the clientele were in some cases homeless.  A far cry from Bellevue and the eastside but good for your soul!!!

Postage Stamps, Air Conditioned (it was probably 45 degrees and raining), and Scratch Tickets.  What more could a person want?

Menu and Ordering

French dip (beef or ham) w/ fries, choice of soup (they had clam chowder that day) or salad....for $7.95...(PRETTY GOOD VALUE!!!)

I knew what I was going to get so this was no big whoop.  I was surprised and happy that they had a Ham Dip.  Misty ordered the regular roast beef French dip and I got the Ham dip, so I'd know.  Each meal came with a salad (only dressing options are Ranch and Thousand Island, believe it or not!!!!!) and crinkle cut French fries.

Plate

The starter salad.  Although the iceberg lettuce tasted fine, it was probably the saddest looking lettuce I'd seen in a while!!!

The Ham dip at Turf, Seattle.  Looks pretty good overall.  Fried ham is yummy in general.  I had to order more au jus but that's okay. 

Skewer method
No skewer


Non-meat toppings
None: this was a VERY classic French (ham) dip.


Portion
Fair portion.  They did have the ham WILDLY LOPSIDED in terms of portion between the two halves.


Other (fun?) stuff while there

Although this picture's not clear, they have a very wide variety on their menu and specials.

The experience of going to this pretty funny, quaint dive and meeting Misty, another (the only other?!) French dip fanatic, was very fun.  Our middle-aged, Latino waitress was also very cute and nice; the service was pretty good overall.


Summary
A great time at a place I wouldn't frequent again.

	Score (0-5)	Comments
Bread	2	Fair, standard French dip roll.  They grilled it on the grill and slightly burned it even.
Meat	1	The ham was okay.  Misty didn't like it, though.  The roast beef was chewy and well.
Au Jus	3	This was pretty good jus overall.  It had good color, wasn't too salty and looked pretty good.
Overall	2	This was a fun experience just because it was so run down and "classic".

Reason to go back:  I think I'd try some of their other stuff.  They had Lumpia and a really wide array of menu items.  If I happened to be in downtown Seattle and wanted a greasy spoon, totally down to earth place to grab a cup of (probably just good enough) coffee and some greasy hashbrowns with ketchup, I'd drop in.  

Citizens Kitchen and Bar, Mandalay Bay Casino, Las Vegas, NV French Dip Review

I was in Vegas for Tableau Conference 2017 and had a really good time.  Eating a French dip while there heightens the experience.  Here is a picture of me (right), Spencer, Eric and Alberto at the Minus 5 Ice Bar in the Mandalay Bay Hotel.  It was fun there.  

Mandalay Bay in the early morning, early October.

French Dip.  Thin sliced Prime rib, Caramelized Onions, Provolone, Au Jus.  Sounds promising.  $20 is pricey.

The ordering counter.  We were there at lunch at it was very crowded.  This is just a random restaurant inside the casino that we picked.

It came in a clear plastic container.

Unboxed.  It doesn't look too bad from here and came with a big pickle.

But the more I analyzed it, the more it looked really greasy.

Raw Tasting Notes

• Looks greasy generally.  Bad first impression.
• A lot of meat. which is nice
• The sandwich alone reasonable, coming in at a 3 of 5
• It was dripping some kind of unknown liquid, which seemed unnecessary and subpar
• The meat gets a 4 for quantity
• The pickle gets a 4, it was good
• The onions were greasy and not overly exciting, I only give them a 2
• The bread was 3, acceptable
• And now the jus: it was greasy and gets a 1.  It tasted terrible and was greasy.
• I didn't even want to use the jus it was so bad.
• The sandwich was moist enough without the jus so why bother ruining it with some poor-tasting grease bath?
• I didn't hardly notice or see the cheese so it gets a 2
• The coleslaw wasn't that great and got a 2
• Overall this French dip gets a 2.  It was seriously bad and greasy

Summary

Please avoid this French dip.  It is overpriced and not good.

Bread 3

Meat 3

Sides 3 (average of good pickle and lackluster coleslaw)

Jus 1, just terrible.  I should give it a zero but am feeling charitable.  It was bad.

Non-Meat Toppings 2 between the unnecessary cheese and onions

Overall 2 not a good experience.  Fix your jus and have a prayer.  Make your sandwich, preparation and ingredients less greasy.

Tulalip Casino Prime Rib Dip - French Dip Review

Sorry for the blurriness.  Cheese bread?

Cornichons on the skewer, kind of a cute, nice touch.

Didn't look very good or meaty.  Served with an orange slice.  Why?  The whole sandwich kind of has an orange hue to it.  Why? :)

We think we see cheese but it's actually just fat on that meat. :(

Jus looks fine, served in a large cup / bowl.

The money shot, blurry.  Sorry for the bad photography.  We can see it's not overly meaty. :(

Setting the stage

John Angus, Kevin Graham, me, Jason Myers, Matt Coleman and Neil Kloke.  All friends from Anacortes High School who were together at the Tulalip Casino (good crossroads between Seattle, Bellingham and Anacortes) to watch the Washington Huskies Football team lose in a very poor performance to Arizona State University, in Tempe.

We were sitting having beers and this guy named "Cirus" came up and chatted us up.  He needed a seat.  He worked for the tribe and at some point the conversation regarding my French dip hobby came up.  He said there was one in the casino at one of the other restaurants.  At some point he disappeared and I ordered and enjoyed nachos.  

Out of the blue (I thought this was super weird but also super nice), the guy reappeared with a French dip and french fries.  It honestly didn't look very good and I had just eaten so I was not overly stoked.  I tried to refuse his gift but he insisted.  So I demonstrated to my buddy Jason the technique of reviewing a French dip sandwich.  He and I agreed it was a 2 of 5 in quality and enjoyment.  I really appreciate Cirus sharing this with me (it was comped) and we had a good time at the casino, generally.  We will be back.  But I will not be back for the French dip.

Tasting Notes

• The bread was a 2.  Kind of cheap, white  and pillowy with this cheese-top feature which I thought was odd.
• The meat was a 2.  It was not heaping and had visible, ugly fat and was a grayish hue
• The jus was a 3-4 but looked and tasted like something from a packet.  Good taste, large size.
• Jason said, "The fat looks like cheese", which was definitely a memorable yet sad comment.
• Overall this thing gets a 2

French Dip Review: Canyon Village Market - General Store, South Rim Grand Canyon

Lovely place.

Very sad side salad.

Looks like a lot of roast beef.  And it is quite a bit indeed.  But was dry and not too appealing.

Setting the Stage

I was taking a trip to the Grand Canyon.  It was grand indeed.  I was hungry and it was lunch time and I found a market while there.  I decided to indulge in the French dip.  I was disappointed in the sandwich and its accompanying salad but it's pretty much always fun to find, order and review (and eat) a French dip.

Detailed Tasting Notes

Listed mozzarella but girl said they don't add it
Provolone only
One cook. Made service slow.
Watched him spray on butter. That could be a good thing.
Looks like it's going to be a lot of bread

Summary

Bread - looks dry. Plain. French. 2. A bit too soggy.
Meat - 2. Dry. Not much. Inconsistent amount between halves.
Non-Meat - 2. Added nothing.
Jus - pretty good and hot, 3. Not enough. Some visible fat.
Overall - 2. Dry bread, meat.

Salad. Very sad. Wilted. Ugly diced tomatoes. Italian.

Conclusions

Go to the Grand Canyon to be amazed and impressed.  Order this French dip if you have nothing else you can order.

2 of 5 DeliciScore™ (Not Quite There) Awarded to Matts’ Rotisserie & Oyster Lounge for their French Dip Sandwich in Redmond, WA on this 11th day of January, 2012 - Give me a break.

Background
Went out to lunch with some coworker friends, Joel and Leo, today.  Went to Matt's Rotisserie at Redmond Town Center because I hadn't had their French dip yet and was able to talk my guys into sitting through the review with me.  


About a month ago, I did go to lunch here with another coworker, Hansen, and he had the French dip, so I'd seen it and had the impression that he didn't think it was all that great, but I had to know for myself (and write a review!!!) 

The view from our table.  They originally sat us by the door, where this picture was taken, on a 35 degree day and we asked to be seated elsewhere away from the draft during busy lunchtime, which they promptly obliged.

Matt's is a nice little spot with a good vibe at Redmond Town Center.  I've been here for drinks and happy hour countless times and have had a lot of good times here.  They have good cocktails, wait staff, bartenders, and oysters.


Ordering

The menu.

French Dip: Applewood rotisserie beef, sauteed red onion, swiss (forgot to capitalize) cheese and horseradish mayo on a sourdough roll with au jus for dipping.  Half $9 ~ Whole ~14.  I got the Whole based on the recommendation from the waitress that "she always gets the Whole".

Meat 
Waitress said that it all comes "Medium well" and that it's the same beef product that they use for their tacos.  I was immediately not impressed.  I wondered if it would taste like taco meat, for example!!!


Sandwich
This sandwich is "fully loaded" (added this new term to the glossary): it has mayo, onions, Swiss cheese, and sourdough bread.  Due to the sourdough, and fancy toppings I would also refer to this sandwich as "gourmet".  The price for the whole (which wasn't all that huge of a sandwich, it turns out) is $14, pricey for non-Prime Rib.


Appetizers
They provide good, soft, salty, nicely-textured bread and butter as a free appetizer, which was a nice touch.

The bread and butter appetizer, which comes with all meals.  Great, fresh, soft bread and good butter.

Served


Salad

The side salad with Bleu cheese dressing.  This picture makes it look like it might be good but I didn't even have a bite.  The lettuce was flaccid and you can see that the tomatoes are kind of translucent, which I wasn't digging and asked for it to be comped.  ...looks too moist and wet...ugh...

The salad was ok-looking at first glance but the lettuce was pretty white and "pithy" (Leo's word).  We were fairly critical of this salad and I decided not to eat it.  The greens look nearly fancy but I think they seemed old and didn't look all that fresh.  Flacid, aged.  Bad.




A warning about their pepper mill
Although a nice touch, their pepper mill was more like a pepper SHOWER that blasted pepper out at a wildly rapid rate.  If you weren't careful, you got way too much pepper on your food.  So, be ready to say "that's enough"!!!  ...Joel stammered and wound up with a ton on his salad.

The French dip, plated.  Good looking overall with the exception of the meat.  You can see the melted cheese.  The ratio of meat to bread was too much bread.  Fancy toothpicks.  The gray color of the meat and the out of whack ratio of meat to bread was off-putting and I immediately got a negative vibe.

Au Jus
The au jus was steaming when it came out, which is always important but the taste of it overall was ho-hum due to the the too-powerful flavor of the sourdough and horseradish.  Jus Score = 3.

The au jus: dark, steaming on arrival, had enough for the dense bread.

Bread
The bread looked really good: it was a nice, fancy golden brown color with little bubbles in it, perhaps a shimmer of being brushed with oil or butter.  It came skewered with fancy toothpicks.  The taste of the bread on the other hand was way too much for what should be a delicate sandwich.  The sourdough really made the sandwich taste sour and not all that good.  In fact, the overwhelming flavor of this sandwich is SOUR between the sourdough bread and horseradish mayo.  Fail.  Bread Score = 2.

The sandwich, which you can see isn't overly meaty with a lot of pretty dense bread.  There was enough au jus provided.

Meat
The meat by itself was fine.  It was good and crunchy, kind of chewy meat that seemed, if a bit greasy, probably from the cheese and mayo on it.  It's color was grayish brown and I wished that there was more of it ratio-wise (or less bread) and that it could be provided medium-rare.  Meat Score = 2.

Non-meat toppings
The horseradish mayo on this thing wasn't any good.  It tasted sour.  The grilled red onions were useless and not all that tasty.  The Swiss cheese also added nothing but grease.  Non-Meat Topping Score = - 4.



Overall rating, taste and texture
The horseradish and bread made it sour and the cheese and mayo made it greasy.  No one wants a sour, greasy sandwich; Joel only ate half of his and sent the rest back.  There was too much bread and not enough meat.  The au jus was fine.  The sandwich overall wasn't that good and I'm giving it a generous 2 for its fanciness and fine bread.  Overall Score = 2.  

	Score (0-5)	Comments
Bread	2	Good bread but too dense, sour for this sandwich.
Meat	2	Not juicy, chewy, crunchy, well done.
Au Jus	3	Was fine, came out steaming, which is good.
Overall	2	It's a gourmet dip with too much sourness and bitter, bad flavor.

Reason to go back:  Matt's has fun drinks, a good vibe, nice oyster selection, and a good happy hour.