The Lime, Kirkland, WA

Tasting Notes

Salad looks a little sad
Not huge size but ok
Lots of meat
Orange skewers
Looks well Toasted
Traditional bread
Pickle spear
I added Swiss based on the advice of my friend at the bar
Sandwich alone 3, fine
Au Jus wasn't hot
Pickle spear big and main quality, kind of soft
Salad 2 or 3
Au Jus good sheen 4
Swiss meh
Nothing impressive about it
3 overall
Chewy, not overly soft bread
Beef 3
Not enough jus
Not enough dressing
"good but average"
Service OK
Funny bartender

Summary

Au Jus 4

Meat 3.5

Bread 3

Non-Meat Toppings 3

Overall 3

4 of 5 DeliciScore™ (Great) Awarded to Joker Pub & Grill for their Burger Dip Sandwich in Issaquah, WA on this 20th day of November, 2016 - Wonderful yet tiny Burger Dip.

Here Jessica and I are at the Joker Pub in Issaquah.  It was a Sunday in November and the Seahawks were playing.  Our current residence is without TV so we felt inclined to venture out to a sports bar to root on the 'Hawks as they took on the Philadelphia Eagles.  The outcome was a good one!

The menu.  We were lucky enough to be there when the owner, who we had never met, was there as well.  A table of folks next to us was partying it up and the people who we sat by were a very friendly couple originally from Toronto, Canada.

They have two dipped sandwich offerings on their menu: a French dip (which is actually a Prime Rib Dip) and also the burger dip.  I was feeling more like a burger dip (not sure what it is other than the wholesome, meaty goodness of tasty burger).

There's the burger dip and it comes with grilled onions and Swiss.  Both wound up being good complements and the jus, as they had claimed, was indeed rich.  Good job, Joker!

Here it is served.  It looks really normal but I laughed out loud at the size of the bread, which is quite small.  It is about the size of a hot dog bun, which I found a bit insulting and tricky.  The side salad was fine, the jus looked dark.  This meal followed a reasonable helping of Coors Light so I was ready.

Close-up of the sandwich innards including the grilled onions.  I'll have to get a better camera.

Jessica was somewhat disappointed that the salad dressing was oozing all over the fork.  I captured the disappointing situation.

Here are my detailed tasting notes as we devoured the food meal:

• The bread was very tiny and pathetic hot dog-like if not smaller in size.  LOL!  I had never seen a sandwich that small even though the owner made if very clear that it was A THIRD POUND OF BEEF.  Maybe true, sir, but the clear appearance of this sandwich is kind of silly.  I suggested to him that there be a "regular" and "large" size of it.  Perhaps a "hers" and "his" size.  The bread was probably two inches wide.  Sliders are bigger than this.   That said, of the snakelike looks, it was very tasty and looked very high quality as well.  Does size matter?
• The grilled onion was good and added to my overall satisfaction in the meal. 
• The Swiss cheese was well was generally additive. 
• The bread, albeit small, was white yet fine, receiving a score a 3 of 5.
• The sandwich when eaten alone without jus was uninteresting but also beefy and good, although tiny.  I give it a 3 and a 2 for size.
• The jus was indeed rich and quality as advertised, dark and good, winning a 4 of 5 possible points.
• The size of this sandwich was its biggest issue.  Had it been a little larger it would maybe even have scored a 5 of 5. 
• The meat was well done, good burger with a very pleasing caramelized flavor.  I truly loved the burger taste and texture, whereas Jessica claimed that she didn't love a burger dip.  A burger dip may be my singular favorite food. 

So in total, this was a really good Burger dip but its biggest issue was small bread.  It made me laugh how small it was.  It was like a kid's toy.  Very delicious and fine.

• Bread - 0 of 5 - for the size
• Meat - 4 of 5 - for tasty, caramelized, good-tasting burger
• Non-meat Toppings - 4 of 5 - for a conjoined benefit to the sandwich between the Swiss and grilled onion
• Jus - 4 of 5 - for its richness and serious, delicious flavor
• Sandwich - 3 of 5 - as it was not overly mind-blowing when eaten alone
• Overall 4 of 5 for this really tasty burger dip that could have been a 5 had the size of the bread not been something from Honey I Shrunk the Kids.

5 of 5 DeliciScore™ (From Heaven) Awarded to McMenamins Market Street Pub for their Turkey Dip Sandwich in Portland, OR on this 26th day of November, 2015 -

November 16, 2015

While visiting Portland with a friend of mine, we spent the day exploring and getting stamps on our McMenamin's passports. Our final stop of the day was for lunch at the downtown Portland pub, the Market Street Pub. While I do not share Eric's dedication and enthusiasm for French Dip sandwiches, their Portland Dip sounded like just the thing I wanted on a rainy November day. The menu description sounded promising, and as a general fan of McMenamins restaurants I decided to review this to see if we could redeem them for their lackluster dip Eric and I shared a the new Bothell property. So, without further ado, here goes!

This dip is not a "traditional" dip in that in comes with turkey, instead of beef, but that made it sound that much more appealing to me. The toppings included grilled mushrooms, Swiss chesse, a secret sauce and a garlic jus. As you can appreciate below, the initial presentation was quite pleasing. 

There was a reasonably thick slices of turkey layered among the mushrooms, Swiss cheese and secret sauce which was tasty, and not too plentiful so it didn't overwelm the sandwich. 

Once dipped into the jus, the bread, which was warm, the "right amount" of soft with a gentle golden crust and an absorbent center that soaked up the jus nicely. 

The jus itself was flavorful, served at a nice temperature and there was plenty of it. It had a nicely deep color, moderate fat droplets, and a mild but rich flavor. It didn't have an overwhelming garlic flavor and it was not overly salty, like other jus I have tasted. 

 

The portion size was more than I needed, but probably a good size for most French dip enthusiasts. I chose to finish the green salad  (which was also good) instead of the whole sandwich so I was saddened to leave the remnants behind.They packaged up the rest for me and I finished it up for dinner - as a side note, I had to eat it cold but it was better than I thought it would be!

For someone who is not "into" French Dips, this was a very delicious sandwich that I would happily eat again. It was very tasty, not too heavy, and a perfect warming meal for a cold rainy, pacific northwest day. 

My beverage accompaniment was a selection of McMenamins whiskeys which were all tasty. My personal favorite was the Hogshead whiskey. 

If I had to score this sandwich it would be a 5/5 just because I can't think of anything that would make it better. And probably because a slab of tender beef on a bun isn't what I would normally go after for a meal :)

Bread 4/5

Turkey 4/5

Toppings 5/5

Jus 5/5

In summary, the Market Street Pub fully redeemed the French Dip sandwich with their Portland Dip. I would encourage any French Dip fans who do not require beef on their sandwiches to enjoy this delicious dip.