The Corner Pub French Dip Review, Bow, WA

 

Well organized.  Lots of outdoor seating and roomy inside as well.  Doesn't have pool tables like Longhorn Saloon but that's okay.

Clean place.

Good beer selection. I like their staff as well.  Love the vibe here.

And this is the salad when you "unfold" it.

Money shot looking great with cheese and onion goodness.

Good bread.  Salad seemed fancy.  Beef was great.

Doesn't that look good? :)

Again, real pretty salad.

Jus looks good.  Maybe a little low on volume but good.

Brisket looks great.  Bread looks great.

Looks lovely.  What a pretty salad.  Brisket!  Nice to have fancy greens and grape tomatoes.

Was going to a movie this night.  I liked Free Guy.

The Corner Pub.  Out in the middle of nowhere.  Great treat.  Love it here.

So nice.  Low tide. Lots of birds and herons.

Another "inverse" review.  This is my new view.  Really nice!

I kind of goofed and didn't have great notes when I had this FD the first time.  So I went back:

Love this place. Such a good local spot. Friendly service. Clean. Great food. Well lit. Looks good from the outside. Good ambience and good music from the 80s for the most part. Fun location out in the middle of nowhere in Skagit Valley.

Place was super empty tonight. I actually thought it was closed but I was there about 45 minutes before close. I was literally the only one in the place on a Thursday night. The bartender was friendly and we got to chatting eventually. We were the same age and got to chat about New Jersey, Jewish people, kids, parenting, relationships and a few other topics.

I had a long and weird day at work and waited too long to eat dinner. I had an Old Mother Hubbard type of experience with my refrigerator this evening and realized I better go out and grab something decent to eat. I was going to go to the Longhorn but on my way there it dawned on me that the Corner Pub is way better. And more fun, too. So I made a right turn and found myself at the right spot. I was a bit spooked when I rolled up because it looked so empty but was delighted to see it actually open.

Address

14565 Allen West Rd, Bow, WA 98232

Food

French dip

2 dill pickle slices

5

This was really great. It's a delicious sandwich. The chef serves it with mayonnaise on board which I actually did enjoy. The man is did not overpower or ruin it. A bread was buttered and delicious and absorbent. The shoe was rich and delicious. The brisket is delicious and nice textured.

Bread

5

Absorbent. Buttered.

Meat

5

Their brisket is really good. They make a lot of it and they put plenty on the sandwich. It's delicious and beefy and has that risk and texture one might enjoy.

Non meat toppings

3

The brisket bread and as you are definitely be the star of the show. Mayonnaise and caramelized onions are added here but to me they did not stand out or mean much to me.

Jus

5

Rich. Hot. Dark. Enough.

Side salad

3 cucumber slices

5

They have a delicious side salad. They're greens are impeccable. So much volume to their greens. They're blue cheese dressing is nice but perhaps not notable. But the greens themselves with other vegetables like cucumber slices and carrots are delicious and full of pillowy volume.

Beverages

1 mason jar style glass

5

I just drink ice water tonight.

French Dip Review: Rosewood Cafe in Tacoma, WA

I was driving around burning time on a Sunday and got hungry.  I looked for eateries in Tacoma and found this place, Rosewood Cafe, that was highly rated on Foursquare so I went.  It was a cute, nice, clean neighborhood joint with a good vibe and good food.  The French dip, unfortunately was good mayonnaise-y.  I should no by now to always get the mayo on the side.  Some people can do it right (very rare) and others ruin a good sandwich and turn it into a creampile.

Jus 4 light color, good flavor, hot
Meat 3 fine roast beef
Non meat toppings 4 red onion sautéed, cheese, mayo
Sandwich 4
Bread 4 good, Toasted, but Smallish
Overall 4 for size and too much Mayo

In general, the smallish size hurts it.  It is good but mayo-forward (is that a thing?), onions were  fine, the havarti cheese was not noticeable.  The jus was light colored jus (chicken broth?) but good overall.  Quality food but too much Mayo and not much focus on beef or beef taste.

5 of 5 DeliciScore™ (From Heaven) Awarded to Tat's Delicatessen for their French Dip Sandwich in Seattle, WA on this 18th day of July, 2015 - Worth the hype.

It was my last day working on a contract with McGraw Hill Education (running standardized testing data flow for the States of Georgia and Indiana, primarily) in downtown Seattle and I talked a couple of coworkers into going out to lunch with me at Tat's Delicatessen.  Tat's is very popular Pioneer Square-based location with a pretty big, cultish following.  I'd been there once before but hadn't had their French dip, the Hot Beef sandwich.

We left the office at noon proper and I warned my fellow diners that the line would be long.  Because it was my last day on the job, I had power to coerce, and leveraged that fully.  On the walk there, I told them about my French dip blog and that I'd had French dips the two days prior.  I'm sure they thought I was weird but I almost brag about this hobby of mine at this point.  Today is Saturday and I do not plan to have my fourth French dip in a row.  We walked to Tat's through Occidental Square and a band was playing on a stage, featuring a tuba player.  Many people were out watching, dancing and taking photos as we walked on by, on our mission to dine.

Upon arrival at Tat's, the line was indeed quite long (out the door), as I had expected.  After waiting there a few minutes, a woman came out from behind the countered and hushed us: their new cash register system was running slowly and the wait would be longer than normal.  Oh well, we waited, chatted, and finally got to the front of the line, probably 20 minutes later.  During our wait, we got to watch their operations, study the menu, and watch the many people with their big sandwiches.  The vibe was good and it was very loud in there.  Paul and Kumudha ordered first: Paul got the cheesesteak and Kumudha got the vegetable sandwich.  They were both happy with their meals.

When it was my turn to order, I knew I was there to order the Hot Beef sandwich but I was starting to get very spooked (spooked is one of Uncle Arn's favorite terms) that it wouldn't have jus, as is required for a French dip.  So to verify and allay my concerns, I asked the lady, "Do you have a French dip?" And she said, "Yes, we do.  That's the Hot Beef."  I said, "Okay, I would like the Hot Beef, please."  She said, "Would you like that injected with fries?"  I said, "Sure, please."  And she yelled out loudly, "Hot beef, injected."  I laughed.  It sounded very dirty, but funny...hot beef injection...those sick fucks at Tat's...at least they're having fun...

We got lucky and got a four-top table and waited for our order numbers to be called.  Paul and Kumudha's orders came out right away but mine took quite a little while.  At the pickup counter, finally, my sandwich (I got the 8" and not 12" variety) came out in a single brown bag and another separate brown bag for a small styrofoam cup of jus, covered and sealed with very tacky (in both senses of the word) Scotch tape.

Back at the table, I was stoked to unbox my jus and get to it.  The tape was sealed so well, though, I couldn't get the lid off and it developed a leak.  I gave up and walked back up to the counter, requesting a "jus for here", which they rapidlly provided...and in an even larger quantity, so I was even more jazzed.

I was finally able to successfully unwrap my sandwich and jus and was pretty happy with the way they both looked; it would be a good meal.  The cheese was nicely melted on top of the sandwich and stuck to the wrapping paper a little, making for a good visual.  The jus was pretty clear in color and it, too, had me spooked, but it turned out to be good jus.  The sandwich was a lot of fun as well, especially with its fun features of the hot peppers and fries.  For me, the 8" size was just right that day, especially since it was injected with fries.  The peppers added a lot and made it interesting with a bit of a pickled flavor.  The sandwich by itself, sans jus, was good, and when joined with the jus was even better. And that's what we're seeking after all, French dip fans.  There was also nice and real horseradish in it that was strong enough to give that nasal pop like wasabi does, so that was fun, too.  This application of horseradish was way better executed than the mayo-heavy horseradish that had been provided to me by Delicatus the day prior.

Tat's provides good sandwiches and a vibrant atmosphere, serious about slangin' sandwiches.  They're especially known for their Tatstrami, which as I understand is a pastrami-laden Philly.  The Hot Beef sandwich that I had was really good, special and fun and I score it a 5 of 5 for originality and overall flavor.   Overall, Tat's is a fun place and worth the wait for the experience.

• Outer
• Bread: 3 of 5.  Good bread.
• Bread-coverings: 4 of 5.  Horseradish with a punch.
• Inner
• Meat: 3 of 5.  Good beef.
• Cheese: 4 of 5.  Looked good, stringy.
• Non-meat fillings: 5 of 5.  French fries and peppers.  Yes!!!
• Jus: 4 of 5.  Good, lightly colored jus that was hot and good.

• Overall: 5 of 5.  Tat's is a great place and this sandwich filled with fries, cheese, peppers, and horseradish is a lot of fun.

French dip review: Emory's on Silver Lake, Everett, WA 5/25/2015 5 of 5

It was the Monday of Memorial Day weekend and my wife and I were driving back home from a long and great weekend at home in the San Juan Islands with my parents and family on Guemes.  It was approaching dinner time and I was starting to get hungry and talked Jessi into stopping at this place in Everett called Emory's on Silver Lake.  I'd driven past Emory's on a number of occasions and it looked to be nice.  To boot, my friends Brian and Lindsay who live in the neighborhood near it, had told me a year or two back that they had a the French dip.  Plus, Foursquare gave it a score of 8.4 of 10.0 so I felt compelled...and hungry.

The last review I'd written, for Slugger's, was purely text and I'd enjoyed that writing experience.  I wanted to do it again, and to eat my favorite sandwich type.

We got to Emory's and the parking was big and there were a few cars there.  I was happy they were open on the holiday.  They are located right next to a small park (and a busy road) and the small Silver Lake.  Silver Lake isn't all that beautiful or anything but the restaurant location no less looks modern and a bit fancy.  Water-front usually helps.

We had our dog, Remus, with us and he needed to be walked from the long car ride.  Jessica needed to use the restroom so I told her I'd walk the dog and meet her inside afterwards.  I took a quick stroll and when I came into the restaurant, Jessica was talking to two young hostesses and I told her (them) that I needed to use the restroom.  They were still chatting when I came back so my first impression was a good one: the staff seemed nice, friendly and helpful.

We were offered many good seating options.  We selected the outdoor, covered, heated patio option which was very nice, right next to their big fireplace.  We got the SW corner table looking out at the lake.  It had a great vibe / ambiance: there and we were surrounded by many faux plants. I didn't find them to be tacky; they livened up the place a bit and being close to the water was nice, too.

I ordered a Bloody Mary and Jessica got a glass of white wine.

The menu was quite extensive and they had very many beer and wine choices and their Happy Hour choices looked good, too, but we weren't there during Happy Hour time.

I ordered their French dip, which sounded great.  When it came, the size was very large and the medium to medium rare meat was quite plentiful and stacked high.  The bread and portion size was huge.  It had *very good* melted cheese on it, which didn't overwhelm: it added to the experience.  The sandwich alone was a delicious, crunchy, chewy, delicious, beefy 5 of 5.

The test was dipping the delicious sandwich into the dark jus to see if the jus helped or hindered.  It helped, which was amazing and blew my mind how good it was.  It was delicious.  Overall a 5 of 5 in all categories.  No complaints, I wouldn't change a thing other than the size being big but that's not complaint-worthy.  A dainty person (not me) may not be able to eat the whole thing.

Another very big benefit of this place was that I was able to substitute fries for vegatables.  I asked if I could substitute the fries for a salad but the upcharge at $5.50 was too rich for my blood so I got "vegetables", which wound up being perfectly prepared (al dente) broccolini and asparagas with some butter flavor.  It was nice to eat these veggies like fries with my fingers and feel like I was being slightly healthier.

This was a great meal and a place I liked a lot.  Jessica got the Chicken Tikka which was only fine. She said the rice was delicious, though.  We liked our experience and I'd definitely go back for this cheese, garlicky French dip specifically.

On the drive home I told my buddy Brian that we had been there and he started claiming that they had health department complaints or some such thing but I didn't see evidence of this on the internet and our experience was great.  I highly recommend the Emory's French dip sandwich for it's garlicky,  cheesy goodness and the fun of sitting near the water in the city.

Bird's eye view of the meal.  Big size.

Sandwich with dark jus, nice greens on the side.

Close up of jus and veggies.

Wood skewer.

Close-up of meet and cheese and airy, chewy, crunchy great bread. 

The money shot.

Close up of good, al dente greens.

All gone.

View from our seat of Silver Lake through a bug mesh thing.

Our boy Remus with cookies.

Grandma Jane and Remus.

Ari (upper left), me and Remus.

View from the north beach of Guemes Island that weekend.

4 of 5 DeliciScore™ (Great) Awarded to Red Door for their Prime Rib Dip Sandwich in Seattle, WA on this 23rd day of July, 2014 - This one was solid.

We were in Fremont for the Solstice Festival so there were a lot of people out.

The menu

Beef Dip: prime rib, white cheddar, horseradish aioli, on baguette, au jus.  Sounds delicious.  White cheddar: nice touch.

There it is: with a pickle and a good looking salad.  Jus served in a paper cup.

A little fat glistening in the jus which can be a good thing.

Looks tasty.

Good looking salad with bleu cheese and nice carrots and cabbage for crunch.

A pickle spear.

The money shot: mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Good one: 4 of 5.  The extras made it tasty.