Pork & Pepper Wet Dipped Sandwich from Wet Buns Food Truck in Kirkland, WA Awarded 3 of 5 DeliciScore™ (Yeesh) - June 8th, 2017 - A rocky start

I ate this sandwich over a year ago now and was so afraid to publish this somewhat scathing review that I held back.  But I got some feedback from reliable sources that said I didn't want to be a sycophant.

To set the stage, I have been very excited about the idea of the Wet Buns Food Truck since I first heard of it.  i thought it was going to be game-changing and revolutionary and I appreciate the the owner, Forrest is focused solely on French Dip Sandwiches: hey, I had that idea.  So yes, there is some jealousy going on here but in general an objective observer and consumer of the French dip sandwich. This was the first of  two I had from the Wet Buns food truck and I am willing to go back to try other things but I do want to clear the air and get the word out about my opinions of this Seattle-area food service.

And so the review begins....

So I am quite sure that the owner of the Wet Buns food trick, Forrest, is now profiling and indeed actively stalking me since when I was outside at work today I was presented with the famous Wet Buns food truck! I was hungry and couldn't resist the sight of it, so I went for it.  It was indeed karma.  I had previously spoken to Forrest about his truck a few weeks back.  His dipped sandwich project is much like mine and I was generally impressed with his story and the effort he puts into his creations so I was enthusiastic.  He's clearly a talented and experienced cook.  When we previously spoke, he told me about the commissary he uses and all of the complex ingredients and steps he takes that go into the production of his--what is hopefully really good--food.

I walked up to the truck and said hello.  I asked Forrest what I should order and he recommended the Pork & Pepper Dip, so I went for it.  I took a quick glance at what I was getting, "Pork + Mama lil's peppers, caramelized onions and smoked paprika Au Jus".  One nice feature was that all prices include sales tax, so it was $10 grand total.  I handed the cashier a ten.  They also offer chips or soda for $1.50 and water for $1.00.  Not a lot of frills but it was nice they had choices in the type of sandwich I could get.  And they were all in the French dip category.  And authentic pre-dipped like Philippe's the Original does it.

Looking back, I should have probably just ordered the Classic Dip with beef.  But I wanted to humor Forrest.  As I waited a brief couple of minutes for my sandwich to come out (oh the anticipation), the cashier asked me how I knew Forrest and I told him, "I have a blog.  I eat and review French Dip sandwiches."  He laughed and I said, bluntly, and hopefully sarcastically and in a way that he got it, "Yeah, don't fuck it up." and laughed.  The cashier whispered to Forrest, who was making my sandwich, "Pressure's on."  Forrest finished his probably cautious preparations and handed me my very own French dip brown bag with my name, Eric, emblazoned on it in Sharpie.  I carried it off with great pride and anticipation.

As I walked to my desk, I thought to myself what a real treat I was in for.  I stopped by our beverage fridge and chose a can of Diet Pepsi as my pairing for this hot sandwich on what was a hot day.  When I got back to my desk area, I proudly showed off to my boss and a coworker my Wet Buns brown bag. I was nearly positive that this was going to be epic.  But it really wasn't.

Flashback: while ordering, I had learned that there was not an accompanying jus cup; that all of the sandwiches are pre-dipped, like what you see at Philippe's the Original.  I thought this was exciting and authentic at the time.  In retrospect, this lack of ability to personally dip my French dip into jus, made me feel very sad and forlorn.  Why did Forrest get to have all of the dipping fun and I didn't?  Had I paid Forrest extra money to dip my sandwich into jus on my behalf?  Had he thought I would not want to go through the trouble of dipping my very own sandwich into a steaming hot cup of delicious and salty jus?

The outside layer of the bread stayed crisp and in tact for the duration of the meal.  The sandhich had good, robust flavor and was spicy.  The hot peppers were good and the meat was fine.  That said, the pre-dipped'ness of it made the bread on the inside both luke (warm, not Skywalker, you inbred) and somewhat "squishy", even slimy, on the inside, a major downer for me.

The size of the sandwich was fine; not too big, not too small.  Another negative for me was that there was nothing to accompany the sandwich whatsoever.  Just my Pepsi.  I could have ordered chips but that didn't sound good or important.  I needed something to balance it out and had zilch.  I didn't think of ordering chips because they had no packaged meals, so it never came to mind.

To summarize my review of this meal, I ate a lone and spicy pork sandwich at work from a red food truck that was in our parking lot and I paid $10.  Pretty disappointing.  I need to go back now to see if I can redeem myself with the Classic Dip with Beef.  And see if Forrest has it in him to turn out a fantastic sandwich.  I mean he is specializing in this after all, so he must be great at it, right?  The pork was off my French dip mark.  It did not remind me of a French dip.

The following day I contacted Forrest and asked if it was okay to get my jus on the side and the answer is yes.  I need to get my dip on.  I may get it wet and get jus on the side, too, which as I understand it, is an additional $0.50.

Raw tasting notes (from the mind of a French dip freak as he eats his French dip sandwiches and types notes into his computer):

• Looks quite toasty, even crisp on the outside
• Pre-dipped
• Sunny day out, eating from my Kirkland office
• They were stalking me ie truck was at my office and I couldn't resist
• Spicy
• Doesn't taste like a French dip ie pork and paprika does not invoke FD to me
• Can't take a "money shot" photo since I can't dip it into anything.  This makes me sad
• No jus creates risk in the sandwich not being hot.  Jus is the great equalizer
• The sandwich was not sopping wet nor messy to eat, per se
• The inside bread texture was a bit slimy, even. : (
• The sandwich was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside like a polar bear eating an igloo

The Scores:

Bread - 2 of 5 due to overall courseness and mushiness on the inside.  Nothing to me stood out about the bread other than the fact it stayed in tact (was durable) and it was even slimy on the inside.

Meat - 2.5 of 5.  It was fine but not notable.

Non-Meat Toppings - 2.5 of 5.  Hot peppers and onions were OK but I didn't really care.
Au Jus - 2 of 5.  Get it on the side.  

Overall - 2 of 5 I give him points foroverall creativity and uniqueness and flavor but I didn't like the mushiness of the bread paired with the hardness of the bread and it was quite spicy and there was no accompanying dipping jus, nor sides. : (  I desperately hope I can redeem myself with a Classic Dip.

The Wet Buns truck.  Note that this picture was taken a couple of weeks prior when I tried to get a French dip at 10 AM in in downtown Bellevue.  Very coincidentally, the truck was at my office building today so it must have been fate.

With my very own French dip bag, I nearly feel famous.  But then again, so does everyone who goes to Wet Buns.  Nice touch, though, the bag.

I selected a Diet Pepsi to accompany my French dip.  To the left of the Pepsi is the one or two napkins they provided the the sandwich, wrapped in butcher paper.

In this picture, the crunchy bread can be seen and one can be witness to the not-too-stuffed sandwich fillings.  Visible grease there to behold on the paper, which is fine, but is that appetizing?

Here's the final bite of my sandwich.  I believe the onions can be seen.  Crisp bread still remains and it encapsulates some wet/moist bread.

Thanks, Forrest, for being so festidious with your sandwich-making.  I appreciate that you are focused on this domain and I hope we can find ways to advance the cause of delicious French Dip sandwiches together some day.

4 of 5 DeliciScore™ (Great) Awarded to Philippe The Original for their Wet French Dip Sandwich in Los Angeles, CA on this 11th day of February, 2012 - Home of the French Dip Sandwich

Background
I went to Philippe the Original, which purports to be Home of the French Dip sandwich.  According to Wikipedia, "Two restaurants in Los Angeles have claimed to be the birthplace of the French dip: Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet and Philippe The Original."  Although I really wanted to go to Cole's as well so I could do a head-to-head comparison/showdown, time didn't permit, so I'll have to hit it up next time!!!

Philippe is in LA and we had a great time visiting.  What follows is a mostly photo-based review of the experience, which truly is enjoyable.  I hope you enjoy the slide show and commentary!!!

There she is...from the front driving in.  It's located just short of Chinatown in Los Angeles.  We had great weather; it was mid-seventies down there in early February.  We went the day before Super Bowl XLVI when the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots by a score of 21-17 in Indianapolis.

Here's a closer view of the front of the building.  You can see the Chinatown sign if you look closely.  It's a quaint little place...

Here's more of a beautiful view of the front.  I used my real digital camera, a Panasonic with Lumix lenses, instead of my typical (not very high quality) smartphone camera.  Remember you can click on these images for originally-sized versions!!!

The Philippe sign.  French Dipped Sandwiches.  Classic.  There's a really large parking lot and tons of people appear to descend upon this place.  We went there at lunchtime on Saturday and it was busy!!!

So we walk into the place.  Note the people standing and waiting in line.  You can also see sawdust on the ground...not sure why it's there, but it definitely adds some interesting ambiance!!!  The dining is picnic-table-style places with lots of seating up and downstairs.  You can see the stairs if you look far to the back going up from left to right.  The ordering counter can be seen in the upper right.

Here we are walking into the many long lines.  It's bright with the beer neon signs and has a great, interesting, busy, authentic feel to it.  It's a real experience!!!

Here's a close-up of the sawdust shavings on the floor.  Again, I am not sure why they are there, but they're there...

Here's the view of "standing in line".  There's tons of people and everyone seems anxiously awaiting.  There's lots to look at and it's very good people-watching!!!

The fine-looking back of Jessica's head in the foreground (green sweater), looking at the menus and such as we wait in line.

There's even people lined up going up the stairs (more seating at the top of the stairs).  We decided on our order (we were in a group of four) and Jessica and I opted to wait in line while the other two in our party (Nicole and Jeremy) went upstairs to secure us a table.  Jessica stayed to help me carry the trays for all of us!!

A view of the menus from which you in order, which you see as you stand in line.   In this picture, you can see four Spanish-looking women behind the counter.  Beer on tap, chips, and they're standing in front of a long, refrigerated case where the many side-dishes and desserts live.  Philippe is known for its inexpensive coffee, lemonade, and iced tea.  Jessica said the iced tea was quite good and refreshing.

A picture of some pies that someone ordered.  In reading their reviews on Yelp, the pies are quite popular and enjoyed.  We didn't order pie...maybe next time.

I noticed this guy in a room behind the counter taking fresh bread out of the oven.  

I spotted many jars of their famous (and spicy) mustard among other supplies behind the counter.

The purple jar here is of their pickled eggs, which we ordered and were quite good.  Another famous place in the Long Beach, CA area (south of LA) that has pickled eggs is Joe Jost's.  We didn't go there, but it's recommended as an experience and I believe they have really cheap Pabst Blue Ribbon beer (PBR to the wise).

We've made it up to the counter at this place.  It's exciting; our time has almost come for service from our server.  Note the number of dark-skinned, middle-aged women behind the counter in their same uniform.  It is super cute and looks very professional, authentic, and delicious!!

Okay...now...the important part: ordering!!!  We chose to get 1 beef (double-dipped), 1 pork (double-dipped), 1 lamb (single-dipped), and 1 turkey (single-dipped).  I did not get cheese on any of them, although they offer America, Swiss, Bleu, and Jack for a marginal additional cost.  I asked for "jus on the side", which is NOT offered.  I found this surprising but understood....you will eat it as they intend it to be, not as you want it.  I love this policy!!!!!!!  It turns out that the double-dipped sandwiches were better and tastier, and our favorite was the beef.  The lamb was good, but I didn't think great, the turkey was pretty good but Jessica thought it was bland, and the pork was good but there's nothing of note in  it.  Our "sharing method" was that between four of us, we each got a quarter of each meat-type so we got a taste of all.  Me being so excited to be at Philippe's, I ate 1/2 of the beef one so kind of messed up the agreement...but people understood because I'm obsessed.... : )  We ordered 1 of many of the sides as well to know how they taste.  Oh, and another note, the au jus is ONLY BEEF JUS.  So if you get lamb, you get beef jus...which I think is not optimal at all.  When I open my chain, I will have juses of each type, which will allow me to really dominate the market.  : )

Here's a look into the case at the front of the lines.  The server-woman uses the case to get stuff.  In the case, you can see macaroni salad, brownies, potato salad, cold slaw and really good, really crunchy pickles!!!  You can also see fresh pies sitting on top of the case and some French Dipped Sandwiches sitting on the cutting surface behind.

Here's a shot through the case of my lunch lady cutting my fresh bread.  In the foreground of this picture are ice cream scoops that are used to dish out the mayonaise-based salads (cole slaw, potato, pasta).  The lunch lady hand-makes each sandwich in front of you and DOES NOT touch the money for cleanliness purposes.  Instead, you place your money on a little plate that she brings back to the centralized cashier lady.

Here's a shot of my lady (left side) bringing my money to the centralized cashier lady.  In the foreground is another lunch lady making someone's order.  It's bustling with activity behind the counter and fun to watch, but do not delay because this is an OPERATION and many people are behind you.  Be efficient and know what you need to order!

Okay, here's our four sandwiches (1 pork, 1 beef, 1 turkey, 1 lamb).  They were delicious.  You can see the purple pickled eggs (purple is due to beet juice, FYI), and the very crispy and delicious Claussen-style pickles.  All of the sandwiches are medium sized.  The bread is very fresh and good.  The pre-dipping is fun.  The double-dipping is better and provides more flavor.  The ability to get many types of meat between your sandwiches makes for fun and variety and the option to play with cheese makes it enjoyable as well.

This is a picture of the turkey French Dipped Sandwich on a white paper plate.  The turkey is good (cut fresh by the lunch lady right in front of you) and the bread is really good.

Here's one of the rooms upstairs where you can sit (overflow seating).  It's humble quarters but sufficient and communal: our party of four sat next to another party of four and we shared the spicy mustard.  Oh, a quick comment about the mustard: it's delicious with horseradish/wasabi-style heat.

The table on the right is where we sat.  It's bright in this simple, no flair room.  Get to eatin'!

So of course I had to buy a t-shirt souvenir and wore it proudly.  This was a really fun experience for me and the food's really good.  I give the sandwiches a 4 of 5 points, which is the best that a non-gourmet French Dipped Sandwich can do.  I'll definitely go back and really do feel lucky to have visited (one of) the Mecca of French Dipped Sandwiches.  I have arrived!!!!!!!!!