Royal Grinders Oven Roasted Subs in Fremont, Seattle, WA

The joint, close to work.

Went with a couple of side items.  Total was around $12.

Bread looks really good and size looks big as well.

Good amount of meat and provolone also looks good and melted.

Good.

I take a bite and confirm tastiness.  The herb smell and flavor are great. It even tastes "fresh".

Money shot.

They bread and herbiness of this sandwich were the highlight.  Meat and cheese also good and jus was commendable.

We can see the herb floatiness in the jus.

Raw Tasting Notes

Was told 8 minutes

On recommendation of Hugh 

Close to work

There for training 

Bread smells good and looks unique 

Good size

Good, herby fresh flavor 

Jus for 4 hot

Overall 4 or 5 nothing wrong with it

Meat 4,herby, good qty

Cheese 4 good

Plenty of jus

Filling

5 overall

Summary

Great sandwich near work in Fremont.  They take care, it has great size, delicious flavor and the herbiness makes it stand out.  A five of five overall.

• Bread 5 for herbiness
• Meat 4 for quantity 
• Non-Meat Toppings 4 provolone was good and melty, mild
• Jus 4 was good and hot
• Overall 5 of 5 

Homemade French Dip Sandwiches at Eric's 40th Birthday in Preston, WA Awarded 5 of 5 DeliciScore™ (Off the Chain) - May 20th, 2017 - They don't get any better than this

Setting the Stage

This is perhaps the French dip review that I have been waiting to write from the beginning.  I started this blog when Jessica's friend Brianne B. suggested I should be a "French Dip Critic".  I loved the idea and thought it was funny (and crazy) so I pursued it.  It's been a really fun project that has thought me a lot more about the internet, publishing and business.  

The time had come for me to make my own French dip sandwiches after reviewing over 80 myself.  I had done my research and due diligence and the time had come.  It was my 40th birthday party.

Jessica was helping me host the party and had told me that she planned to serve BBQ sandwiches with BBQ meat from the place down the street.  It didn't sit well with me.  The guilt built.  I couldn't go on another day without taking on the project of serving my ~40 guests French dip sandwiches.  I didn't think the project would be too hard: what was required, afterall: bread, meat, jus?  It didn't seem complicated.  But I am a perfectionist.  :)

My mom, who is a prolific cook and host, tried to talk me out of the project as well.  I was having none of it.  I would do it.  So I started to make my list of items I would need: butter, cheeses, onions, garlic, cups and the requisite items.  I was able to shop for most of the stuff at Costco and got a grip of stuff.  It was fun, and expensive.  I found a local restaurant-supply store for the jus cups; they were the hardest thing to find.

Jus cups from Cash & Carry in Bellevue, WA.

Here are the cut onions for caramelizing.  Eyes burning and food processor fully utilized.  Those are very large bowls, by the way.  There would be onions.  If we look at the table, we also see roast beef, turkey, provolone and havarti (people need choices) and a lot of French baguettes.

Another view of the supplies.  We see a large, Costco-size thing of peeled garlic, a ton of roast beef and some havarti, unpackaged.  Cutting the little hard nub off of all that garlic took at least 30 minutes.  It was a hell of a project and there were a lot of other things to do that day in preparation for our guests.  I was kind of stressing but loving it.  I also managed to mow the lawn and weed eat (we live on five acres so this is not a small feat) that day.

And a lot of butter.  The bread was halved lengthwise, then quartered into sandwich-sized pieces.  You can also see jarred pickled jalepenos in this picture.  That was a benefit some would later enjoy.  Another "feature", as it were (again, people need options).

The cooking and serving process

People started to show up and I was stressing a little bit.  My parents and brother showed up early and helped some.  The Ashbachs arrived, as did many other guests and I knew I had to initiate the cooking process.  We only had a single grill which was to be used for toasting the buttered baguettes.  Brian brought over a butane torch which I requested so we could melt the cheese.  The meat was simply heated in a pan.  The onions were caramelized by Heather in a large pot on a propane stove.  Chris Auty took on the project of roasting the garlic on the bbq and that worked out fine.  Heather also lead the production of the au jus, which, once started received caramelized onions and roasted garlic for additional flavor.  I and everyone else loved the jus (we used Johnny's packets as the base) but Heather thought it should have been stronger.  

Once we had all of the basic supplies in order, we started serving the other guests.  They would pick their buttered bread, which they would toast themselves on the grill.  Then Brian would add the cheese of their choice (again, Provolone or Havarti) and hit it with the butane torch to make it nice and melted.  They would add the amount of meat that they wanted (roast beef or turkey, which was simply from Costco and heated on a pot on the BBQ) and would then receive their jus cup and jus from one of the Ashbachs or my parents.  We had a big label and it was nice and chunky.  Oh, and they would get caramelized onions on it if they wanted it.  And they could choose other toppings and sides (and a lot of other food people brought).  The sides included pickle chips and pickled jalepenos.  

I think this is Garth's sandwich.  Looks good, right?

My mom put pickles on hers which was not the intention but okay.

Doesn't look like it's bursting with beef but it still looks good...and buttery! :)

We can see the caramelized onions and some chunks in the dark jus, which also has that nice oil sheen we like.  Thanks, Heather, for your leadership on the cooking line!

Another view of one of the 40 sandwiches with pickles on the side.  We didn't have a grip of beef, and having a burger option would have been a nice touch.

The money shot.  Oh, God, they were great!!!!!!! :)

That's what the remnants of a delicious French dip sandwich should look like.

Kind of a picture of the party I think.

And we had a bonfire later that was really hard to get started.

Scoring

Jus was a 5.  Heather did a great job.  I loved it.  Chunks of caramelized onions and roasted garlic.  Good grief, it doesn't get better than this but she thought it should have been saltier/richer.
Bread 5.  Great baguettes from costco, buttered, then grilled on a BBQ for a little smoky flavor.
Meat 3.  I'm going to score this low.  The meat was fine and didn't ruin anything but I'll have to figure out a more impressive approach next time.  Meat is expensive!!!!!
Non Meat Toppings 5.  The two cheese types, melted with the torch were awesome.  And we also had plentiful delicious caramelized onions and roasted garlic as well as pickled jalepenos.

Wrapping Up

I'd do it again.  It was so fun and satisfying.  I will always remember that and I think my guests will as well.

"Beef Dip" French Dip Sandwich at JJ Mahoney's in Redmond, WA Awarded 4 of 5 DeliciScore™ (Pretty Good) on this 22nd day of April, 2017 - I liked, cheese and provolone

It was later on a Saturday evening and we sat at the bar.

Looks good.  $13.50 not cheap but I'll do it.  I *need* to do it!

Orange-frilled skewer and melted provolone.

I stupidly forgot to take a picture of it initially.  I must have been hungry.  He's 1/2 of it. :)

The salad, as a I mention below, was unruly but good.

The money shot indicates that the jus is not very dark.  Although the taste of the jus was quite good, I want to personally see its color applied to the bread.  Maybe just use blue food die?  Could be fun...

Here we can see the onions some.

Setting the Stage

Jessica and I had gone to a political event and needed dinner afterwards.  It was a Saturday night and we went to the "Bella Botega" area in Redmond.  We like JJ Mahoney's and I had never formally reviewed their French dip.  Jessica claims (can I really trust this woman?!) that I have had it before but I clearly had not formally reviewed it, so it was time.

One time (unrelated story) we went to JJ's with Jessica's parents before a James Bond movie.  I had two gin martinis and slept through most of the movie. :)  Must have been good gin martinis and sometimes action movies can indeed put me to sleep.

Raw Tasting Notes

• Was not overly impressed initially with the bread: it looks like a 2 to 2.5.  Soft bread which is not my favorite type for a French dip.
• Meat: they claim "steak" and it looks more like roast beef, so I was not overly impressed.  It was thin-sliced and medium to well.
• Non meat toppings: provolone cheese, grilled onions, cheese looks processed, Jessica liked the cheese.  The onions were fine, overall, the non-meat toppings were indeed additive.
• Jus was nice tasting and gets a 3-4.  It was light in color and not visible once dipped, which should make it lose points.  We want to see the jus in action.  No stealth jus!
• Overall this unit was size medium, salty, had good taste and gets a 3-4.  It came with orange-frilled toothpick skewers and had some degree of black pepper taste.
• The side salad was good and fresh although the lettuce leaves looked unruly and maybe needed to be trimmed down to size for uniformity and presentation.
• Top recommendation to supplier: get a fancier cheese, harder bread, and try to get that beef into more of a medium-rare state.

Scoring

Bread 3.  It was acceptable but shouldn't be so soft.  I suppose soft bread makes for a tasty treat but for a French dip I really do prefer it to be more firm bread that softens when combined with the jus.
Meat 3.  For claiming steak, this was not overly impressive.  I had a roast beef dip yesterday at Lockspot (review to follow) and its meat was about the same.
Non-meat toppings 4.  These are good and additive indeed.  The onions were good.  There was a slight black pepper flavor going on, which was nice.  The cheese looked processed to me and made the sandwich seem cheap (the too-soft bread also did not make it seem overly fancy) but did add some flavor and Jessica liked itt.
Jus 4. Was good and I'll give it a 4.
Overall 4.  I will give it a 4 because they have a pepper taste, cheese and onions standard and good jus.  This thing is not out of the world but if you were incredibly drunk or high you would probably like it.

Conclusion

Jessica and I like going to JJ Mahoney.  This part of Redmond still feels fun and new even though it's a couple of decades old now.  The food and drinks are consistent and good.  Jessica drank a Harp since her parents were in Ireland.

"Big Dipper" French Dip Sandwich at Kirkland, WA George's Awarded a 3 of 5 DeliciScore™ (Pretty Good) on this 4th day of April, 2017 - Provolone and onions make it good, bowl of jus

The Story

I was out for a walk from work and knew I hadn't yet completed the French dips at George's a diner and breakfast spot in downtown Kirkland.  I hymned and hawwed over whether or not I would walk back to George's to taste test their sandwich and then decided that I would.  I sat at the bar.  The salad was good.  The French dip was pretty good and I enjoyed my lunch.  I am nearly done with all of the French dips in Kirkland now.  Here's the to do list. 

Tasting Notes

• Choices between burger dip and roast beef (French dip) all under a single menu item.
• Good side salad with nice crunchy herbed croutons, cheddar cheese and pretty good dressing.
• Sandwich alone is good and bread is soft.
• Comes with a bowl of jus, which I hadn't seen in a while.  Compare to Gere-a-Deli, which also provides such an option.
• The roast beef was well done and somewhat chewy.  It wasn't bad but it also wasn't especially fine.  Probably a 3 of 5 overall since at least there was plenty beef.  The beef also "pulled out" of the sandwich which was a bit sad.  Sad!
• The sandwich overall has a garlicky taste, which is nice.
• The grilled onions and cheese do indeed add something.
• The jus was plentiful, dark, good and oily and served in a big bowl.  The issue with the bowl is that it had a flat bottom which made it shallow, so I do not believe this was an ideal serving vassel.
• The bread scores a 3 of 5 for being plentiful albeit somewhat "white bread" and kind of pillowy soft.  
• The onions are probably the best part of the sandwich.  I also liked the chewy beef, jus and cheese so overall we were doing well but I think the bread is where this thing primarily misses although it was also buttered and grilled.
• Overall this sandwich gets a 3 and possibly a 4. 
• The flavor of the sandwich was even a bit tart/sharp, tangy and definitely salty.  The cheese also added some balance, but being processed, was not exactly what I wanted and made the feeling of overall quality go down.
• The non-meat toppings get a 3 of 5 because the cheese brings the score down.  The onions were good.  Perhaps next time ask for non-processed cheese.  They had okay cheddar on the salad so I'm sure they have it.

Summary

• Meat 2 of 5 just because it was not overly "fine".  They gave you plenty, though, so that was nice.
• Bread 2 of 5 because it was too soft.
• Non-Meat Toppings 3 of 5.  They definitely added something and were good but I have to deduct points for using sub-par (processed) cheese.
• Jus 4 of 5.  It was good and salty and came in a bowl.  It wasn't herbed or anything too fancy but it was nice and oily, good.
• Overall 3 of 5.  This is a pretty good French dip sandwich and nice with the toppings but I have to score it a 3 of 5 because it was not overly refined and the meat was just kind of chewy.

Conclusions

This is a pretty good French dip in a pinch.  The jus is good.  The bread is a bit too soft for my liking.  Processed cheese does not helps its cause but the size and onions make it pretty good.