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!!!!!!!!!

5 of 5 DeliciScore™ (From Heaven) Awarded to Sunset Alehouse for their French Dip Sandwich in Issaquah, WA on this 22nd day of January, 2012 - Oh, yes! Oh, yes! Oh, yes!

Snowy night at the Sunset Alehouse in Issaquah, WA...one of the few places that was open tonight, and also a place that was recently recommended to me for their French dip.

They have TVs and it was pretty crowded in here; lots of families.

Totally random side note, but I noticed that their subtitle font is clearer and cleaner than I've ever seen; O technology how far you have come!!!

There it is, on their fresh sheet, the Jak's (they're operated by the same folks) NY Steak Sandwich.  "Lightly marinated & grilled, steak butter toasted roll, au jus.  $16.   Paired with a Russian River Damnation Golden Ale 12 oz. Btl. ~ California ~ $10."  I did both!!  Ordered it medium rare with a side salad with bleu cheese, per the usual.

There's the beer.  Really fancy if you read the bottle, HIGHLY recommended ($10 bucks for a bottle, though!?!  Holy cow!!!)

I'm no hand model, but you're supposed to pour it all careful-like, which I did.

Really nice looking and very drinkable, delicious, fine beer.  Served in a nice glass; fun to pour.

Jessica reported to me that there was a poster of 'David Lee Roth with 'assless chaps'' in the ladies room.  ...so I gave her the camera and sent her packing.  You're welcome.

The salad.  Pretty good.  Nothing too fancy but good.

The dip (Steak Sandwich) served.  Really nice looking bread, toasted.  Solid au jus, and a lot of steak in there, medium rare.  With a steak knife...  Fancy bamboo skewer type.

Yes, a LOT of meat here.  This thing is awesome!!!  And you can see how the beef juice drips into the bread but it didn't make it greasy...

The good bread and perfect medium-rare beef with STEAK BUTTER TOASTED ROLL.

The getting of the dip
This is from Jak's Steakhouse in Issaquah, the parent/sister restaurant of Sunset Alehouse, which is kitty-corner.  This dip rivals that of The Keg in the sense that it is very good and what I'd call "an easy 5" of 5 points.

Sunset has a standard roast beef French dip on their menu but I wanted to pay the extra $5 to this fancier one from Jak's, which was a special on their menu.

Served
They give you a very large, full piece of really tender, delicious steak prepared how you like it.  They served me a perfect medium-rare.

Salad
The lettuce on the salad was semi-wilted but okay/good enough.  The bleu cheese dressing was runny and bitter but the salad was okay overall.  I'll give it a four.

Eating of the dip
This thing is tangy and juicy; an easy FIVE (5) of 5!!!  The bread is lightly toasted and has a beefy taste to it ("beef butter").  The bread and meat are the same soft texture, which is really good; it just goes to show how tender their very delicious steak is!!!  The bread was basic, soft, and toasted.  You can taste the barbeque on the steak in a good way; not overpowering, just there.  There was a perfect amount of au jus provided, which was smooth, good, and sweet beefy jus.  The sandwich has a dense, rich beef flavor that was so excellent.

Overall: 
Bread 5
Meat 6
Au jus 5
Overall, I want to give this thing a six but I'll give it a 5 to keep it real.  This is a a really delicious steak sandwich; my favorite yet!!

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.

2 of 5 DeliciScore™ (Not Quite There) Awarded to Taste of Chicago for their Wet French Dip Sandwich in Seattle, WA on this 2nd day of January, 2012 - Pre-dipped (wet) Italian Beef

Taste of Chicago from the outside.

Note on the style of this review: I decided to use italics in this review to call out my opinions and commentary.  All commentary and opinion is tagged as italic.


Location: Taste of Chicago, University District, Seattle (on Yelp)

Type of Place: Fast food place serving authentic Chicago-style fare...I am not from Chicago and have been once.  This was recommended by my friend Lisa, who's from Chicago and loves the Italian Beef sandwich served here.

What I ordered: Vienna beef

A poster on the wall dedicated to the Italian Beef sandwich.  ...lots of fanfare for this sandwich here!!!

Another tabletop advertisement for the Italian Beef.  Hot and juicy, I guess that sounds pretty good!!!

Italian Beef Sandwich on the menu: "This savory sandwich comes with marinated beef on a French roll dipped in Au Jus.  Options include: marinara, Giardiniera, sweet peppers, mild peppers, sport peppers, or cheese (thinly shredded mix of white and cheddar).  $8.75

 
Notes on place/vibe:  Has a college vibe, football on tv, definitely casual, not very fancy at all



Notes on ordering:  Exotic toppings for the Italian beef like marinara, "sport peppers", "Giardiniera", etc.
I ordered the sandwich as "how you, the cook, would eat it" since there were so many options.

The getting of and eating of the Dip meal (dip-meal's a new term in the glossary)

The beef as it's served.  You see the carrots and peppers on the right.  It has lots of beef in it.  The beef was okay.

A view of the "medium wet" bun.  Not overly wet so it is a total mess but still wet.  You can see celery if you look at the bottom on the foil.

He told me that he did it "medium wet", which means a single dip of the bread/bun into au jus.  It resulted in a semi-but not overly wet bun.  For me, this was fine but didn't create enough moisture for me.  That's one thing that I really like about DIPPING the dip into the au jus is that *I* can control how much jus I get.  Additionally, having the au jus pre-applied makes it sloppy and I think get colder faster from the jus cooling.

Eating the dip:
Had this pickled mixture called "Giardenero" on it, which made it spicy.  The mixture included pickled celery, carrots, olives, and red pepper and made the sandwhich semi-sweet and semi-spicy.  The guy also included shredded cheese on the sandwich that I did not taste at all.  It came with fries.

Overall: I missed dipping the French dip but I got to have my first-ever "wet" (medium-wet in this case because that's how the cook preferred it) dip.  The peppers made it different and kinda good.  It was too dry for my liking and messy to eat as well.  The fries that it came with were only okay.

	Score (0-5)	Comments
Bread	2	Standard French bread.  Not fancy at all.
Meat	3	It was fine.  Nothing to write home about.
Au Jus	2	Didn't really taste / notice it on this "wet" sandwich.
Overall	2	The giardineira topping was good and made this interesting but not enough.

Reason to go back: I would prefer to the the au jus on the side for dipping and try some of the other interesting toppings for the Italian beef that they provide.

French dip review: Redmond's Bar and Grill, Redmond, WA Smoked Onions Prime Rib Swiss, 4.5 of 5

The Redmond's Bar and Grill Menu cover.

The bar with big screens above.  Our friendly bartender Charlie was good and reportedly heading back to Hawaii.  Good luck, Charlie!!!

Behind the stranger's head in the bottom left of the frame you will see "Christmas Lights", which is actually a stage where musical talent can play.  Pretty cool.  I guess the building that this restaurant is in is 108 years old!!!

The French Prime Dip: French roll, smoked  (NICE TOUCH)  onions, seared (NICE  TOUCH) Prime Rib and Swiss served with au jus and fries or salad.  $13.  I went with the salad.

Here's the dip and you can see part of the salad.  Medium rare Prime Rib, and you can see that the greens are nice and dry.

Another view of the sandwich.  Sorry, my other pictures of the plate didn't turn out.

I was a real fan of this pen, BTW.  I honestly thought about either stealing it or asking the owners if I could have it.  Here they are on Amazon for your enjoyment.

The Review of the French dip sandwich and such:

Au jus amount: 5.  Very large.  They gave me a bowl of it.  Great (see Adam's bowl at Gere-a-Deli for comparison's sake. 

Bread color: Whitish

Bread texture: 4.  Absorbent

Overall sandwich size: 4.  Big

Bread toasting: 4. Well-toasted

Salad comments: Nice looking with very cute--extremely thin--sliced carrots

Salad dressing: Bleu cheese that was really garlicky, great and flavorful.

Salad greens: Very great.  Dry greens.  Gourmet greens.  

Other salad toppings:  Cukes and HALF-GRAPES!!

Au jus temp:  2.5.  Additional jus was not steaming.

Bread/bun size:  Wide

Meat done-ness:  5.  Medium rare with visible pink.  I prefer to see some pink on my Prime Rib...

Sandwich characteristics:  Soft, good, not greasy

Bread characteristics:  Really good 

Au jus characteristics:  "Oilyish" but good, authentic jus

Salad description:  4.5.  Sweet good, half-Grapes on salad, nice, dry, fresh, hearty, and CHEWY (which I think is something you want!!!) greens...lots of red (which I think of as nice and fancy/gourmet) greens.

Other sides:  A nice Kosher-style pickle spear that was good.  I think this is a good addition to every French dip meal is a nice pickle.  As if the sandwich and jus weren't salty enough, right?!!  But I think because it is cool and crisp, it is very refreshing...as is the salad and that's why I typically choose it instead of fries, BTW.

Skewer type:  Fancy toothpicks

Other comments:  Smoked onions are a nice addition, had to order hot jus, which they brought out rapidly.  Jus can be TOO hot, BTW...  I burnt my tongue/mouth but it was better hot, so I was grateful.

Cheese comments:  Mild but good Swiss

Overall sandwich comments: 4.5.  GREAT flavor, the smokiness is a real winner.  Overall it's really good with big, soft, absorbent but not too soft bread.  The side-salad also really made this meal with its garlicky, creamy bleu cheese dressing, good greens, and cukes.  There were no "crunchies" (like croutons or sunflower seeds) on the salad but they were not needed with such good lettuce and cukes and thin carrots shreds.  Oh! and there was just a little bit of feta cheese on top of the salad which made it really good.  More salt but hey!  Hotter initial jus may have made this a five.  Additionally it is not exactly a "fancy" French dip like that at The Keg but it's real good and the smoked onions really make it interesting and unique.

Overall:  4.5.  Great experience, pretty crowded in there.  Friendly owner Tim and bartender Charlie.  Patrons seemed happy to be there and there was good ambiance.  It was crowded on a Wednesday night and my date and I had fun.

Editor's note about the score.  After later reflection, this sandwich really is as good as the dip at Canyon's restaurant that got a 5, maybe better.  We are in the process of recalibrating our scoring system.

4 of 5 DeliciScore™ (Great) Awarded to El Gaucho for their French Dip Sandwich in Bellevue, WA on this 8th day of December, 2011 - Fine roast beef dip

Not my car.

The nice menu with The Brazilian Cowboy.

The view from our table.

Another view.

This was a special. Roast Beef Dip.  au jus and fries (I got a salad instead) $15

The menu and ice water.

Beer tastes good.

Tasty cheesy, buttery, garlic bread as a free starter.

The plate: pretty big sized sandwich (I'd guess 8" long), au jus that looked a bit "low" yet was enough, and a side Caesar salad.  Note the overflowing roast beef!!!

Very nicely toasted.  Fancy-looking bread, lots of roast beef.  No other flash and flair makes it what I would call a "Gourmet Classic".

Dark au jus with visible fat in it.

Restaurant - El Gaucho, Bellevue, WA
Restaurant Type - Fancy steakhouse
Meal - Lunch on a Thursday
Background - My buddy Ben D. recommended this dip so I went to get it!
Restaurant smell - Good and smokey, meat smelling like a nice steakhouse
Ambiance - Nice, formal, lunchtime, good music playing (first Jazz, then switched to Sinatra-style crooning)
Water delivery speed - Had some nice tasty ice water pretty much as soon as we sat
Table settings - very nice linens, well kept, fancy
Waiter and service - Very friendly and helpful.  He recommended a beer and listed a lot of beverage choices and ultimately sold me on the beer.  Well done, sir!  Also, my date was wanting tea and he brought out all of the tea options so she could assess and choose.
Beer - Good but could have been slightly colder.  It was a "Christmas Ale" from Jolly Roger.  Was sweet and full bodied but good and drinkable.
Free appetizers - They started us with free and very tasty cheesy garlic bread that was really good.
Meat - 4 of 5.  Really good, very tender roast beef that kind of melted in your mouth.  Flavor wasn't to die for and was served medium.  Very good overall.
Meat quantity - 5 of 5.  lots!!
Bread - 4 of 5.  Very nice looking, homemade-style bread that was well toasted.
Bread texture - Very good.  Crunchy on the toasting yet soft and absorbent.
Sandwich - No flash or flair on this basic dip besides its very nice, tender meat and it's toasted homestyle bread
Sandwich size - This was quite large.  I'd guess like an 8" sandwich overflowing with beef.
Other nice things - The served us three (small but really good, buttery, crispy) chocolate chip walnut cookies for free for dessert.
Salad and things - I ordered a Caesar that was pretty good but nothing to write home about.  Jessica did not love her side salad or her onion-fig-jam flatbread.
Au jus - 4 of 5.  Nice, dark, semi-sweet with visible fat in the au jus.  I feel like people should heat the ramekin so the au jus stays hot for a long time!
Au jus amount - looked like not enough but turned out being just fine: I ate a lot of the first half without it because it was pretty good and then got into it.
Overall - 4 of 5.  This is a very good "Gourmet Classic" dip in the sense that it is a basic dip (no cheese, onions, etc.) yet has fancier-than-average roast beef and nice homemade-looking bread that was really well toasted.

3 of 5 DeliciScore™ (Good) Awarded to The Pumphouse for their French Dip Sandwich in Bellevue, WA on this 7th day of December, 2011 - Always a solid, consistent place.

The menu.

The menu items.

The scene from my table.

The large water.  Probably 25 - 30 oz.

The dip.  A classic.  Salad and fries.

Review

1. Which Meal - Lunch on a weekday with my friend Chris W.
2. Establishment - The Pumphouse, a nice local bar in downtown Bellevue.
3. Establishment Type -  Bar.  TVs, crowded.
4. Restaurant Crowdedness - Crowded
5. Menu Description - "French Dip Sandwich - Our fresh cooked thin sliced roast beef on a french roll with au jus or bbq sauce."
6. Price - $10.99, includes salad and fries.
7. Service speed - Fast
8. Service quality - High
9. Helpfulness of Waitress - Helpful.  I asked a question of whether to get the French dip (roast beef) or burger dip and she said that the French dip was "more popular".  French dip it was!!
10. Water size - Large.  Bonus points!!!
11. Sandwich size - Conservative but good enough.
12. Dip Type -  A Classic
13. Meat - 3 of 5.  Basic but good Roast beef.
14. Au Jus - 4 of 5.  Good au jus.  Hot, dark, salty.  
15. Au Jus amount - Good.  Enough au jus.
16. Skewer Type - Fancy toothpicks.
17. Other nice things - Lemon in water. Salad and fries included with the basic order.
18. Salad Size - Good enough
19. Salad taste - Good.  Good croutons, some little carrots.
20. Dressing - Blue cheese.  Good enough.
21. Restaurant Cleanliness - Good.  
22. Bread - 2 of 5.  A basic (but good enough French roll, store bought).
23. Bread toasting - Slightly toasted.
24. Other Sides (French fries) - Good enough, crunchy fries.  Ketchup delivered in little metal container.
25. Overall - 3 of 5.  It's a pretty good basic / classic dip!
26. Reasons to go back - Good, crowded place with good service and very high quality, consistently very good food!  Good beers.