5 of 5 DeliciScore™ (From Heaven) Awarded to Nine O for their Prime Rib Dip Sandwich in Bellevue, WA on this 5th day of October, 2016 - Onion jam? Yes, please.

Here's the outside of their fancy menu.  It was nighttime and we missed happy hour so prices were high.

You'll see the Prime Rib Dip in there.  I did.  (And do).  Squint your eyes if you're having a hard time.

Prime Rib Dip.  $16.  Mamma Lil's peppers (so that's what those are called!) and onion relish (god it was great, an absolute highlight, almost requirement for a great French dip.  The French baguette was really good too.

The plated unit with the Mamma lil peppers, twisted bamboo skewers, a nice white plate and a nice white porcelain ramekin. The salad didn't look wonderful but I was generally impressed with the looks of the sandwich and the smell of the jus caught my nose in the most enjoyable of ways.

Close-up of the sandwich indeed.  Good bread.  The Prime rib was not rare in any way (medium to medium well but it was good and not too chewy or anything like that.)

I met up with my buddy Berry last night for drinks and a business conversation.  It was 6:30 and I was starving.  At first I thought I was going to get an appetizer to hold myself over for a real dinner but I realized I was just too hungry that I had to go all in.  ...And they had a French dip (Prime rib dip) on the menu...so I threw down...all in.

I told Berry about my French dip eating and reviewing hobby (habit) so I got to entertain him with the process of photographing it, reviewing it and eating it like a freak.  It was fun.  I used to be embarrassed, quite literally, of doing my French dip reviewing in front of others but now I am pretty proud of it and think it's funny.  I have fun with it and can still engage while going through the reviewing motions.  It's a fun and silly hobby.  Berry had to endure the note-taking I was doing into my phone but that was fine.

So the Prime rib dip came out while I sat there talking to Berry.  The smell of the jus immediately permeated my nose and I was stoked and simply enjoyed the aroma, adding to my conversation.  It looked really good, too, so I felt like I would be in good shape.  I tasted the sandwich, standalone, and it was very good.  The beef was medium or beyond (which scores it a points lower) but was overall good.  The onion jam flavor was very delightful and I'd never experienced it on a French dip.  It was a wonderful condiment and accompaniment.  I sipped the jus, standalone, and it was salty and rich. It was perhaps overly salty but that's what a French dip is about, right?  The salt?

The dipping was good and as I enjoyed consuming the whole sandwich, what impressed me more than anything was the crunchy toasted quality bread, the rich jus, and the extremely delicious onion jam.  Onion jam!

After I devoured the sandwich, I moved onto the salad, which was good but not really notable.  Some of the lettuce had wilted some due to its close proximity to the hot sandwich and jus. Overall, it was fine, had croutons and okay dressing but nothing too wonderful.

The presentation of the meal overall was nice with good Mamma lil's peppers on top of the twisted bamboo skewers, handsome bread and good dishes.

Raw tasting notes:

• Smell of jus is good to start 
• Looks good 
• White sourdough, dense hearty looking bread 
• Topped with a pepper on skewer I've never seen 
• Very dense bread 
• Nicely spicy
• Very salty but good, rich jus
• Onion jam excellent and spicy? 
• Crunchy bread 
• Good salad with some wiltedness caused by the proximity of the lettuce to the hot stuff 
• topped with a round pickled pepper on each half of the sandwich. 
• The onion jam was a real hit with me 
• the bread was really dense and had some good crunch to it that could be overridden by the jus. 
• i might even like stale, very chewy french dip bread.  The last thing you want is wonder bread. 

The scoring:

Bread: 5

Meat: 3

Non-Meat Toppings: 5 (Onion jam, yes!!!!)

Jus: 4 (A bit too salty but good)

Overall: 5 (The onion jam and great bread brought this thing home.  It was a delight to eat.)

4 of 5 DeliciScore™ (Great) Awarded to North Bend Bar and Grill for their Prime Rib Dip Sandwich in North Bend, WA on this 7th day of September, 2016 - Prime Rib & Cheddar

So here we are at the North Bend Bar & Grill.  Jessica and I were out for date night (it was Wednesday).  We went to North Bend to check things out down there.  It's a cute little town.  Pretty limited but cute.

After enjoying clams as an appetizer, I zeroed in on the Prime Rib & Cheddar Sandwich option.  I had been in a "French dip funk" (I will explain later) and thought I might need to do it.  I wasn't that hungry so Jessica and I agreed to split that there French dip, plus it came with fries and a salad so we were good.  While we were getting settled I ordered a Rainier pint.  

So I had two choices for the dipped prime rib sandwich au jus.  I wasn't feeling up (at all) for the peppers and onions and even had a hard time talking myself into getting a sandwich with cheddar on it (was feeling like more of a purist that night).  So I went for this bad boy.  I see that they also have a turkey option, which I am sure is good.  But the prime rib wound up being pretty good meat, not surprisingly. 

Our waitress brought out the salad, which was quite nice looking.  That is carrots you see, not cheese.  And the lettuce was hearty and nice greens.

At first I was afraid that she had only brought out bleu cheese crumbles and the salad might be dry but this was just a (really) nice touch they do to their bleu cheese dressing is to top the serving container with the crumbles.  And it wound up being a very good salad!

As I mentioned, Jessica and I had agreed to split the French dip so we were both presented with a nice plate, good portion, good looking jus, and fries.  I wasn't so hungry, so this looked like a really good amount of food and Jessica even took half of hers home but she eats like a bird, sorry Jessica dear.

A close-up of the jus.  It was served in a fine, classic container, it was dark, looked quite hot, smelled good, looked rich, good, etc.  So I felt pretty confident that it would be good and it was indeed good.  It was perhaps overly salty but in general it was good jus.  When it comes to jus, it is better to err on the side of too rich rather than too bland.

Here's a close-up of the sandwich and the creamy horseradish sauce to its left.  The creamy horseradish was actually quite good: pretty spicy, etc. with a good kick but I prefer the non-creamy varieties of horseradish and as someone who in general does not like most foods overly rich or creamy.  The bread looked quite pretty, the cheese quite nice and the meat nicely crisped and such.  In general I was a fan of the presentation and felt like it would be a good meal.  

I don't know this man.  I was trying to take a picture out the window of Mt. Si behind him and he awkwardly looked over at me right as I was taking the picture so that didn't go well.  Sorry, dude, I hope you enjoyed your hamburger, conversation and glass of wine!

So here is the review, people:

• Salad good. It was a really good, nicely presented salad with nice ingredients and a fancier-than usual dressing that included a blue cheese crumble topping.   
• Jus good.  The jus looked good, hot, rich and thick upon serving and was delivered in what would be a proper container.  I wrote down that that jus was "really good" and it was also really salty.  I think we don't grade down jus for being overly salty unless it is really like over the top screwed up salty.
• Meat good.  The prime rib was indeed really good when eaten alone and seasoned quite nicely with a salty but good flavor.  The prime rib was prepared medium well and gets a strike against it because I was not presented with the option for it to be medium rare, etc.
• And then there was the bread.  Now the bread on the other hand looked okay overall and was of high quality but in general had a "floury" taste (and visible flour) and it was non-French.  It was especially spongy and not very porous (sidebar: it's called porosity or void friction and needs to get added to the metrics page).  You don't want an overly absorbent bread, which this was.  It wasn't too soft but it was also not buttered much if at all and it wasn't very toasted.  The bread did not ruin it for me but it also did not make or really help the sandwich in any significant way; the highlights were the salty meat and cheese and the quite rich jus.
• Cheese good.  The chedder cheese topping was of good quality, nice and thick.  It added benefit to the sandwich.  The sandwich alone (when eaten without the jus was pretty good but not to die for.  The meat was good.)   
• Horseradish cream was there, but whatever.  As I previously mentioned, the horseradish cream was good but of the creamy type and had the right amount of spiciness.  But I did not really splurge on it (one dip, I believe) as it is not really what I needed or wanted at the time. 
• Fries.  It was nice that they gave out both fries and a very salad.  The fries were only okay with some a bit on the mushy side.  As is my basic custom, they were dipped into ketchup.  Mustard was not on the table I don't believe and had it been I would have most likely used that mustard for dipping my fries into, okay? 

Ratings

• Overall sandwich dipped.  This sandwich was a 4 of 5 overall.  It loses points for the bread primarily. In general, this was a high priced meal at $15.99 but because it came with fries and salad, cheese, prime rib and the size was pretty good, it is not entirely outlandish, especially for the Seattle area.  It was also a nice feature and touch that they split it between me and Jessica and each portion was quite generous.  
• Bread.  I score the bread as a 2 of 5 for a few reasons: quite white in color, not buttered much if at all, not toasted much, not very crunchy, had some taste like flour, overly absorbent.
• Jus.  The jus I will score as a 4 of 5 primarily due to its saltineess but in general it was rich and good.
• Meat.  The meat gets a 4 of 5 for being crunchy and nice and salty and tasty and prime rib.  It could have been better had I been given the option to choose doneness but overall it worked very well with this sandwich and was enjoyable.
• Cheese.  I give the cheese (non-meat topping) a 4 of 5 given its quality, thick cut and value-add to the sandwich.  

So there you have it, dear Mr./Mrs./Ms. reader person.  I hope you enjoyed the review and will enjoy a French dip of your own very soon.  Or at least a conversation about one.

5 of 5 DeliciScore™ (From Heaven) Awarded to Georgetown Liquor Company for their Vegetarian Dip Sandwich in Seattle, WA on this 14th day of July, 2016 - The Picard - God, it's good!

It was a Friday and I had the day off of work because I had been on call the previous weekend (see the Cowiche French Dip review from my trip to Yakima).  It was a lazy and fun day and I didn't have much going on.  So I figured a French dip would be a good treat.  So I looked on my French Dip To Do List on Foursquare for my next adventure and I found the Georgetown Liquor Piccard.  I had been told about this French dip years ago by my old pal Charlotte who is a food stylist, foodie, cook, artist, etc.  And I knew it was vegetarian but she said it was delicious so I knew I had to hit it up. And I had not had a vegetarian French dip before so this was fascinating and exciting to me.  I was intrigued.

I showed up at Georgetown Liquor at lunchtime on a Friday and there weren't too many people there but I immediately liked the place.  I sat at the bar and enjoyed the company of the bartender.  A few others were there but it wasn't very crowded.  

So here's the menu.  I ordered an IPA while I waited. I asked the waiter (LOL) what beverage paired best with a French dip and he didn't have a good answer.  (Not surprisingly). : )

So there's the Picard, "Lentil Sage Field Roast, roasted red onions, fresh mozzarella, creamy roasted garlic spread, toasted on ciabatta.  Served with vegan au jus.  $10.45.  Pretty intriguing, right?  I was definitely intrigued.

Here's the picture of the plate, served.  The mozzarella is visible.  The jus is dark.  The salad is composed of nice greens.

Again, dark and very good jus.

And this salad, you will note, unfolded into a PLATEFUL of salad, which was a nice treat afterwards.  I ordered the vegan ranch dressing (this place only serves vegetarian stuff, btw, if you hadn't picked up on that nuance yet).

Not too impressive AND blurry image of the expanding salad that was so good.  Note the shaved parm and chunky, skinned cukes!

So I went through two au jus cups. Do you hate me?

Here were my tasting notes so you can get the full effect:

• Small size - yes, small but not terribly small.  Sufficient, we shall say
• Limited jus - this is true but I asked for more and it came right out, piping hot, deliverd by the cook!
• Unique - yes indeed it sure was.  What a fun, interesting, delicious sandwich
• Toasted - yep, good job.  Gotta have it toasted.
• Great taste - Sure it was.
• Quality - Yep, it really was a tasty unit!
• Good bread - Yep
• The sandwich alone had no problems without the jus and was good alone, which is a great sign.  But you have to dip of course.
• Great, peppery jus flavor - I "pre-tasted" the jus (sipped some) to gauge its caliber and was basically delighted.
• Didn't need or want beef/ meat - Yeah, the lentil safe Field Roast was extremely tasty and din't make me feel like I needed real beef.  This is a true statement is that some of the meatless proteins can be soooooooooo good and delicious you'd really never need or want meet again.  Until you have meat again and it's really good.
• Very satisfying and delicious - Yep, thank you Georgetown Liquor for an excellent sandwich. The barkeep said it is indeed their most popular and I can fully understand why.  How great was this thing?!?!
• Smaller size not bothersome - Yeah, I'm over this.  You wouldn't want to overdo it with immensity.
• Onions, basically delicious - Yep, I really enjoy delicious things, like the roasted red onions, it turns out.
• Field roast really tasty, almost meat like - Yep. Good stuff.  Thank you.
• More jus promptly delivered by cook - That was a really nice touch and impressed me.
• Crust on field roast crispy, chewy and delicious, great flavor - Yep
• 5 of 5 across the board. Delicious.  God this was good.
• Good, nice, big salad with fresh greens - Yeah, and this was a huge added benefit.  Note that there's no bleu cheese dressing here but the vegan ranch was extremely good
• Delicious fresh salad with dry, excellent greens, shaved Parmesan, delicious dressing, good cucumber, Cherry tomatoes - God, I need to go back now!!!! : )
• Served in a red plastic basket with checkered paper - Why not?

Summary:

Bread: 5 of 5

"Meat": 4 of 5 - I love that it's not meat and so good.  But it's not meat and can't beat excellent beef so I"m going to pull out the penalty flag here but an excellent use of delicious protein.

Au Jus: 5 of 5 - And done with out meat so that's awesome

Overall: 5 of 5 - Absolutely delicous sandwich and salad at an affordable place at a funky place with friendly people

4 of 5 DeliciScore™ (Great) Awarded to Cowiche Canyon Kitchen & Ice House for their Prime Rib Dip Sandwich in Yakima, WA on this 14th day of July, 2016 - Risky service.

Jessica had some horse-related event in Yakima on Saturday and I was on call that weekend.  I wanted to hang out with her, I like "Eastern" Washington (East of the Cascades), so I tagged along.  The issue was that I was on call and had to be tethered to civilization in case tragedy struck.  We were graciously hosted by Barry Bernfeld, a family friend in Yakima.  We stayed out his house on Friday night, Jessica left early Saturday morning and I was quite bored the next day, wondering what to do with myself.  I had a car that had been loaned to me from Barry, which was a really nice perk.  Around lunch time I had decided I would entertain myself with a French Dip at a place that was ranked quite high in Foursquare.  To be honest, Yakima does not, I repeat does not, have a lot going on there including not too many hoity toity restaurants like a person might see in a major metropolitan area like Seattle.  

It was 90 out that day so a nice little heat spell for me; a little mini-vacation.

So anywho, I showed up at this place and it was really hard to find the door to get into it.  WTH?  So I eventually found the door and walked inside.  It was nice and fancy and modern and such and there were a few people and the vibe was quite good.  

So here's the menu.  Looking fine.

And there's the quite high-priced Prime Rib Dip at $16.50.  "Thinly sliced prime rib, Cowiche roll, served with [note the use of with next to "au", the French word for with] au jus, horseradish sauce and thin-cut fries. 

So I ordered it and waited while I gazed deeply into my flower vase.

And I also studied and enjoyed my ice water.

And I appreciated my person pepper mill and laundered napkin.

Now you might expect at this point that I got somethign good.  But I didn't.  And I am ashamed to say, I do not have photographic evidence of the failure pile.  But here were my notes of it:

• Radishes and Julienned carrot on salad
• Meat is pink 
• Good looking bread
• Lots of horseradish provided 
• Not a lot of jus
• Ok but not huge size
• Jus not streaming
• Sandwich and meat not hot nor toasted much
• Fresh good, unique bread
• High quality meat
• Pre tossed salad
• Complained after eating the first cold half 
• Bitter but fresh greens
• Salad needed salt and pepper, lacked flavor bitter 
• Dowell skewers 

So at this point I was totally dejected and sad.  They brought me out a lukewarm sandwhich that wasn't toasted very well and the jus wasn't hot.  I felt like I was eating a normal roast beef sandwich and was super sad.  And surprised that they would have served it to me.  It clearly had all quality ingredients but it was served cold.  It was some kind of mistake, some kind of mystery.  Why had they given me THAT sandwiches, of all sandwiches?  Please, people, you NEED to pay attention to your quality and not ship shit out of the kitchen.

So anyways, I complained and the brought me a new one:

Looking good now, yeah?  Nice looking jus, nice toasted bread, good looking meat (which by the way was now medium since I complained about the medium rare meat being too cold.  It looks solid and professionally done.

There's the evidence that I ate it all and that they gave me a heavy, professional-grade steak knife for my sandwich, a nice touch.

Here are my tasting notes from the second half of the sandwich (after they had corrected the initial error):

Second jus and sandwich hot and good, near 5 in simplicity and quality
The bread was much better toasted the second time (thank you!)
Meat was served medium and much hotter the second time
Peppery taste
Salad was a 3 for quality but did have really bitter greens and required salt
The plate was plain and boring.  They could have added more flare to it like garnish
The price was quite high, especially in Yakima but it was also high quality and I can understand why they priced it so high because of the high quality ingredients.  $13 could have been better and may sell more.
Once I had wrapped it up, they never did ask if I liked my original meal and didn't clear my plate when I was finished, which I thought was rude.
They did comp me on 1/2 off the sandwich and I tipped well.
The first sandwich that I returned was was white, soft and basically cold (not hot enough)

Summary:

Sandwich Half #1:

Bread: 3 - wasn't toasted sufficiently
Meat: 3 - nice quality but wasn't hot enough
Jus: 3 - good but wasn't hot enough
Overall: 2 - too cold

Sandwich Half #2: (Revised version after I complained about the first)

Bread: 5 - Good local bread, toasted well.  Firm
Meat: 4 - Good prime rib but they made it medium to get it hot
Jus: 4 - good and not, no complaints
Overall: 4 - I can't give it a 5 because I fear their inconsistency

4 of 5 DeliciScore™ (Great) Awarded to Ram Restaurant & Brewery for their French Dip Sandwich in Issaquah, WA on this 21st day of May, 2016 - Piled high with tasty beef.

It was Saturday night and Jessica had worked all day while I worked on preparations for her special-needs horse to arrive at our new rental farm location in Preston, WA.  I was ready to get away from the house so we agreed to meet out.  First we thought Thai food, then we agreed that The Ram sounded like more fun.  So I drove out to meet her and when I got there (after taking a long time to park and parking far, far away) she was sitting at the bar.  Looking quite good, I might say.  Anyways, I sat down and we chatted.  I was feeling a bit under the weather (perhaps a cold brewing, uh oh?) so only drank water although many people seemed to rave about the Amber.  Jessica ordered a sampler of it and I tried it and it was quite good.  But I stuck to water.  We were on our way to a movie (goal was to see the new Russell Crowe movie The Nice Guys) so we didn't have a ton of time.  I'd never had the French dip and had noticed that Brian Ashbach had been getting it recently so I figured I'd get in on that action and give it a whirl.

There it is: French Dip.  Roast beef (sure was) on French baguette with au jus.  (no real frills here) but the do have toppings. $1 Cheese $1 Grilled Onions $2 Roasted Mushrooms.  Although it is my custom to only order "as it is listed by the chef" I went out on a limb here and added Cheese and Mushrooms.  For cheese I was given choices by the waitress (bartender): cheddar, Swiss, etc. but I chose Havarti since it seemed to be the most "far out" and abnormal.  Although I later realized I could have things other than fries, I wasn't asked and was fine that I was expecting fries. 

When the sandwich came out I noticed that it was a bit shy on jus so I immediately asked for more, knowing I would be in jeopardy later on.  The lady was super nice and even asked if I wanted it now or to time it when I was further through the first one and and I said now.  I need to be surrounded by jus.  

So there it is, the sandwich.  You can tell that there is a lot of roast beef on this thing.  And I'm happy it's "classic" thin that way.  And they really piled it high, which was a nice feature.  Yes, it did look a bit gray in color but it was fine / good, perhaps even juicy.  

Very nice, these mushrooms they added.  They were good.  Not great, ravingly awesome mushrooms but really good, delicate and nicely prepared.

So I ate on the sandwich for a while without the jus to know what was going on as a standalone unit.  It was pretty good.  I thought maybe the bread was a bit stale but the sandwich was quite hearty (one half considerably larger than the other) but both were quite big.  The sandwich alone was pretty good.  Lots of meat.  The meat was salty but not bad; what you'd expect in sliced, deli roast beef like that.

And of course at some point you have to go all the way with this thing and take the plunge.  I always get butterflies in my stomach before I do because it could either add or subtract and it can be sooooo risky!  "Will it be hot enough?"  "Will it be good enough?"  "How will it taste differently?"  So many thoughts simply race through ones mind as they stare into the abyss of that jus-y potential.  So I did.  And......it was really good.  Hot.  Salty as it should be and just plain good.  So I ate and ate and ate and dipped and dipped and dipped and enjoyed.  Then I got to the fries and they were good, too.  Jessica helped me with the fries. 

Raw notes: (inside the mind of a French dip genius as he types notes into his phone while consuming a French dip)

• Salty
• Crunchy 
• Possibly stale bread 
• Lots of deli meat thin sliced 
• Mushrooms good 
• Jus good and hot, helps 
• Havarti not really noticeable 
• Generous, big size 
• Overall 4 
• Meat 3 in quality 5 in qty 
• Bread 4-5 because of crunchy toasty 
• Jus 4-5 
• Cheese choices nice 
• Crunchy fries 
• Nice the lady asked when to bring out jus too

Conclusions

4 of 5 Overall -  (pretty good!  Possibly stale/overly crunchy bread and the meat is good but not as thrilling as it could have been.  The $15 price tag is a bit high too, but not far fetched in King County)

3 of 5 Meat - Just lots of deli roast beef

5 of 5 Non-meat toppings - Good options here.  Lots of cheese options.  I didn't feel like onions.  The mushrooms were a really nice, gourmet touch. The Havarti was also fine from a lubricating perspective (the bread was also buttered I could see)

4 of 5 Jus - Really good jus that was hot and plentiful upon request.  It definitely added to the sandwich.

4 of 5 Bread - Good bread that may have been stale but thinking back on it, stale bread may be a good secret for a good French dip to make the jus create a larger benefit when dipped and providing some remaining chewiness post-soak.  

The Ram is a fun place.  It was very lively in there, busy.  Food was pretty good.  It's a fancy, trendy, vibrant, family-friendly sports bar.

http://www.theram.com/locations/wa-issaquah/

HOURS
Sunday – Thursday, 11am – 12am
Friday & Saturday, 11am – 2am

965 N.E. Park Drive
Issaquah, Washington 98029
Tel: (425) 313 – 0415

3 of 5 DeliciScore™ (Good) Awarded to Le Grand Bistro Américain for their Prime Rib Dip Sandwich in Kirkland, WA on this 28th day of March, 2016 - Good service makes a big difference.

Yes, yes, y'all!  I started a new--and my first ever--diet two Saturdays ago.  On this diet, I had to wait eight whole days to eat carbs so I was pretty sure that this French dip would be really good or a major let-down.   

We were at Le Grand Bistro Americain, an upper-end bistro type of place at Carillon Point in South Kirkland with views out to Lake Washington.  It was Sunday brunch, I was with Jessica, and we were celebrating some friends' birthdays.  Probably 12 others joined our so we had a good time.  And I got to eat my favorite meal.  

On arrival, I asked the hostess if they had a French Dip and she said yes.  I felt fortunate.  I was fairly stoked and anticipatory while waiting to be seated, ordering, etc.  It had been eight whole days since carbs or butter.  I was going to eat that and fries.  Yum yum.  

So here's my review.  Pictures are below.  

• Garlicky taste.  The french dip had a definitive garlic taste to it and I don't necessarily mean that as a compliment, just that it was garlicky.  
• Good jus but not enough or hot enough.  The jus that they gave me was in a very small container and had a nice wine taste to it but it was neither enough nor was it hot enough.  I was pleased that the nice (but not warm enough) wine-flavored jus helped a little but again because it wasn't hot nor sufficient enough we had a problem.  
• There is a chance my lack of satisfaction was caused by the cooks trying to feed my large party at once.  Some of the lack of quality in this dip may have been caused by the size of our large party and their need to time the arrival of all things at once but I was still disappointed.  
• Give real horseradish.  The meal came with a side of "horseradish cream" which was no big whoop; I prefer the authentic horseradish.  
• Great crispy fries.  I order fries as a side and they were very good and crispy fries, strongly recommended.  
• Meat.  I was disappointed while ordering the dip that while it was prime rib, I was not able to select the rareness of it.  The meat itself did wind up being quite dry and there were no slabs of prime rib so I wasn't impressed by the meat.  
• Fair size.  The size was okay/pretty good.  
• Pretty good bread.  The bread was nice and toasted but it wasn't to die for.  
• Sandwich not to die for.  The sandwich by itself was only a 3 of 5 at best so I was disappointed there, especially for the $17 price tag.  
• There is hope.  Overall, this French dip scored a 3 of 5 overall and I would not recommend it unless the waiter could guarantee hot and ample jus.  

Summary

Bread 3 of 5
Meat 3 of 5
Jus 4 of 5 but needed to be more and hotter
Overall 3 of 5 expensive, no prime rib wellness selection, not enough or hot enough jus.  Really good fries.  Should be served with (at least an option for) *real* horseradish if they are serious about their prime rib

I went with a glass of champagne, since I could and since there was celebration going on.  It was rainy outside.

Here's the fellow showing us the specials.  Note at the bottom the French Dip for $17.00.  I went with that.

In case you really wanted to see the writing, here's a closer shot.  Note the black trumpet mushrooms that came with the Steelhead.  Next time maybe I'll get that instead.

Here's the French dip (FD), plated.  You can see the horseradish mayo.  The fries were quite delicious (excellent, I might say).  The jus was too small in volume.  The sandwich itself looked good but was served medium to medium-well, which is not really the way to glory.   There were blue-tasseled toothpicks.   

The bread was nicely toasted.  I have no idea why anyone would think that that little jus is justified.  I paid $17.  I should get more jus.  I like jus.

Enjoy

2 of 5 DeliciScore™ (Not Quite There) Awarded to Lee's Brickhouse Pub for their Prime Rib Dip Sandwich in Kirkland, WA on this 10th day of January, 2016 - Open-faced, wet Prime Rib Dip

Setting the stage

I just started helping my friend Leigh with his startup project, FreeMo (for Free Mobile), Leigh and I agreed to meet up at Lee's Brick House (LBH), a newly renovated bar in Juanita Beach, on a Saturday afternoon because Leigh needed food.  I showed up and ordered a Mack & Jack's African Amber beer.  I am on a budget so was not really interested in buying food, plus I'd already had lunch a bit earlier, so I abstained from ordering.  

Leigh and I had been to LBH a few weeks prior and had noted that they offered a French dip.  Sorry, I don't have the description, but this is an open-faced, wet Prime Rib dip.  It sounded fancy and I think it's priced around $15.

We had enjoyed the bar (they have pool tables, it is clean and new-feeling, cozy, modern and dark) the last time 

Leigh ordered the French dip, which caught me off guard.  Had I ever just sat idly by while someone else enjoyed a delicious French dip?  This was new.  I offered the following to Leigh: that I could do something new and review the French dip through him (that he would eat it and I would coach him through the process of reviewing it).  I thought it was funny and he accepted, so that's basically what you see below is pictures that I took of Leigh's food and the commentary (LOL) that Leigh made about his food as he ate it.  Yes, he was gracious enough to share a bite or two with me for verification sake.  And his son, Julian, was there as well, so there is commentary and feedback from him as well.  So this winds up being my first ever three-person review where I am not the primary reviewer (but I do weigh in).  

This was a really fun and cost-efficient way for me to eat and review a French dip.  Enjoy!

The Review

Here's their open-faced, wet french dip, served with fries and a side-sauce.

Here is a close-up of the meat and sandwich.  You can tell that the meat is done medium with no hint of rare.  It did look pretty good and fancy, I must say but just wait.

Here's the jus.  They give you a pretty big quantity and you can see that there are "floating bits" in it, which is good but you can also see through it, which we would later discover is an issue.

Here's their fries.  These were pretty good.

Another pic of their fries.  They are kind of like curly fries.  Kind of fancy.

Here's this side sauce that I originally thought was butter but Leigh liked it and said it was "mustardy" horseradish sauce.  I think it added value and is unique.  It gets points for this.

• Leigh says the sandwich, which is served "wet" is a 3.5 with no jus
• Julian, who had never had a French dip before, tried the sandwich and scored it as a 2.37, which is below the 50% mark (not good)
• Julian scored the jus between a 3.5 and 3.75, which is to say that he liked it.  But I tasted the jus (even drank it) and score it a 1 of 5.  So Julian must really like jus (even when it's not that great), so there is a lot of hope for this boy!
• Leigh said the side sauce of "sweet, mustardy horseradish" was good but I didn't get a point-score out of him.  I originally thought it was butter (it looked to me like butter in the low-light situation).
• I had a bite of the sandwich and gave it a 2 of 5.  It was pretty flavorless and more than anything, I was 100% disappointed with the bread, which I score as a 1.  It disappointed me in that it was soggy "wheat bread" (yes, wheat bread...at least it tasted like it) with SEEDS! (WTF?!?!?!) in it.  NooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo! (Thanks Dan Sims for the ooOOOooO thing...I think its fun and funny).  Why seeds of all things?  (Oh the humanity!)  Since when do I want beef and seeds together?  Not seeds!!!!!!!!!!!!  And as for the jus, I score it as a 1.  It was watery trash. 

So there's my second-hand review of this sandwich.  I'll be sure to try other things on their menu and I hope that they can make their jus richer and get some nice French bread, perhaps with olives baked in.

P.S.  Later that evening, Jessica and I made some really good calzones from Blue Apron that had golden raisins and kale in them.  Yummers!