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Adamson's French DipThe sandwiches are piled high with meaty goodness at Sunnyvale's a jus palaceby Stett Holbrook on Feb 10, 2010IF YOU haven’t seen the documentary Sandwiches That You Will Like, you should. The film celebrates classic American sandwiches like lobster rolls from Red’s Eats in Wiscasset, Maine, cheesesteaks from Geno’s in Philadelphia, muffuletta from New Orleans’ Central Grocery and the pastrami sandwiches at Katz’s Deli in New York City. America didn’t invent the sandwich, but we might as well have, given the infinite variety of creative deliciousness this nation places between two slices of bread. The movie made me proud to be an American. It made me hungry, too. The sandwiches from Adamson’s French Dip weren’t in the movie, since the tiny Sunnyvale restaurant opened just seven months ago, but they deserve a place of honor among the great American sandwiches. Mark my words: This is one of the Bay Area’s top sandwich shops, and it’s about to blow up. There’s already a line out the door for lunch, and owner Greg Adamson has plans to open additional locations to meet the demand. Adamson says he gets franchise offers every day, but he declines them, because he wants to keep the business in the family to control the quality of his product, a lesson he says he learned in his father’s Minnesota restaurants starting at age 11. “He taught his children his principles, and I try to apply them here,” he says. Years after he worked in his father’s restaurants, Adamson moved to California and later opened a catering company as a side business. The popularity of his sliced roast beef French dip sandwich convinced him that he had a winner. “The lines were so long,” he says with his Midwestern earnestness. “I knew we had something.” Adamson took his popular sandwich and built a restaurant around it, and Adamson’s French Dip was born. The recipe for the sandwiches is about the same, only instead of cooking over lump charcoal he now uses well-seasoned oak. The menu is simple, with just six sandwiches supplemented with crisp, sea-salt-dusted french fries ($1.95); onion rings ($2.95); spicy, ground beef and bacon-larded Santa Maria–style beans ($2.95); celery-seed-sprinkled coleslaw ($1.50); potato salad ($1.75); milkshakes ($3.95), root beer floats ($3.95) and sundaes ($3.25). The restaurant serves 10 brands of premium root beer ($3.95) in frosty mugs. And beer. That’s it. The French dip sandwich is something of a relic. You don’t see them much anymore. But try one of Adamson’s expertly crafted sandwiches, and you’ll immediately appreciate the beauty and simplicity of this classic. But he does the classic one better by smoking the top sirloin and roast beef in a custom-built oven. The heavy, black iron doors swing open now and then, offering great views of flame- and smoke-browned meat. The smell of burning oak and sizzling meat, surely one of the world’s most delicious aromas, fills the parking lot and seems to pull people in from every direction. Adamson is a man who takes his sandwiches seriously and jealously guards his recipes and techniques. The meat is rubbed with a proprietary spice blend before it goes into the oven. It’s sliced to order for each sandwich and loaded into a superb soft French roll that Adamson has custom baked for the restaurant. Although thin and supple, the roll still holds up to the juicy meat and immersion in the au jus. Adamson won’t reveal the source of the bread. “I’m keeping that on the q.t.” As for the au jus, it’s made from meat drippings and secret herbs and spices. It’s like a tiny bowl of French onion soup, minus the onions. Try a sip right out of the little plastic container. I like the prime rib French dip best ($8.95). The meat is wonderfully tender and made even more so with a dunk in the au jus. The top sirloin is good ($6.95), too, although I encountered stray bits of fat and gristle. But I gladly ate it all. In addition to the French dip sandwiches, Adamson’s serves four barbecue sandwiches. My two favorites are the prime rib ($8.95) and the pork ($6.50). The prime rib incorporates the crispy, caramelized and probably carcinogenic outer layers of the smoked prime rib (called “burnt ends” in barbecue parlance). The meat is sliced thin and anointed with a barbecue sauce that’s a nice blend of brown-sugar sweet and vinegar tart. But so is the pulled pork. A heaping mound of faintly sweet and smoky pork shoulder is shredded and piled between one of those French rolls. The tri-tip sandwich ($6.95) is good, too, but not as distinctive as the prime rib or pulled pork. There’s a chicken sandwich ($6.50), but I didn’t try it. A man can only eat so much, even if we’re talking great American sandwiches. Adamson’s French Dip Address: 806 W. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale. Phone: 408.830.9025. Hours: 11am–7pm Mon–Sat. Cuisine: Sandwiches. Price Range: $6.50–$8.95. Website: www.adamsonsfrenchdip.com by Stett Holbrook on Feb 10, 2010 |
 PRIME TIME: Adamson’s French dip sandwiches are full to bursting. |
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