Nearly every restaurant in Holland, Michigan looks amazing. It’s all pretty much made for unvegans like me. Weirdly enough, they all seem to have some sort of Olive Burger and boursin cheese makes appearances all over the place, as well. I can’t explain it, but I can’t complain either. When it came to Beechwood Grill, however, it was another type of beef between bread that called out my name.

It was the Prime Rib Dip, which had melted swiss and prime rib in a toasted sourdough roll with au jus for the dipping situation. The result was, well, just fine. The bread certainly lived up to its billing as being toasted, the au jus certainly lived up to its billing as being for dipping and the swiss cheese was entirely melted. But that prime rib was simply disappointing. It was cooked well-done and the texture was a step above rubbery. It actually had some good savory flavor, especially when dipped in the au jus, but it’s an uphill climb when you’re overcooked and this sandwich didn’t make it to the top of the hill

While Beechwood Grill looked to have the goods I needed, the Prime Rib Dip let me down. Perhaps that’s why they call it a dip, but I just call it an excuse to go elsewhere next time around.

In my latest edition of Fox Restaurants, I went to The Arrogant Butcher in Downtown Phoenix. It’s kind of like a steakhouse, but it also has a lot of the food that you can find at other Fox Restaurants, which is either great or meh depending on how you feel about variety and creativity. So, we started off with a couple of appetizers before getting into the meat of the meal.

First came the Smoked Carnitas Nachos, which were exactly what they sound like. They were solid, but definitely the kind of nachos you expect at a semi-upscale place like The Arrogant Butcher as opposed to the sports bar-style nachos that I typically prefer. We also had the House Soft Pretzels and Provolone Fondue, which was fondu-licious. I mean it’s really hard to go wrong with dipping stuff in cheese and Fox Restaurants are damn good at recreating this dish over and over again.

As for the meal, I decided to forego steak and went with the Prime Rib French Dip. I always find this to be a great alternative at steak spots when I don’t want a full on steak because they still use the delicious cuts of beef to put it together. Unfortunately, this was not such a dip. The slices of beef were overcooked to the point where it almost tasted like I was eating a cheesesteak instead of a French Dip. Of course, I love me some cheesesteaks, but I also prefer them at cheesesteak prices and this was certainly not.

So perhaps The Arrogant Butcher is simply a place to get a steak, but if that’s the case isn’t it a bit arrogant to offer other inferior options?

Right next to perhaps my favorite restaurant in Pasadena (The Luggage Room) and owned by the same people is a spot called La Grande Orange. The menu is very American, French and Mexican, being filled with sandwiches, tacos and, most importantly, a Prime Rib French dip (you know, the most French food of all).

Yet, before we could eat anything else, we began with the Deviled Eggs. We went with the option bacon because you would have to be stupid not to and they came out looking like a beauty. Or, more precisely, six beauties. There’s really not much more than can be said for these deviled eggs except that they just perfectly executed. Nothing flashy, but if you’re going with a classic it should be done like this.

As for the Prime Rib French Dip, it was just about the sexiest sandwich you’ve ever seen. The prime rib was so perfectly medium rare and on one delicious baguette that had learned a thing or two about how to be crunchy, moist and fluffy at the same time. The au jus added a nice element of moisture, fat and salt to round the whole thing out. The fries weren’t too shabby either.

La Grande Orange knows exactly what a French Dip (and Devilied Eggs for that matter) should be. Nothing groundbreaking here in terms of creativity, but perfect execution seems to be the norm.

The French Dip is one of food items that is not actually French. You know, like French Fries. In fact, it is originally from LA, with a couple spots claiming to have the original. While French Dips are nothing new to Pasadena, it is definitely new to have a place totally dedicated to those moist sandwiches. That place goes by the name of Harlowe’s.

On Sundays Harlowe’s does an all-day happy hour, which is awesome. This meant we could order Smokey Deviled Eggs to kick off the meal only $2! So, obviously we did so and while these weren’t gimmicky (smokey I guess) or souped up in any way, they were a good way to start off the meal.

The highlight, though, was my French Dip. I went with the Braised Lamb Dip, which should not be confused with the Lamb Dip at Philippe’s. This one came with house labneh (Middle-Eastern yogurt) on the side in addition to the lamb jus. The combination of flavors was nothing short of great. I always love me some labneh and it was get to see it applied to a French Dip in such a way. The lamb itself was perfectly tender and flavorful, without the strange semi-metallic but mostly indescribable flavor lamb can often have. Finally, the bread was able to withstand the dips well.

Harlowe’s was pretty fantastic in this unvegan’s eyes. It’s easy to do a pretty good French Dip, but Harlowe’s goes above and beyond to make a dip worth returning to.

When I first saw that a new spot called Brü Grill was opening up just down the street from my office in Pasadena I got super excited. Such is the life of a nine to fiver. It seemed a little upscale for my taste, but I thought it deserved the old college try and I went to find out what they could offer a man like me at lunch.

It turned out the place was definitely built more for the business meeting (or for dinner) than for an average workday lunch, but I still had to give it a try. I ordered the French Dip, which used garlic French bread, horseradish sauce and gruyere cheese to add to the prime rib and came with a side of fries. When it arrived, the beef looked more like the beef you would find in a Philly Cheesesteak than your average French dip. That’s not a compliment, because that meant the beef was overcooked. It was still juicy and the au jus made it more juicy, but it just wasn’t anything special.

I’d definitely be up for giving Brü Grill a second chance, but not for an average lunch kind of situation. If they add some lunch specials, though, we’d be in business.

Houston’s is a restaurant that has been on my radar for a while. It had always looked like some generic and boring American restaurant until a buddy of mine told me it had one of the best burgers he had ever eaten. Nonetheless, it took receiving a gift card to the place to finally get me out to the Houston’s in Pasadena.

The wife told me that Houston’s had a different menu for each location, which could be a good or a bad thing, but at least this location had both the burger and some good-looking steaks. Yet, somehow I had trouble deciding what to get and wound up somewhere in-between with the Famous French Dip Au Jus (you know, a steak sandwich). It was made with sliced prime rib on a French roll with horseradish sauce and au jus on the side. I opted for the fries as well.

It should be noted that I also ordered some chips and guac to start off the meal, but the picture turned out terribly and they were hard to eat because the guac was overly salted.

But back to the sandwich, which came out looking beautiful. The meat was a picture perfect red that would and should be expected in such a sandwich. Moreover, the flavor of the beef was left to shine on its own without additional seasoning aside from the side sauces. This was by far both the fanciest and most well-executed French Dip I’ve ever had (and yes, I have eaten at both Philippe’s and Cole’s). Of course, it comes with a price, but that price is well-worth it when it comes off of a gift card or when it’s just time to splurge.

Somewhere along the way, someone figured out that sex sells. I don’t know when this time came, but I’m pretty sure everyone in the room looked at each other and nodded in agreement without a word. In the ’80s, Hooters took that genius concept to the restaurant industry and became a household name. And while Hooters is still going strong, the look has become a bit dated. Enter Tilted Kilt, which has taken the Hooters concept, splashed it with Scotch and trimmed the uniforms significantly so that even flat girls have cleavage and they all show some midriff. In other words, the girls at Hooters almost look like nuns in comparison. Yet, while Hooters is gimmicky, they still have pretty tasty wings. Would Tilted Kilt have good fare to offer with their good looks?

To answer this question, I made my way to Tilted Kilt in Denver. This place was huge and had a setup more in line with Buffalo Wild Wings than any Hooters I had ever been to. The menu was chock-full of typical bar food at a reasonable price. For some reason I had decided in my head that I had eaten too many burgers lately and decided against that. I also knew we were in a rush and as the world’s slowest buffalo wing eater, I had to pass that up as well. I landed on The French, We Mean Irish Dip. Yeah, that was a cute way of trying to make the French Dip fit into the theme, but other than the name this thing was pure French Dip.

A pure unvegan dream, this sandwich was filled with shaved rib eye steak, Swiss cheese and nothing else. It was served with au jus and my choice of a side. I went with the fries to keep it real. Despite not mentioning pickles on the menu, this sandwich was served with on in the basket. Unfortunately, it contaminated a few fries and the bun, which was devastating, but not disastrous. Now, onto better things. I’ll be the first to admit I’m no expert in the field of French Dips (not sure that such experts exist), but I was actually pretty impressed with the sandwich. It contained a fair amount of meat and gooey cheese that would have been enough on their own to satisfy me. Well, sort of. You see, the bun was pretty thick and had me scared at first. Dry, it would have been overwhelming, but when dipped in the au jus, it soaked up those juices perfectly and made for a great French Dip conduit.

The fries were your normal cut, but had been fried to the crispy end of the spectrum that I know and love, then topped with some mild seasoning.

Did the meal at Tilted Kilt blow me away? No. But even without the gimmicky clothing I’d be willing to make a return journey. They may not be the most creative, but they do a swell job with bar food. And the outfits sure don’t hurt.

Every once in a while, it’s good that the Taco Bell nearest to me isn’t 24-hours. If it weren’t for that, I never would have gone to Johnnie’s Pastrami and found one of the greatest sandwiches in the world. Located in Culver City, Johnnie’s is open 24 hours and ready to serve a hungry clientele.

I entered with a group of five and we squeezed into a four-person booth. The not-exactly friendly waitress handed us our menus, but I already knew I would be getting the French Dip Pastrami that is featured in Johnnie’s neon sign. I really only looked at the menu to see the price, which was a surprising $10.50 for the sandwich. I guess breaking out of the Taco Bell comfort zone also risks spending more money. I asked the waitress if the sandwich was just the meat and bread, and she said yes. Not even onions. Perhaps I had died and gone to heaven.

Within minutes, I was presented with a beautiful sandwich that made me forgot about the money. I would have paid $10.50 just to look at this work of art. The bread was fluffy and overloaded with pastrami. My foolish friend that made the mistake of ordering a cheeseburger, looked at my sandwich in awe. The one thing I noticed to be missing was some au jus for dipping. The waitress told me it was pre-dipped, but I could get some on the side. I took a test bite and decided this was unnecessary. The pastrami was perfectly juicy and I didn’t want to risk upsetting the balance of bread and juicy meat.

Halfway through the sandwich, I had to make a crucial decision about whether I should finish the beauty or take her home. I decided that the memory of the sandwich might be ruined through refrigeration and reheating, so with the help of my hapless hamburger-eating friend, we destroyed what was left of the sandwich.

In the end, the only thing I could’ve wished for was friendlier service, however, at 2:30 in the morning, the most important thing was to find some good food. Johnnie’s Pastrami certainly delivered on that end.