French Dip Sandwich – It is a beef sandwich on a long white French roll that is dipped into pan juices. American menus often describe the pan juice as “au jus.” Au jus is a French expression, which means “with broth” or “with juice.”

Although the French Dip Sandwich is not French, the inventor, Philippe Mathieu was. In 1918, Philippe owned the still existing delicatessen and sandwich shop called “Philippe the Original” in Los Angeles. According to the story at the restaurant, Philippe was preparing a sandwich for a policeman and accidentally dropped the sliced French roll into the drippings of a roasting pan. The policeman liked the sandwich and came back the next day with some friends to order the sandwich “dipped” in the meat pan. From that day on, a new sandwich was born.