Bar Bill Tavern - Beef on Weck

Beef on weck is a traditional sandwich in the Buffalo area of New York State. Weck is an abbreviation of kimmelweck, a salty roll that is popular in Western New York. It is similar to a Kaiser roll, but topped with pretzel salt and caraway seeds.

This sandwich is comprised of thinly hand sliced medium roast beef, and served on the weck roll. The top half of the bun can be dipped in the beef jus to add moisture and additional flavour. You can also eat it with horseradish which adds an additional kick.

I traveled to The Bar Bill Tavern (185 W. Main St ) in East Aurora New York on the recommendation of a few folks from both Chowhound and Roadfood.com. The day was beautiful and the drive from Amherst was enjoyable to say the least. On the way we passed through some wonderfully scenic rolling hills.

We ordered the small sandwich ($5.45) which is actually a medium, a mini comes on a smaller roll and therefore less meat. The sandwiches arrived straight from the carving board and the meat was wonderfully pink, it cooked further while it sat which was fine as the meat remained juicy and tender to the last bite. The sandwich was served with a pickle wedge and Lays potato chips.

This was the second beef on weck I've had in my life as the first one scared me away until two days ago. My first attempt was so overwhelmingly salty that I scraped most of the salt and caraway seeds away. This bun was wonderful, crispy outside and soft inside, but, best of all was that it was not overly salty. A quick dip in the beef jus finished the meal off wonderfully.