Rizzo's French Dip
7334 15th Ave. N.W.
206 588-2891 

Stop the presses! Run the biggest headline imaginable! "NEW FRENCH DIP SHOP OPENS IN BALLARD!! screams the front page. And indeed, there IS a new French Dip shop in Ballard, and it delivers the goods in ways far too few eating establishments ever approach.

Nestled on 15th Avenue Northwest just below 75th, Rizzo's combines a doll-house sized space, friendly and colorful staff, a menu smaller than some neighborhood lemonade stands, and one indescribably succulent french dip sandwich able of sending diners into a whole new headspace.   

According to Tony, the very friendly fellow who describes himself as the front counter person and "the closest thing we have to a manager," this version of the french dip comes out of Las Angeles, where the owner got the idea to bring this tender and juicy sandwich to Seattle.   

Known as the home of the French Dip, Los Angeles boasts french dip rival eateries Philippe's and Cole's. They've been arguing since 1908 over which one was the first to bring forth the french dip (originally "French Dipped"), with no resolution to the question in sight.

Tony's has a sense of humor, and got a big laugh from us when fielding a question from a large gaggle of customers. A giant sign outside the tiny shop says "Rizzo's French Dip", and when the group asked "do you have French Dip sandwiches?" Tony smiled a big warm smile, and said, "no, we don't have French Dip sandwiches here. That sign is not correct." The customers paused for a moment, looked at each other, and then the whole room, including Tony, burst into laughter as the ice was broken.

We fought off the urge at this feel-good moment to shout out "ring the bell Tony, French Dips all around!"  

The menu now features French Dip sandwiches, French Dip sandwiches and French Dip sandwiches. For six bucks, this baby sings a song of beefy freedom heard from one end of Ballard to the other.

Served steaming and moist on a soft version of a baguette, honest meat is piled high, sliced thin, with the look, feel, and taste of minimally processed beef sliced from a actual steer. This is stranding that can't be reconstituted.   

Rizzo's dips come double-dipped, meaning that the bottom bread and the meat are pre-dipped in some of the zestiest au jus in the 98117 zip code. Kissed with the floral fragrance, which can only come from garlic, the au jus lacks the sodium blast found in more pedestrian dipping broths. In fact, this is not a broth at all, but instead comes from the drippings of the cooked meat, the only way LA-style dips come. 

When ordering, diners are asked if they'd like the sandwich "triple-dipped." This means that in addition to the bottom bread and meat, the top bread is also dunked quickly in dip. We chose the more restrained standard double dipping, and were pleased to have a drier top bread. Keeping the whole thing more manageable and easy to handle.  

With each sandwich comes complementary macaroni salad, served nicely chilled, and undeniably hand made. Modestly mayo-ed, and with bits of carrot and onion, it evokes the wonderful Hawaiian style mac salad found at Hawaiian restaurants in Seattle. Spicy mustard, horseradish, and extra au jus are all available on the house, and cheese squirts (a la Philly cheese steaks) can be had for an additional 75 cents. 

Front-person Tony noted that chili is also available one day a week, after being cooked in a three day process, resulting in what he described as a multi-meat elixir worthy of wowing even the pickiest chili buff. Word is that they may be adding a few additional sandwiches. But for our money, the simpler they can keep the menu, the better off all of us are.

Why not have a destination French Dip shop, summoning diners from all over the region? We never realized it before, but Rizzo's has taught us something about our smoldering love for the French Dip, and in doing so, has taught us a little about ourselves. We've now concluded that before we ate at Rizzo's, we'd really never had a real French Dip sandwich.  

The Ballard Food Police visit all establishments anonymously and pay for all food and drink in full. Know anything we should know? Tell the Ballard Food Police at ballardfoodpolice@gmail.com.