USA TODAY International Edition
Beef on weck: Buffalo’s other culinary gift
The home of wings also introduced this iconic sandwich
scene: Buffalo’s most famous local specialty undoubtedly is the hot wing, which spread from here to almost every corner of the globe. But locals have another heartfelt favorite that hasn’t made it as far, though it is certainly deserving of admiration: the “beef on weck” sandwich.
While no one eatery can claim to have created this specialty, and it appears on menus all over town, if you ask most locals, the undisputed spiritual home of beef on weck in the region is Charlie the Butcher’s Kitchen, a meatcentric shop that specializes in the sandwich and other sliced meat concoctions. The eatery sits conveniently outside the city’s airport, just a mile from the terminal and perfect for a first or last meal when visiting Buffalo.
Charlie’s has been an institution here since 1914, and now is in the hands of the third generation of owners, all named Charlie Roesch, with different middle names. The place is simple — you look at overhead menu boards, order at the counter, which offers a close-up view of the process in the open kitchen immediately behind it. The meat slicing is done by hand on cutting boards right in front of you. You move around the corner to pay at the single register, then sit in Formica booths at simple tables topped with floral tablecloths, or alternatively at bar stool counter seating. It feels like a combination of a fast-food eatery and food market, and there are half a dozen smaller Charlie’s Express locations, including one where the city’s NFL team, the Bills, play in suburban Orchard Park. There also is a seasonal stand dispensing just Beef on Weck sandwiches at Coca-Cola Field, home of the city’s popular minor league baseball team, the Bisons.
Charlie’s is not the only place you can try beef on weck. Another local favorite is Bar Bill, a neighborhood tavern in East Aurora, which routinely wins various local newspaper and magazine Best of Buffalo awards for its wings. While overlooked by most out-of-town visitors, the specialty also is featured on the sandwich menu at the worldfamous Anchor Bar, where the Buffalo wing was invented and a pilgrimage spot for road-food fans. It’s a longtime fixture at Schwabl’s, a German restaurant that has been here for more than a century and a half. Beef on weck is on just about every bar menu around town. There are even nouveau riffs on the classic: at The Ward, a large brewpub/ sports bar on the river, the dish is transformed into an appetizer.
Reason to visit: Beef on Weck sandwich
The food: Long a beer brewing town, Buffalo had a sizable German immigrant population, and the story goes that sometime
around 1880, a pretzel vendor sought to expand his repertoire beyond pretzels. He borrowed the classic seasoning of pretzel salt from his main product, incorporated the caraway seeds used in another popular baked good, rye bread, and put both these strongly flavored ingredients on top of a Kaiser roll. This creation was known as a kimmelweck roll, and has since been shortened to just weck. The creator sliced it in half, filled it with sliced roast beef, added a dollop of spicy horseradish, and voila, the beef on weck was born. While some spots serve the city’s most famous sandwich on other breads or plain rolls, this bun is indispensable to the traditional version.
A classic example of America’s melting pot and inventive nature at work, apparently the sandwich has no equivalent or roots in German cuisine. Charlie’s current owner, Charlie W. Roesch, is the semi-official ambassador of beef on weck and has done demonstrations on TV and at food shows around the world, spreading the gospel of the city’s second most famous dish. “I went to Dusseldorf and demonstrated it and the Germans looked at me like I was nuts,” he recalls.
At Charlie’s, the roast beef is cooked slowly at 250°F until it reaches an internal temperature of 100°F, then the heat is lowered and the beef cooks for another 10-12 hours. The process takes 18 hours and results in sliced meat that is extremely tender. Here they slice the roll, hand cut the meat in front of you to order then dip the top half of the roll in au jus. You add horseradish to taste.
The salty roll is a good contrast to the beef, and the horseradish adds noticeable kick, though it is not as hot as you might think. Charlie’s has sourced the rolls from a local bakery for many years. The salt makes the bread dry out quickly, so the rolls last just a couple of hours requiring multiple batch deliveries throughout the day. It’s a hearty sandwich, and you can also get a “mini” for a dollar less. Charlie’s also specializes in roast turkey sandwiches and grilled sausages of all sorts.
The acclaimed version at Bar Bill packs on even more sliced beef but the roll — at Charlie’s, an integral part of the sandwich — is merely an accessory to the beef.
The city’s most interesting take is the beef on weck dip at The Ward, which chops up the roast beef and mixes it with horseradish, then adds cheddar, Monterey jack and cream cheeses, and bakes it until bubbling in a ceramic dish.
Pilgrimage-worthy?: Yes, this is one of the most distinctive and enduring of America’s regional sandwiches.
Rating: Yum! (Scale: Blah, OK, Mmmm, Yum!, OMG!)
Price: $ ($ cheap, $$ moderate, $$$ expensive)
Details: Charlie the Butcher’s Kitchen, 1065 Wehrle Drive, Buffalo; 716-633-8330; charliethebutcher.com