The SouthCoast Needs a Roast Beef Revolution

I love living on the SouthCoast – until there’s some place I want to go that is a hike from the Greater New Bedford-Fall River area.

That’s how I feel when I’m scrolling through Facebook or Instagram and I see all the amazing photos from some of the places that are serving up eye-popping North Shore Beefs.

If you’re not familiar with the idea of a North Shore Beef, it’s something I wrote about three years ago, and they’ve only gained popularity since then thanks to the North Shore Beefs Facebook group and the media coverage it has received.

What Is a North Shore Beef?

Basically, a North Shore Beef is a roast beef sandwich that is so thinly sliced, the meat practically crumbles. It’s also cooked rare, but warmed before it is placed on a grilled bun (preferably an onion bulky roll).

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The best way to order one is a “three-way,” which features American cheese (always on the bottom for a true NSB), mayo (always on the top) and a heavy dose of James River BBQ sauce. It has to be James River – lovingly referred to as “Jimmy” by seasoned beefers – for it to count.

However, in the years since my last beef article, many shops have come up with new concoctions using special sauces, various cheeses and whatever other tweaks they can think up to revolutionize the NSB game.

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A post shared by Londi's Roast Beef (@londisroastbeef)

How Far Do You Need to Go to Get a North Shore Beef?

Perhaps the closest thing to a NSB you can get on a regular basis here on the SouthCoast is from Pizza Boy in Wareham. They do it right over there, executing a three-way to perfection, but they’re not piling the meat as high as you see at some of the places north of Boston.

Pandolfi's Mattapoisett Diner has offered them in the past as well, but they haven't stuck as a regular menu attraction just yet.

Instead, you’ve got to make the trek to the North Shore itself, to places like Peabody, Danvers and the like in order to get yourself a monster beef like they serve up at Londi’s or Modern Butcher.

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A post shared by The Modern Butcher (@themodernbutchershop)

Why Can’t We Get Beefs Like That?

Sorry to paraphrase the great Bob Lobel, but really, why can’t we get beefs like that down here? All it would take is for one local restaurant to start seriously getting into the beef game – like how South Shore Bar Pizza finally began to take hold on the SouthCoast in recent years – and it would be a roast beef revolution.

Perhaps one of those successful beeferies up on the North Shore will consider expanding further south and beefing up our sandwich options here on the SouthCoast.

If you do it up right, I can guarantee you at least one regular customer – but don’t forget the Jimmy.

Oh, and please – don't send us an Arby's instead.

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A post shared by Jamie's Roast Beef (@jamiesroastbeef)

North Shore Roast Beef Places Worth the Drive

North Shore roast beef is its own kind of special sandwich. From the thin-sliced rare beef to the toasted bun, it may seem easily replicable, but not very roast beef sandwich is a North Shore roast beef sandwich. The best way to order one is as a "three-way" with James River BBQ sauce, American cheese and mayo. Here are some of the spots that our listeners say do it the best.

Gallery Credit: Tim Weisberg

The Best of South Shore Bar Pizza

There's pizza, and then there's South Shore Bar Pizza. Birthed in Brockton (and to this writer, perfected in Randolph – Lynwood Café is the true G.O.A.T.), it must meet certain qualifications to be considered "SSBP," which include: it's a 10-inch pie; it has a thin, cracker-like crust with minimal "flop;" the cheese is a blend that features more cheddar than mozzarella; and bonus points if you take it home between two carboard-type plates wrapped in flat brown paper bag. They also usually come with "laced" or "burnt" edges (terminology depends on where you are ordering), which is when the sauce and cheese are extended all the way to the edge of the pan, creating a crispy, flavorful coating to the crust. We reached out to the hugely popular South Shore Bar Pizza Social Club Facebook group to ask the experts to share the best of the best (in no particular order).

Gallery Credit: Tim Weisberg

The SouthCoast Hot Wing Project

WBSM's Tim Weisberg and his son Adam spent six months touring the SouthCoast area from New Bedford to Fall River to Dartmouth to Norton and beyond, trying some of the supposed hottest wings around – and also gave some other unique wing flavors a shot, too. Sadly, not all of them are still around, but the project lives on in spicy infamy.

Gallery Credit: Tim Weisberg

Categories: Articles, Food