Brooklyn Dip & Burger opens in East Meadow serving legendary Brooklyn-born roast-beef sandwich
Brooklyn Dip & Burger, East Meadow: This new fast casual eatery brings Brooklyn's legendary Brennan & Carr roast beef sandwich to Long Island, plus wings, personal pizzas and more. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
Among Brooklyn’s contributions to world beef culture are the Nathan’s hot dog, the Peter Luger porterhouse and the somewhat lesser-known roast-beef sandwich at Brennan & Carr. Since 1938, this free-standing, vaguely Tudor-style restaurant in Sheepshead Bay has been piling slices of beef inside kaiser rolls and dousing the works with a powerful “jus” that renders the sandwich almost impossible to hold.
Now this culinary colossus has made its way 30 miles east to a modest East Meadow strip mall where Brooklyn Dip & Burger has quietly opened for business. Owner Matt O’Hara, a former finance guy, had been working on a high-end fast-casual restaurant concept for a few years. He just happens to be friendly with the Sullivan family that owns Brennan & Carr, and they just happened to offer him the use of their sandwich to help him out.
There’s no financial arrangement between the two establishments; no royalties paid or further collaborations planned. But Brooklyn Dip is using the same cut of meat, top round, for the roasts, the same secret blend of other cuts to make the savory jus, and a very similar roll that can withstand being drenched. You can order your “famous Brennan & Carr roast beef sandwich” ($11.95) dry, you can order it without the recommended slice of American cheese. But why would you?
Right now there’s also a roast pork dip ($11.75) on the menu, and O’Hara hopes to expand into turkey, pork belly and more.
The rest of the menu is based on O’Hara’s decades of cooking and eating around the globe. Starters include Memphis dry-rubbed wings, a giant Bavarian pretzel, clam chowder and mac & cheese. There’s a BLT wedge and grilled-chicken Caesar salad, a personal pizza, hot dogs, burgers, fried chicken sandwiches and fries (classic, Cajun, cheese or Parmesan-truffled). Starters are $7 to $11; nothing on the menu costs more than $13. From the bar: signature cocktails, a small selection of wines and beers (bottled and on tap). For dessert: milkshakes.
The décor is sports-bar-meets-gastropub, with games on the TV over the bar and big photos of Brooklyn on the walls.
Brooklyn Dip & Burger is open Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner at 1850 Front St., East Meadow, 516-222-8000.
