REVIEW

When they say Pig & Ox Roast, they’re not kidding (well, they are kidding just a little: they roast beef, not oxen, which are actually the same creature, the latter being trained and used as draft animals). Check out the long window along one side of the dining room, through which you can inspect the huge roasting contraption. If you come at the right time, you’ll see the hunks of meat (which include lamb and turkey, too) slowly becoming the stuff of which these fine sandwiches are made.

You can see the meat’s juices soaking into the roll below.

The beef is served on kummelweck, the caraway- and salt-spangled bun, only if you specifically ask for it. These are not delicate, rosy slices of beef, but meat that is cooked through and piled high, tender and super-moist, reminding us a little of good pot roast. Add some horseradish from the jar at the self-serve counter and you’ve got yourself some good eating.

If you want your sandwich served on kummelweck, ask for it specifically.

Alongside, don’t miss out on Steve’s fresh-cut curly-Q fries, bargain-priced and served in prodigious quantities. You can also get potato or macaroni salad, soups and chili, and pies for dessert, all homemade. And, of course, a tall, icy cup of loganberry to go with.

The word “Homemade” is sprinkled all over the menu. (Prices have gone up since this old photo.)

Steve’s is truly a local place and we’d hazard a guess that perhaps 95% of their business comes from the neighborhood. They do a lot of takeout business, but there is a comfortable dining area, and some covered outdoor seating, too.

If you look closely you can see the coals still glowing in the roaster.

There are a couple of outdoor tables should you care to dine al fresco.

LAF TRAK: 

FOOD: 

BEST THING TO EAT: Beef on weck

We don’t know who voted Steve’s the best beef-on-weck, or when, but as far as we’re concerned, Steve’s makes one of the best.