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The Best Western New York Sandwich: Beef on Weck
Regional foods rock when you need comfort
Imagine this: a stack of tender, slow-roasted, lean roast beef on a handmade roll topped with caraway seeds and coarse salt.
It is a perennial favorite in Buffalo, New York, and the surrounding suburbs. When we lived in Buffalo, we often had these sandwiches. They are considered standard Buffalo fare, along with the beloved chicken wings.
History tells us that a German immigrant was the first to serve these sandwiches in Buffalo. Weck is a southern German nickname for a Kummelweck roll.
Joel Gohn opened a boarding house/tavern in Buffalo on Delaware and Delevan just before the Pan-American Exposition in 1901. He employed a German baker who suggested the salt and caraway seeds be added to a roast beef sandwich to induce the tavern visitors to drink more beer.
The sandwich was a hit and continues to be served in many restaurants in the Buffalo area. Certain components must be together to have the sandwich be Beef on Weck.
It’s tender roast beef, shaved thin, not overcooked. The kummelweck roll with a hard shell coated with salt and caraway but soft inside. Horseradish sauce or cream which is usually served on the side — I smear this all over the sandwich — as it gives…
