LEVEL 1 — PLATE AND KNIFE

ROAST BEEF

A classic, comforting treat, the roast beef sandwich has been a Boston-area specialty since the 1950s. But it’s been in existence long before that. Roast beef goes all the way back to jolly old England, where it’s been eaten for at least two centuries. (It’s the nation’s signature dish.) And who can blame them? An easy-to-customize roast beef sandwich, like this beef and cheddar version, is something you want to take credit for.

SANDWICH FACTS

• A recipe for “Beefsteak Toast” — an early version of the roast beef sandwich — is published in 1877.
• Arby’s actually stands for R.B., the initials of the Raffel brothers — and coincidentally, roast beef.
• Kelly’s Roast Beef, a Boston-area restaurant, claims to have invented the roast beef sandwich in 1951.
• Roast beef sandwiches can be eaten hot or cold!
• In 1964, Arby’s was founded, taking the roast beef sandwich mainstream — or at least making it fast food.
• The Raffel brothers, the founders of Arby’s, were inspired by a $0.79 roast beef sandwich, which they found at a Boston-area sandwich shop one rainy Halloween night.

BETWEEN THE BREAD

VARIATIONS

Other variations of the roast beef sandwich are: Corned Beef, Pastrami, French Dip and Beef on Weck.

The Beef on Weck is typically found in western New York and is a regional take on the traditional roast beef sandwich. This version is made with rare, thinly sliced roast beef and horseradish piled on a kummelweck roll — a kaiser roll topped with pretzel salt and caraway seeds.