It is usually served plain but a popular variation is to top with Swiss cheese, onions, and a dipping container of beef broth produced from the cooking process (termed au jus, "with juice").

Two Los Angeles restaurants have claimed to be the birthplace of the French dip sandwich: Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet[1] and Philippe the Original.

[1][2] Philippe's website describes the dish as a "specialty of the house", and the words "Home of the Original French Dip Sandwich" are present in the restaurant's logo.

Still others say that a chef dipped a sandwich into a pan of meat drippings after a customer complained that the bread was stale.

Cole's account states that the sandwich was invented by a sympathetic chef, Jack Garlinghouse,[3][4] for a customer who was complaining of sore gums.