Wicked local. Always rare.
Unwrap a Three-Way on the seawall in Swampscott. The paper’s still warm and the James River is already soaking through one corner. Don’t look away. The seagulls know exactly what you’re holding.
Philly has the cheesesteak and Chicago has Italian beef. On the North Shore, nobody calls it a North Shore roast beef sandwich. You order a Beef.
Rare roast beef, sliced thin and piled hot on a toasted, buttered roll. Ask for a Three-Way and the counter adds extra-heavy mayo, James River BBQ sauce and white American cheese.
Here’s what’s on a Three-Way, and how it stacks up against the beef other cities claim. New to Beefs? Start with The North Shore Roast Beef Guide.
What’s on a North Shore Three-Way
The toppings get the attention, but the roast comes first.
The beef: rare and sliced thin
Shops roast the beef rare and slice it to order, thin enough that it falls off the slicer in loose ribbons. This isn’t the cold roast beef from the deli case.
Most shops use top or bottom round, lean cuts that hold together under the blade. Done right, you can bite clean through the pile without dragging it out of the roll.
Piled high, sauce on top.
The roll: soft, buttered and toasted
The cut sides get buttered and lightly toasted, and the rest of the roll stays soft.
A Super, usually the biggest size, often comes on an onion roll. Smaller sizes go on a plain bun or a bulkie, depending on the shop. Piantedosi, the fourth-generation hearth bakery in Malden, makes a Gourmet Burger Roll that some Beef shops use.
The cheese: white American
White American goes on the bottom bun and melts under the hot beef. Nobody orders a Three-Way for the cheese, but nobody leaves it off either.
The sauce: James River
James River is what gives a Three-Way its tangy, slightly sweet bite. The sauce takes its name from the James River in Virginia, where Smithfield first made it, a long way from Beef Country. It soaks into the beef and the roll.
North of Boston, it’s James River or nothing. Swap in any other barbecue sauce and it isn’t a Three-Way. If you like yours saucier, ask for extra.
The sauce has its own local history, including a tie to Bill & Bob’s in Salem. For the full story, read Why James River BBQ Sauce Goes on a Three-Way.
Straight from the bottle.
The mayo: extra-heavy
Extra-heavy is thicker than regular mayo, so it spreads across the top bun without sliding off and meets the James River somewhere in the middle.
The name describes the mayo, not the portion. Hellmann’s makes its Extra Heavy with more egg yolks. If you want more on your sandwich, just ask.
How to Build a Three-Way
Every shop has its own routine. Here’s the usual build:
- Butter and griddle the roll.
- White American on the bottom bun.
- Pile on the hot beef.
- Pour on the James River.
- Extra-heavy mayo on the top bun.
Wrap it up tight.
Bottom to top. Cheese first, mayo last.
How a Beef Stacks Up
Other cities have their own beef sandwich, and not all of them use roast beef. A real Beef comes from Beef Country, 66 cities and towns north of Boston.
Philly Cheesesteak
In Philly, thin-sliced steak hits the flat-top and goes into a long roll with Whiz, American or provolone. Say “wit” and you get onions. Pat and Harry Olivieri, the brothers behind Pat’s King of Steaks, sold their first steak sandwiches with no cheese at all.
Chicago Italian Beef
Order an Italian beef dipped in Chicago and the whole sandwich goes into the gravy, the seasoned juices the roast cooked in. You can also order it dry or wet, with sweet peppers or hot giardiniera on top. Al’s #1 Italian Beef, a Chicago stand since 1938, traces its recipe to a wedding where thinner slices stretched the roast to feed more guests. Kelly’s Roast Beef in Revere has a wedding story too, and it starts with a cancellation.
New York Pastrami on Rye
New York’s pastrami is beef that’s cured and smoked long before it meets the rye. At Katz’s Delicatessen on the Lower East Side, it’s boiled, held in steam and carved by hand, then served hot with mustard.
Buffalo Beef on Weck
Buffalo’s beef on weck is the Beef’s closest cousin. The rare roast beef, sliced thin, could pass at any North Shore counter, but the roll gives it away. A kummelweck is crusted with coarse salt and caraway (kummel is German for caraway, and weck means roll), and the top bun gets dipped in beef juice, with horseradish on the side. A Three-Way gets its tang from James River. Beef on weck gets its bite from the horseradish and the salt.
The home team.
Quick Answers
What makes a Beef a Three-Way?
A Three-Way is a North Shore roast beef sandwich with extra-heavy mayo, James River BBQ sauce and white American cheese. Three-Way describes the toppings, not the size.
Is a North Shore Three-Way the same as a Cincinnati three-way?
No. A Cincinnati three-way is chili over spaghetti with shredded cheese. A North Shore Three-Way is a roast beef sandwich, known locally as a Beef.
How is a Beef different from a Philly cheesesteak?
A cheesesteak uses thin-sliced steak cooked on a griddle and served in a long roll with cheese. A North Shore Beef is sliced from a roast cooked rare and served on a toasted, buttered roll.
Is a North Shore Beef the same as a Chicago Italian beef?
No. Chicago Italian beef is served with seasoned juice, called gravy, and topped with sweet peppers or hot giardiniera. A North Shore Beef is rare roast beef on a toasted, buttered roll, with no gravy.
What sandwich is closest to a North Shore Beef?
Buffalo’s beef on weck: rare roast beef sliced thin on a salt-and-caraway kummelweck roll, with beef juice and horseradish instead of mayo and James River.
Eat It Warm
Eat it on the seawall or in the parking lot while the beef is warm and the roll still has some toast to it. The ride home can wait.
We don’t sell Beefs. We make tees, caps and sweatshirts for the people who love them.
The Gold Standard and The Clutch, hung on the harbor rail.
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Saucy. Slightly salty. That’s how we roll.
Beef On™
