Frankie’s on Franklin October Sandwich of the Month: Cheesesteak Focaccia
When I’m working in the office, I stop at Frankie’s on Franklin for my regular coffee. It’s a reliable café for good coffee, and if you’re looking for breakfast, their croissant Benedict is worth it.
On this visit, however, I was there for something different: October’s sandwich of the month, a cheesesteak served on focaccia.
After seeing the sandwich on Frankie’s Instagram, I decided it was time to try it.
A Cheesesteak That Gets the Balance Right
The first thing I noticed was the focaccia. It was soft and fresh, with an open crumb and a lightly crisp exterior. Importantly, it had enough structure to hold the filling without becoming soggy or falling apart halfway through the meal.
Inside, the sandwich was packed with thinly sliced beef, green capsicum, onion, and melted cheese. The beef was the standout part. It was tender, juicy, and full of flavour. The seasoning was well judged, and I particularly enjoyed the generous scattering of flaky salt on the focaccia, which added texture and a pleasant savoury note to each bite.
The cheese complemented the beef rather than overwhelming it. A little cheese pull when lifting the sandwich apart was satisfying, but it never crossed into a gooey mess. The balance between the meat and cheese felt sensible and restrained.
Not Forgetting the Vegetables
Cheesesteaks can sometimes treat vegetables as an afterthought. That wasn’t the case here.
The sandwich had a reasonable amount of green capsicum throughout, along with softened onions. The vegetables added sweetness, texture, and freshness that helped break up the richness of the beef and cheese. Anyone who appreciates a bit of greenery in their sandwich should be happy with the proportion.
A Coffee on the Side
To go with the sandwich, I ordered a mug of Frankie’s full-cream milk cappuccino coffee.
The large mug was topped with a generous dusting of chocolate powder and provided a comforting accompaniment to lunch. The milk-based coffee paired well with the cheesesteak’s savoury flavours, making for an enjoyable meal without feeling overly heavy.
No Leftovers
One photograph shows the aftermath: an empty plate lined with Frankie’s branded paper.
That’s usually a good sign. No leftovers, no abandoned crusts, and no regrets. The sandwich disappeared rather quickly.
Final Thoughts
Frankie’s October sandwich of the month is a well-executed cheesesteak focaccia that prioritises balance over excess.
The beef is tender and flavourful, the cheese is present without dominating, and the vegetables contribute more than colour. Combined with fresh focaccia and thoughtful seasoning, it makes for a satisfying lunch choice.
If you’re already stopping at Frankie’s on Franklin for coffee, it may be worth adding this sandwich to your order while it’s available.
In the old days (when I was fat[i]), I would cook corned[ii] beef[iii] with vegetables, mustard, garlic, onions, and additives like Worcestershire sauce. I’d eat it with a white sauce made with refined (read ultra-processed) white flour. I usually have boiled potatoes or potato mash with corned beef and white sauce.
More recently, if I want corned beef, I buy it in a can[iv] and make a corned beef hash (sans spuds[v] and onions). A lot of people give me a condescending attitude when I mention my consumption of canned corned beef. Their scorn and derision humour me.
This version is simple and is a low-carbohydrate, minimalist version of corned beef. Apart from the fat sandwich of course. 😉
Microsoft Copilot generated image of me with a plate of corned beef, white sauce, and potato mash.
Unwrap the meat and wash it under running tap water to remove the brine and sugar.
Place the beef into the cooking vessel.
Add a cup of water.
Slowly cook on low heat for eight hours.
Remove the meat from the slow cooker.
Pass the cooking liquor[vii] through a sieve and refrigerate the broth.
With gloved hands, gently dissect the fat from the flesh using fingers to separate the layer of fat according to the fascial plane.
The fat layer makes for a fantastic sandwich on lavishly buttered white sourdough bread[viii]. There’s nothing like the sensation of the beef fat dripping down your hands and forearms as you slowly take bites from the sandwich and masticate the unctuous beef fat. The only reaction you can have is to smile.
Place the beef into a container and seal it. Refrigerate the meat.
Cut the cold meat into lunch-sized portions.
Dice a portion of cold corned beef and place the diced meat in a frypan.
Add beef broth or water to the frypan and bring it to a simmer until the meat fibres start to separate and soften.
After the water has mostly evaporated, turn off the heat, add a dash of cream and stir.
Beef silverside fat sandwich.
Ingredients
Cooked corned beef.
Frozen sourdough baguette — thawed.
Grass-fed butter
Freshly cracked pepper corns
Dijon mustard
Instructions
Trowel butter onto a piece of thawed sourdough bread. Freezing sourdough bread develops resistant starch.
Add dollops of Dijon mustard.
Apply a layer of warm fat.
Season with freshly cracked peppercorns.
Cover your lap with a large dish drying cloth and wear a bib.
Roll up your sleeves and get stuck into the sandwich.
Rejoice in the feeling of the fat running down your chin and down your forearms.
These are a gallery of photographs. Select one image and scroll through the rest.
Thoughts on the meal
I enjoy corned beef hash[x]; it’s a dish I grew up with. Among many other meals, my dad would often make it. He learned to prepare it during his boyhood in the South Pacific during World War II, where fresh meat was hard to come by. The only options available were tinned meat or local game.
A piece of corned silverside is an affordable option for bulk meat in lunches.
This piece of beef cost approximately $AUD20, or $AUD10/kilogram. If I can get four meals (possibly six meals), it will work out to about $AUD5/meal.
The first meal (the fat sandwich) for this piece of beef brought back some great memories when Mum would make corned beef and I’d get the fat and make a sandwich. I savoured every bite of this open sandwich and enjoyed the contrasting flavours of the pickle.
Questions
Do you like corned beef?
Do you like fat sandwiches?
How would you make a fat sandwich?
Stay tuned
I’ll add photographs of how I use the rest of the beef during the week.
Endnotesꜜ
[i] The modern clinical term is “clinical adiposity.” I prefer the term fat because it is universally understood.
[ii] The term corned comes from the old English word corn, which referred to small, hard particles—not just cereal grains. In the case of corned beef, it refers to the large-grained rock salt (sometimes called “corns” of salt) used in the curing process.
[iii] Corned beef is a type of salt-cured beef, traditionally made from brisket.
[iv] Canned corned beef is a shelf-stable meat product made primarily from beef, but it includes ingredients to preserve flavour and texture. The ingredients include sodium nitrite, added salt, and a small amount of sugar (which is disappointing). Cooking can convert the nitrites to nitrates.
[v] “Spud” is a casual or slang term for a potato. For example, “baked spud” or “mashed spuds.” It is used in many English-speaking countries.
[vi]Beef silverside is a lean, boneless cut of beef taken from the hindquarter of the cow, specifically from the top portion of the round primal, just above the leg muscles. It’s known for its coarse grain and minimal marbling, which makes it a budget-friendly and versatile option in many cuisines.
[viii] Bread is high carbohydrate and not part of a low carbohydrate diet.
[ix] A note about the images used in this post. The featured image and a couple of other images were generated with Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT. I’m conscious that there are some bloggers and readers who oppose the use of large language models for generating content. I’m comfortable with using large language models to help with content on YummyLummy.com
[x] Corned beef hash is a hearty, savoury dish made by combining chopped or shredded corned beef with diced potatoes and onions, then frying the mixture until it’s golden and crispy. It’s a classic comfort food with roots in frugal cooking—originally designed to use up leftovers, especially from a corned beef dinner.
