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Does this look like the secret to the (new) French dip?

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Downtown’s restored Cole’s is scheduled to open in November (a street fair is planned for Nov. 16 to celebrate the L.A. institution’s 100-year anniversary), and consulting chef Neal Fraser will be reintroducing the restaurant’s signature French dip sandwich. (Along with the beef French dip, there will be lamb, turkey and pork).

The key to a succulent French dip? ‘Some state-of-the-art devices,’ Fraser says. Namely, combi ovens that both roast and steam. (The OGS-10.20 Convotherm combi oven steamer from Cleveland Range is pictured at left). ‘They roast at very high heat and then finish with low heat with a very high moisture content. You can get a good crust and the meat also stays moist, tender, juicy and warm at a low controlled temperature.’

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We also hear that the burgers at chef Govind Armstrong’s 8 oz. are cooked with a Winston Industries Cvap -- a ‘cook-and-hold’ multi-functioning oven used by chefs such as Wylie Dufresne and Michel Richard. It’s what Richard uses to cook his 72-hour short ribs. You can get sous vide results without the controversial anaerobic environment of vacuum-sealed plastic -- look, Ma, no bag!

-- Betty Hallock

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