The Discontinued Denny's Melt That Needs To Come Back To The Menu

In 2021, Denny's officially announced the debut of the Big Dipper Melt, its take on the French dip sandwich consisting of melt-in-your-mouth pot roast, Swiss cheese, mayonnaise, and caramelized onions on Texas toast, served with a cup of au jus for dipping. The sandwich was a hit among diners and even made it onto menus in the chain's Mexico locations. By 2023, diners were already reporting that the Big Dipper Melt was no longer available at their local Denny's locations, and the sandwich eventually disappeared from the menu altogether. However, it's something the chain of diner-style restaurants should revive.

The mayonnaise and Swiss cheese mixed to create a creamy sauce akin to a fondue; the caramelized onions gave it a hit of umami that accented the tender braised beef while also providing a sweet contrast; the crisp, buttery Texas toast was the perfect vehicle for the rich fillings. Dipped into the accompanying classic au jus — a fancy French term for savory meat drippings — the sandwich transformed into the perfect handheld comfort food and was so much more than the sum of its parts. "I found my new favorite sandwich," one reviewer exclaimed after dipping and biting into it (via YouTube). "I loved this[,] and it's gone now," one Redditor complained on a thread about the Big Dipper.

Denny's did replace the Big Dipper Melt with another similar sandwich, but it can feel a bit like a consolation prize compared to the indulgent classic. The Pot Roast Melt still includes the pot-roasted beef and caramelized onions of Denny's defunct Big Dipper but eschews the mayonnaise and replaces the Swiss cheese with sharp white cheddar and the Texas toast with slices of grilled sourdough bread. The biggest element missing from the new sandwich is what made the Big Dipper melt a dipper — the au jus dipping sauce.

Even though Denny's is a chain restaurant with standardized recipes, it's still technically a diner, and any diner worth its salt will let you customize your order within reason, provided that they have the ingredients and that you're willing to pay a little extra. You can modify Denny's Pot Roast Melt to get something close to the gone-but-not-forgotten Big Dipper Melt. First of all, be kind to your server and be aware that requesting these modifications may come off as poor etiquette, and your server may refuse to help you create this "frankensandwich" — especially if you aren't polite. 

Ask if you can replace the sharp white cheddar cheese with Swiss cheese, which appears on several of Denny's other sandwiches. Also, ask if the kitchen can add mayonnaise to the sandwich. A side of mayonnaise for you to add to your sandwich after it has been assembled won't quite work to create that gooey fondue-like filling. If your server concedes, ask if they can ladle a bit of the pot roast cooking liquid into a cup for you as a makeshift au jus.

Now, you're almost there. The final element is the bread, and unfortunately, Denny's has taken Texas toast off the menu. However, you can still get white toast with the breakfast menu, which is a little closer in texture to Texas toast. Ask if they can replace the sourdough bread with buttered white toast. The end result won't be exactly the same, and you may have to leave a generous tip on top of paying a few surcharges, but maybe Denny's will get the message and bring back the Big Dipper Melt.