"french dip" news and stories

Once again, it's time for the World Wide Food (WWF) Smackdown - a totally unscientific, wholly biased and completely personal, opinionated, non-blind taste test between some Chicago places I tried on a recent trip and relatively similar places in LA. If you've been following along, you know Chicago is up 2 to 1 for both Rick Bayless' kicking the Too Hot tamales' butts, and PJ Clarke's beer battered vegetables stomping all over Finn McCool's calamari. LA's one point comes from Pink's, though they might have to surrender that point since Portillo's just opened in Orange County.

Today, beef sandwiches go head to head in a battle of epicurean European proportions. The West Coast offers Philippe's in downtown LA, the home of the original French Dip, and the Midwest doesn't hold back with Italian beef from Mr. Beef in Chicago.

There are a few food places in LA that are sort of "historical" that are on my To-Dine List. I've already hit up Pink's the hot dog stand in Hollywood, and atea doughnut from the very recognizable Randy's Donuts off the 405 freeway near LAX. A few weeks ago, I finally got to try Philippe's in downtown LA, the birthplace of the French Dip sandwich.

Philippe Mathieu opened the restaurant in 1908. It was 10 years later, in 1918, that the French Dip sandwich was born when Philippe accidentally dropped the French roll for a policeman's sandwich in the pan full of fresh, hot gravy. Since the policeman was in a hurry, he took the soggy sandwich anyway. The next day, he came back with his buddies, asking for the "dipped" beef sandwich.

I went to Philippe's late in the day because I had heard how incredibly crowded it gets at peak lunch hours, but even atalmost 4:00 in the afternoon, I had to wait in line for a good 15 minutes!I ordered a regular beef French Dip. The roll was crusty and chewy on the outside, soaked with the juices on the inside, and overall, the sandwich was pretty good, though the meat was drier than I thought it would be. I will say, however, that the best part of the sandwich is the hot mustard.

The sandwich comes out plain (or with cheese if you order it), but there are plastic jars of fairly innocuous looking mustard on the tables. Be warned! It is very very very spicy. I am a heat freak (Korean, you know), and the mustard made my eyes water. If only for that mustard, I will be back to Philippe's. 

Philippe The Original
1001 N. Alameda St. (@Ord St.)
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 628-3781