APRIL 13TH :: LA
From the East Coast to the West Coast …. Welcome to LA!
Whether you’re here to find your big break or catch the Angels and Lakers in action, one thing is for sure …. There’s no shortage of fantastic food finds in the “Entertainment Capital of the World”. But before you go all Hollywood by dining at Chateau Marmont or Ivy there’s one thing you have to try first :: Authentic French Dip.
It’s a little know fact but this simple hot sandwich consisting of thinly sliced roast beef served au jus (with juice) has its origins in The Hills. In fact, two restaurants claim to have invented it.
Cole’s Pacific Electric Buffet // Philippe The Original
As to who was first, well, we will never really know for sure. Yes, both restaurants were established in 1908. However, Cole’s claims to have invented the sandwich shortly after the restaurant opened in 1908, while Philippe’s claims that owner Philippe Mathieu created it in 1918.
COLE’S PACIFIC ELECTRIC BUFFET
Located at 118 East 6th Street in the Historic Core district of downtown LA, Cole’s had bragged about being the oldest restaurant and bar in the city until it closed for remodeling in March 2007.
How was Cole’s French Dip was invented? … As written on their menu to this day … Back in 1908, “Jack Garlington, Cole’s house chef, dips French bread in au jus to soften it for a customer with bad gums.” Interesting solution to dental issues.
PHILIPPE’S THE ORIGINAL
Located at 1001 N. Alameda Street, in the Historical District of Los Angeles, Philippe’s has been serving hungry patrons since it opened in 1908 and then relocated in 1951. But don’t expect any white table cloth treatment here. At Philippe’s meals are served cafeteria-style on paper plates and customers carry them back on trays to rows of wooden tables.
For a little extra bonus … Philippe’s is equally famous for serving cups of Fresh Regular Cups of Coffee for 9 Cents, in honor of old-fashioned prices.
How Philippe’s French Dip invented? … Oh boy, this legend isn’t that cut and dry. There’s a ton of tales floating around out there. And by a ton I mean a ton. But according to their site, “one day back in 1918, while making a sandwich, Mathieu inadvertently dropped a sliced french roll into a roasting pan filled with hot juice. His customer, a police officer, asked for the sandwich anyway and returned with friends the next day for more. Thus was born the French Dipped Sandwich. So called either because the of Mathieu French heritage, the French roll the sandwich is made on or because, coincidentally, the police officers surname was French.”
So let me get this straight a Frenchmen, a French Roll and a police officer named French. Guess only history will know for sure.
