Phillipe (pronounced fil-LEE-pee) - the legendary downtown L.A. eatery, and arguable inventor of the French-dipped sandwich - turns 100 this year. Founded in 1908 by Phillipe Mathieu, a French immigrant, the restaurant has migrated through various downtown locations over the years (including “Frenchtown” where City Hall and the 101 now stand) into its current location near the convergence of Union Station, Olvera Street, and Chinatown. Charles Perry wrote a comprehensive, hunger-inducing article on its history and current success for yesterday’s LA Times Magazine. The article is spot-on in its recommendations and details. While an extern at the Federal court last year not only did I become an expert on the subtleties of the lamb vs. beef, once-dipped vs. twice, and blue cheese vs. spicy mustard, but I was known to frequent its predominantly male-Chinese and construction worker breakfasts - a scene that requires witnessing to believe.
What Perry failed to mention - and as every Dodgers fan knows - is that the proximity of Phillipe to Chavez Ravine makes it a true-BLUE-ground-zero for a pre-game meal.
And they bottle and sell their own mustard!
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April 8th, 2008 at 1:39 am
Don’t know what happened to the link, but until I can edit the post, here’s the link:
http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/magazine/la-tm-phillipes6apr06,1,2957618.story