Philippe's
Encyclopedia
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
located in downtown Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The restaurant is well known for continuously operating since 1908, making it one of the oldest restaurants in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. It is also renowned for claiming to be the inventor of the French Dip sandwich
French dip sandwich
A French dip sandwich, also known as a beef dip, is a hot sandwich consisting of thinly sliced roast beef on a "French roll" or baguette. It is usually served au jus , that is, with beef juice from the cooking process...
.
The restaurant has been located at 1001 N. Alameda Street, on the edge of Chinatown
Chinatown, Los Angeles
Chinatown in Los Angeles, California is located in the city's downtown area. Built in 1938, it is the second Chinatown to be constructed in Los Angeles. The original historic Chinatown was founded in the late 19th century, but was demolished to make room for Union Station, the city's major rail...
, in the Historical District of Los Angeles, two blocks north of Olvera Street
Olvera Street
Olvera Street is in the oldest part of Downtown Los Angeles, California, and is part of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument. Many Latinos refer to it as "La Placita Olvera." Circa 1911 it was described as Sonora Town....
, since 1951.
History
Philippe Mathieu, immigrated from FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
in 1901, moving to Los Angeles in 1903. He opened a deli
Delicatessen
Delicatessen is a term meaning "delicacies" or "fine foods". The word entered English via German,with the old German spelling , plural of Delikatesse "delicacy", ultimately from Latin delicatus....
with his brother, Arbin, shortly after arriving. In 1908 he opened his first Philippe restaurant at 300 N. Alameda Ave., where he served roast beef
Roast beef
Roast beef is a dish of beef which is roasted in an oven. Essentially prepared as a main meal, the leftovers can be and are often served within sandwiches and sometimes is used to make hash...
, roast pork, roast lamb, liver pâté
Pâté
Pâté is a mixture of ground meat and fat minced into a spreadable paste. Common additions include vegetables, herbs, spices, and either wine or cognac, armagnac or brandy...
and blood sausage
Blood sausage
Black pudding, blood pudding or blood sausage is a type of sausage made by cooking blood or dried blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled. The dish exists in various cultures from Asia to Europe...
. Mathieu's restaurants were in L.A.'s traditional Frenchtown neighborhood, which was razed to build Los Angeles City Hall
Los Angeles City Hall
Los Angeles City Hall, completed 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council...
and a freeway section of U.S. Route 101.
In 1911, the Mathieu brothers opened the New Poodle Dog French Restaurant at 156 N. Spring St. The New Poodle was a white tablecloth restaurant, and after two years, they closed it and opened another inexpensive place at 617 N. Alameda. In 1918, Philippe Mathieu moved the restaurant to 246 Aliso St., where he first served his French dipped sandwiches.
In 1925, to avoid frequent rent increases, Mathieu bought his own property at 364 Aliso St. Two years later, he sold the restaurant to a lawyer whose name is unknown, who failed at running the restaurant. A couple of months later, in 1927, Mathieu bought back the restaurant and sold it to brothers David and Harry Martin, making good on his promise to his wife to retire at 50. The Martins and their in-laws the Binders have run Philippes ever since. John and Richard Binder took over running the restaurant following the retirement of their father William "Bill" Binder
Bill Binder
William "Bill" Otto Binder was an American restaurateur and businessman who ran the landmark Philippe's restaurant, known as Philippe the Original, downtown Los Angeles for decades...
in 1985.
From 1927 to 1941, Philippe's was open 24 hours a day. In 1951, the Martins moved Philippe's to its present location at 1001 N. Alameda Avenue due to the construction of the Hollywood Freeway
Hollywood Freeway
The Hollywood Freeway is one of the principal freeways of Los Angeles, California and one of the busiest in the United States. It is the principal route over the Cahuenga Pass, the primary shortcut between the Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley...
.
Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet
Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet
Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet, also known as Cole's P.E. Buffet, is a restaurant and bar located at 118 East 6th Street in the Historic Core district of downtown Los Angeles, California....
claims to have existed before Philippe's, but Cole's closed for renovations in March 2007 and reopened in December 2008. Philippe's lays claim to the longest continuously operating restaurant in Los Angeles.
French dip sandwich
The origins of the French dip sandwich have been debated for many years. Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet
Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet
Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet, also known as Cole's P.E. Buffet, is a restaurant and bar located at 118 East 6th Street in the Historic Core district of downtown Los Angeles, California....
also claims to have invented the sandwich in 1908. There are three versions of how Philippe's French dipped sandwich originated.
- In 1951, Mathieu told a Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
reporter, "One day a customer saw some gravy in the bottom of a large pan of roast meat. He asked me if I would mind dipping one side of the French roll in that gravy. I did, and right away five or six others wanted the same." He quickly ran out of gravy. "But," he said, "it put me wise." The next day he had a gallon of gravy ready, but so many people wanted dip sandwiches that he still ran out. - An alternative explanation bases the invention in frugality. A fireman came into the restaurant when there were leftover rolls. Mathieu would use them up although they were stale. The fireman complained that the roll was dry, so Philippe dipped it in jusAu jusAu jus is French for "with [its own] juice"; jus is the juice itself.In American cuisine, the term is mostly used to refer to a light sauce for beef recipes, which may be served with the food or placed on the side for dipping...
, basically to get rid of the guy. This alternative is likely since Mathieu may have preferred to credit a customer rather than waste a stale roll. - The most common story is that Mathieu accidentally dropped a roll in pan drippings, and the police officer who had ordered the sandwich agreed to eat it anyway. This is less likely since the "happy accident" theory of food origins is typically used where there is no alternative explanation.
Originally, Mathieu referred to this as a dip sandwich. The restaurant was colloquially known as Frenchy's, which eventually developed into a French dip sandwich.
Menu
The style of Philippe's is a traditional delicatessenDelicatessen
Delicatessen is a term meaning "delicacies" or "fine foods". The word entered English via German,with the old German spelling , plural of Delikatesse "delicacy", ultimately from Latin delicatus....
-type sit-down restaurant, having old-fashioned traditions such as rows of tables being shared by several parties, wood-shavings
Sawdust
Sawdust is a by-product of cutting lumber with a saw, composed of fine particles of wood. It can present a hazard in manufacturing industries, especially in terms of its flammability....
scattered on the floor, dark brown
Brown
Brown is a color term, denoting a range of composite colors produced by a mixture of orange, red, rose, or yellow with black or gray. The term is from Old English brún, in origin for any dusky or dark shade of color....
wood for the walls and floor, and newspapers from historical United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
events that happened from the time the restaurant opened to the 1980s. Wall-mounted displays are dedicated to the history of railroading Los Angeles from the Los Angeles Historical Railroad Society and to circuses. The building in which it is located has two stories, both containing tables for eating, and is located one block away from Union Station
Union Station (Los Angeles)
Los Angeles Union Station is the main railway station in Los Angeles, California. The station has rail services by Amtrak and Amtrak California and Metrolink; light rail/subways are the Metro Rail Red Line, Purple Line, Gold Line. Bus rapid transport runs on the Silver Line...
. The skyscrapers of downtown are not visible from the restaurant (at street level), despite its proximity.
The restaurant is famous for attracting hungry patrons from all walks of life, from poverty-stricken, to working class, to the city's elites. At peak meal periods, customers often find themselves standing in lines that can be ten deep as they wait for waitresses to prepare their meals at one of the serving stations at the restaurant's counter. Meals are served cafeteria-style on paper plates and customers carry their meals on trays to their tables. The egalitarian effect of the restaurant has been noted, as people from various economic strata bump elbows at the long communal tables and ask each other to pass over the jars of Philippe's homemade mustard. In 2008 the Los Angeles Department of Public Health
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
Health services to over 10 million residents in the Los Angeles County are provided by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Mental health services are provided by the County Department of Mental Health...
ordered the traditional mustard jars and spoons to be removed from the tables as unsanitary; after a brief controversy, the jars were replaced by plastic squeeze bottles and the mustard has been restored to the tables.
In addition to their main attraction of French Dip sandwiches, other old-fashioned foods are served, including freshly made soups, beef stew, chili
Chili
-Food:* Chili pepper, the spicy fruit of plants in the genus Capsicum* Chili powder, dried, ground red chili peppers, sometimes with cumin and other spices* Chili con carne, often referred to simply as "chili" a stew-like dish...
, baked apples, and pickled pigs feet
Pickled pigs feet
Pickled pigs feet is a type of pork associated with Cuisine of the Southern United States, African American soul food, as well as Irish cuisine, and Korean cuisine....
. Sides include potato salad, macaroni salad, and coleslaw. Jars of purple pickled eggs are arrayed on the counter. Healthier menu items, such as turkey sandwiches and salads, were added to the menu following Bill Binder's retirement in 1985.
For beverages, Philippe's serves cans of soft drink
Soft drink
A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
s, freshly brewed iced tea
Iced tea
Iced tea is a form of cold tea, often served in a glass with ice. It may or may not be sweetened. Iced tea is also a popular packaged drink. It can be mixed with flavored syrup, with common flavors including lemon, peach, raspberry, lime, passion fruit, and cherry...
, lemonade
Lemonade
Lemonade is a lemon-flavored drink, typically made from lemons, water and sugar.The term can refer to three different types of beverage:...
, coffee, select wines, and beer. Historically, homemade wine had been available. The current owner, a wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
aficionado, has added a small selection of California wine
California wine
California wine has a long and continuing history, and in the late twentieth century became recognized as producing some of the world's finest wine. While wine is made in all fifty U.S. states, up to 90% of American wine is produced in the state...
s to the menu. Philippe's is famous for serving cups of regular coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
for 9 cents to this day, in honor of old-fashioned prices. The price was last raised from 5 cents in 1977.
On its 85th, 90th, 95th and 100th anniversary, French Dip sandwiches were sold for 10 cents and coffee for 5 cents for a few hours during its celebration.