There's a restaurant I like downtown near the train station in Los Angeles. It's called Philippe the Original and you go there for the French Dip sandwiches. They have other things on the menu but you go there for the French Dip sandwiches. They have various flavors and while the turkey and lamb are quite wonderful, the beef is the key play.
Philippe's, as most folks call it, claims to be where the French Dip sandwich was invented, more than a century ago. Another downtown L.A. restaurant called Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet also makes the same claim and I do not take sides on this most vital issue. What I do know is that I prefer the sandwiches at Philippe's, and the ambiance and accoutrements at Cole's, and that the parking at Philippe's is so much easier there, that that's where I go. (One other distinction: If you like hot mustard — and I don't — Philippe's has a homemade one that will cauterize your nose hairs.)
Philippe's is part of a grand American tradition: Restaurants that claim to have invented something iconic. If you watch the Food Network, you see such stories all the time and they all seem to have the same two components…
- The great, legendary food item must have been invented by accident. In this case, no one sat down one day and said, "Hey, you know the best part of a beef sandwich is the juice that oozes out of the meat. What if we dipped the bread in that juice?" That kind of thing never happens. The French Dip had to be invented because someone accidentally dropped the bread into the pan of juices.
- Then you have to have the customer who happens to be there at the time who says, "Hey, I'll eat that!" He loves it and comes back the next day to ask that the accident be repeated. Then he returns with a bunch of friends and they all like it so much that each of them returns with a bunch of friends and it grows exponentially.
That's how all these stories seem to go. Someone accidentally spilled sauteed garlic on a roll and garlic bread was invented. Someone accidentally dropped dough into boiling oil and doughnuts were invented. Someone accidentally mixed old wood shavings, confetti, lawn cuttings and rancid mayonnaise…and cole slaw was invented. Actually, I have a hard time believing any customer ever looked at cole slaw and said, "Hey, I'll eat that!" but I've actually seen people do it. Go figure.
In this article on Philippe's, they tell the tale of the accidental dropping of the bread into the pan of juices…and incorporate the theory that the name "French Dip" came about because the customer who said, "Hey, I'll eat that!" was named French. But they also allude to a new theory which is probably closer to reality: The alleged inventor was "…looking for a way to soften day-old French bread because customers found it too hard to chew." Isn't that a more credible explanation? I think so.
Anyway, read the piece if you want to know how to make a really good French Dip Sandwich. Or better still, if you're anywhere near Union Station downtown, pop over to Philippe the Original and let some skilled, experienced hands make one for you. Just watch out for the mustard.