A french dip sandwich is a hot sandwich that you dip in au jus (pretty word to describe beef juice).Among many things, Los Angeles boasts (among many things) to be the originators of the French dip sammich. There is, however, a debate about which restaurant in Los Angeles originally created the sammich.
There is Philippe's and there is Cole's.
Philippe's story:
Hungry customer in 1918 orders sandwich. Server (who WAS Philippe) clumsily drops sandwich in beef juice. Hungry customer says he wants it anyway. Eats. Falls in love. Orders it again the next day.
Cole's story:
Hungry customer in 1918 just came from the dentist. Teeth hurt and needs a softer sandwich. Asks server (who WAS Cole) to dip sandwich in beef juice to soften the bread. Other hungry people saw this and asked for it despite their un-painful teeth.
On Monday, Philippe's is celebrating its 100 year anniversary (they opened in 1908, but created the sammich in 1918) and is serving their beef dip sammiches for $0.10 each! Happenin' from 4-8. I will be there!
Cole's unfortunately is closed for renovation, otherwise, I would go and visit and see which one has a better sammich.
