You've GOT to be kidding...!!!

I enjoy getting suggestions of where to eat...
 
That in mind, I had breakfast  2 days ago at Philippe, 1001 N Alameda St, about 3 blocks away from Union Station in Los Angeles...
 
Their claim to fame is that they allegedly invented the French Dip (keep this in mind), and this claim is emblazoned on their sign, menu, and advertisements..
 
On my way to catch a train, I stopped by to enjoy one of their French Dips, but it turned out to be a "meal from hell"...
 
This is a counter where you order and then when called you take your tray to a table, like a cafeteria...
 
What I got was what looked like a beef sandwich...NO DIP WAS INCLUDED...!!!
 
OK folks...what is the second word in "French Dip"...???
 
If you answered "DIP" then you are correct...
 
I asked the server at the counter that handed this to me "where's the dip"...???
 
The answer was that it was already on the beef sandwich...
 
WHAT...??? 
 
Yup...that's the way they do it there...
 
It was TERRIBLE...!!!
 
The bread was totally soggy, and the meat was dry...
 
I talked with a person at the main cash register that said he was one of the managers...and I told him what I though about this very odd meal...he said that they make the au jus from meat drippings, and that IF they put a 2 ounce cup of au jus to dip with each meal, patrons would want even more (what a VERY weak excuse)...
 
Other nearby heard my complaint, which I delivered in a calm and civil manner...and they also agreed that what they serve is really NOT a true French Dip...that it was a bunch of hokum...pure jive...false advertising...
 
How on earth can they get away calling this a "French DIP", with NO au jus to actually dip the sandwich in...???
 
BEWARE...this place is a RIPOFF...FALSE ADVERTISING...AVOID this place...!!!
 

You didn't talk to me.  I love Phillipes!  
 
It is not a ripoff.  It can't be false advertising if they invented it... that was harsh!
 
You're messing with an institution.  They thrive because of what they are and what they serve.
 
You walked in with a preconceived notion.  What you've had in the past were interpretations of a French Dip.
 
Supposedly it was "invented" when one of their servers accidentally dropped a roll in the au jus and when they were about to toss it, the customer said... don't throw it away, I'll eat it that way.  These are not quotes.
 
THAT'S why the roll was dipped, not to save money.
 
You can get a single dip, a double dip, etc...  they do the dipping.  Once is enough unless you like mushy bread that falls apart as you lift it.  They don't expect you to want your au jus on the side, but they'll give it to you that way if you ask for it.  
 
I really doubt the guy at the candy counter was a manager, but I guess he could have been.   He'd probably be reprimanded or even fired if the owners knew what he told you.  Probably he was trying to be agreeable with you, telling you what you wanted to hear.
 
I never order the beef because it is indeed dry... for me.
 
I order pork, put cole slaw on the sandwich and smear on a little mustard.   Heaven!  The lamb is also good, but I like the pork the best.
 
You just need to do it right.  A pickled egg, a dill pickle and maybe some pickled beets or another salad.  Some people even eat pickled pigs feet.  (Yuck)
 
I'll be there Wednesday after the eye doctor!  Can't wait!  

The good news is that if you google "hokum...pure jive" you hit the top of the google charts with a new phrase. I have never heard that phrase before. That's very cool. I hope I can borrow it sometime.

The not-so-good news is that this might not be Roadfood news. It might be a thread for the sandwiches section.

The consolation prize might be if you say this is "hokum...pure jive" we all might stay part of google history. As a collective unit...that may or may not be news....of the future.

Had it both ways...much ado about nothing!!!!

I was reading the Yelp 2572 reviews on this 103 year old restaurant that serves 1000's of people daily. I came to the conclusion that I would give them a try.
 you need to research your restaurant pick before you go, most people know how the sandwich is served. If I didn't want the sandwich dipped, I would order it to-go, not dipped with aujus on the side. Some times the sheep have to be smarter than the fox..................

I will teach you.
 
A plain Dip is boring.
 
It is a dip because it WAS DIPPED!
 
I'm passionate about Phillipe's.  Anyone notice?
 
Sorry for any tone that you might read in to it.

I was not able to research ahead of time...I walked in right off the street...I was on a long train journey with no ability to go online...
 
It was suggested the night before by a retired Southern Pacific RR guy...
 
(several of us RR types made a special train trip because the Northbound Coast Startlight was being detoured via Lancaster, Mojave, Tehachapi, Bakersfield, Lathrop, & Niles Canyon...a RR'ers dream because this is normally a freight only route)...
 
Yeah, *if* I'd have known to order it To Go, I'd have gotten what I wanted... there's no sign or other indication of how they prepare it...
 
One of the other reasons they told me they don't serve with a small container of au jus was "people waste it"... which IMHO is a really weak excuse...
 
Did Philippes actually invent the French Dip...???  There is another eatery that also makes that claim...
 
It's nice that they've survived 103 years...any restaurant would be proud of that...
 
The bottom line is: what would the general public  expect  when they're asked what a French Dip is...???  Survey 100 people (who have never heard of Philippes or read about it online), and see what they answer...
 
"messing" with an institution...???   HA...!  If I like something I say so...if I don't like something I say so, without regard how long they've been slinging grub...
 
Next on my list of places to try in the LA area is the Nickel (5 cent) Diner on Main St (downtown) ... it was on my list but I didn't have time to go there between trains... 
 
BTW...Mar...is that beet juice they have their jars of boiled eggs in...???

I REPEAT that I'd just heard about the place, had no computer with me on the train to "research" it...
 
And for somebody to say "This place and what they do and how they do it has been so well published, recorded, written about, televised and has been on every conceivable food show, magazine and network that to go there and not know what they do and how they are going to serve their food to you unless you specify otherwise is mind boggling.  A person who is not aware of Philippe's must be living like a hermit in a cave in Northern California with no contact to the outside world!"  is just plain condescending and again points to the snobby attitute found here...
 
BTW...it's a ranch, not a cave...and yes, I *do* have contact with the outside world... 
 
Here again what I see here from SOME of you folks is the attitude of "How dare you not know as much as I / we do"... 
 
Guess what...I'm a combat vet and a big guy...you wouldn't dare say something like this directly to me face to face, or else you'd be wearing your a$$ for a hat...
 
Be civil, be polite, and remember that not everybody is gifted with the divine knowledge you seem to possess...
 
REALITY CHECK: Not everybody has the large amounts of free time to read every magazine about food, or watch every food oriented tv show...my interest in food is a SMALL part of my busy life...

There's been an on going "I did it first" between Phillipe's and Cole's for probably a hundred years.
 
I've never been to Cole's.  Why go there when I love everything about Phillipe's?
 
What they invented was the dipping of the roll, I believe.   The highlight is their mustard.
 
The pickled eggs are in a brine that is colored with beet juice.  I must have one with every sandwich... sometimes two.
 
Here's a comparison youtube video by some unknown person:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XZP5OS4knU
 
Looks like Coles tries to be fancy with their food and dishes.
 
Odd that they give the side of au jus when they tell you that they dipped the roll and then others wanted it that way.
 
Oh Well...  Wednesday!

Thanks for the link...but I can't watch it from home with slow dial up internet...
 
Next time I'm at Union Station I think I'll go across the street and patronize one of the restaurants at the Olvera St "mercado"...IF the timing is right...they were just starting to open up when I had to catch my train, so a mid day attempt would be fruitful...
 
Yeah, it looked like beet juice...I guess the acids help preserve the eggs...???
 
Coles apparently lost their claim of being the oldest continiously operated restaurant when they closed for renovations...

Mar, thanks for the video. I really enjoyed watching it. 
Despite BackRhodes unpleasant experience, I'd kill to have one of Philippe's French dip sandwiches. Especially, the pork. Second choice, the lamb.
 
To BackRhodes, hang in there and don't let the negative remarks turn you off. Fortunately, they're few and far between. Personally, I always respect what you have to say. Regardless of whether I agree with you or not.
 

Sorry, BackRoades.  I forgot about your dial-up connection.
 
Olvera Street has great taquitos.  The last time I was there was with roadfooder, Ellen.






 
I only get my taquitos at Cielito Lindo, but Ellen tried them from 3 different stands.
 
Cielito Lindo is my favorite.
 
Next time let everyone here know your plans so we can add our thoughts and opinions.  They will differ, you know.  
 
Oh... right behind and up a block from Phillipe's is the Los Angeles Chinatown... just to confuse you.
 
How'd you like the weather?

Thanks Twin...
 
I now know to order it "to go"...
 
After I got my food, I thought maybe I should've ordered a traditional breakfast, which looked good...
 
I can tell the place was popular with the LA Co Sheriff Dept, and the LA Fire Dept...
 
When on the road the places I try are done so without any research...I don't have a "smart phone"...so my choices are totally done the old fashioned way, BC (before cellphones), like our parents and grandparents did...you walk in the door and look at the menu...I can think of only 2 or 3 places my entire life I've walked out without ordering anything...but there are a few that I'd never go back to twice...
 
After dropping my travel buddy off at his home in Lake County, I was driving through downtown Kelseyville but didn't find anything for breakfast...hard to drive and look for restaurants...yet I thought I ate at a place there a few years ago, that I could not find again...so I cruised Lakeport and had breakfast at Renee's, which used to be a drive in with car hops...the owner of Renee's is VERY quality oriented and if your food isn't perfect she'll make it so...
 
I was thinking of you when last week I took the Canyon Rd exit, but Catelli's was already closed for the evening...sometimes the timing just doesn't line up right...

I had the breakfast at Phllipe's when I had jury duty at the Downtown court.
 
Average or nothing special.  But they were open at 6AM.
 
 

Mar...the WX was great...unlike the below freezing up here in the mtns...wind chill was 21* overnight...
 
I saw a few sit down restaurants in the mercado...I was just doing a quick walk through before heading over to the train station and whipping out my camera.
 
The tile work inside the train station and fountains outside was exquisite, and the heavy truss beams inside the station ceiling was impressive...
 
I did mention in another thread that I was going down there but there might not have been enough time for folks to offer suggestions...
 
I spent the night in Chinatown...but I don't eat chinese food (I'm a picky eater)... I was amazed how relatively quite downtown was at night...I'm used to absolute quite at home at night...so it was better than expected...
 
My bad back was hurting, but I walked (slowly) to Philippes & Union Station...sat in the sun for a while at the park full of homeless people across the street from Union Station, and eventually went over to the station early totake pictures...the Metropolitan Water District (next door to Union Station) also has nice colorful fountains...
 
I *did* take a hand held radio with me so I could listen to the Amtrak dispatchers and conductors during the trip, so I knew every red, yellow, and green signal light before we came to it...I also had my timetable that lists the radio channels and track speeds along the routes... 
 
It's been several decades since I've been south of the SF Bay Area...I knew about the mercado from watching Huell Howser's "California Gold" tv show...

Really all you have to do when you place your order, is ask
for your juice on the side, they've been around so long they
probably assume everyone knows that. The Mustard is the
best thing to dip into. 
Philippe's was featured on "The Originals" with Emeril on the Cooking Channel this afternoon.
Hang in there BackRhodes!
 
Mike
 
 
 

BackRhodes


I REPEAT that I'd just heard about the place, had no computer with me on the train to "research" it...

And for somebody to say "This place and what they do and how they do it has been so well published, recorded, written about, televised and has been on every conceivable food show, magazine and network that to go there and not know what they do and how they are going to serve their food to you unless you specify otherwise is mind boggling.  A person who is not aware of Philippe's must be living like a hermit in a cave in Northern California with no contact to the outside world!"  is just plain condescending and again points to the snobby attitute found here...
 
BTW...it's a ranch, not a cave...and yes, I *do* have contact with the outside world... 

Here again what I see here from SOME of you folks is the attitude of "How dare you not know as much as I / we do"... 

Guess what...I'm a combat vet and a big guy...you wouldn't dare say something like this directly to me face to face, or else you'd be wearing your a$$ for a hat...

Be civil, be polite, and remember that not everybody is gifted with the divine knowledge you seem to possess...

REALITY CHECK: Not everybody has the large amounts of free time to read every magazine about food, or watch every food oriented tv show...my interest in food is a SMALL part of my busy life...

Lighten up guy! All that was meant as a light hearted joke.  I was trying to be funny. Obviously, it got under your thin skin. I Apologize! It just seemed strange that someone that's been on Roadfood as long as you have hasn't heard about Philippes and how they operate. Sorry about that!
I'll take the post down.

BackRhodes


Thanks for the link...but I can't watch it from home with slow dial up internet...

Next time I'm at Union Station I think I'll go across the street and patronize one of the restaurants at the Olvera St "mercado"...IF the timing is right...they were just starting to open up when I had to catch my train, so a mid day attempt would be fruitful...

Yeah, it looked like beet juice...I guess the acids help preserve the eggs...???

Coles apparently lost their claim of being the oldest continiously operated restaurant when they closed for renovations...

The way my mother made pickled eggs (and the same way I do also) was to start with pickled beets.  She pickled the beets herself; I buy beets already pickled.  Aunt Nellie's is one brand around here that comes in a glass jar, but Libby's and Del Monte also make them in tins.  Pickled beets are a "sweet" pickle, not a dill pickle, and you will want to use a glass container with a lid when making pickled eggs.  After all the pickled beets were eaten, Mother would hard boil some eggs, peel them and then put them in the pickled beet "juice" to soak for a minimum of 2 or 3 days in the refrigerator until the white of the eggs absorbed the purple pickled beet juice and the sweet pickle flavor.  I think that refrigerated with a tight-fitting lid, it might be possible to keep pickled eggs forever. 
 
They can be especially pretty when cut in half to serve them, with the white of the egg a beautiful shade of purple and the yolk of the egg a nice yellow for contrast.

Beet pickled eggs don't last forever.  They get eaten quickly!  I thought you also add vinegar and sugar, but I just at them, I don't make them.

Mar:
Pickled beets have enough vinegar and sugr in their "juice" that you don't have to add more.

Almost like eggplant, huh...???
 
The visuals are interesting, yellow and purple (which go together well)...
 
You mention the sweetness...is there enough acids to carry the sweetness over your palette and linger...???
 
Actually I've not been here very long...less than a year...and I really don't have the time to read all posts in all topics...stuff that may have been discussed before will be totally new to newcomers...
 
Almost sundown...time to fire up the grill...
 

BackRhodes


I enjoy getting suggestions of where to eat...

That in mind, I had breakfast  2 days ago at Philippe, 1001 N Alameda St, about 3 blocks away from Union Station in Los Angeles...

Their claim to fame is that they allegedly invented the French Dip (keep this in mind), and this claim is emblazoned on their sign, menu, and advertisements..

On my way to catch a train, I stopped by to enjoy one of their French Dips, but it turned out to be a "meal from hell"...

This is a counter where you order and then when called you take your tray to a table, like a cafeteria...

What I got was what looked like a beef sandwich...NO DIP WAS INCLUDED...!!!

OK folks...what is the second word in "French Dip"...???

If you answered "DIP" then you are correct...

I asked the server at the counter that handed this to me "where's the dip"...???

The answer was that it was already on the beef sandwich...

WHAT...??? 

Yup...that's the way they do it there...

It was TERRIBLE...!!!

The bread was totally soggy, and the meat was dry...

I talked with a person at the main cash register that said he was one of the managers...and I told him what I though about this very odd meal...he said that they make the au jus from meat drippings, and that IF they put a 2 ounce cup of au jus to dip with each meal, patrons would want even more (what a VERY weak excuse)...

Other nearby heard my complaint, which I delivered in a calm and civil manner...and they also agreed that what they serve is really NOT a true French Dip...that it was a bunch of hokum...pure jive...false advertising...

How on earth can they get away calling this a "French DIP", with NO au jus to actually dip the sandwich in...???

BEWARE...this place is a RIPOFF...FALSE ADVERTISING...AVOID this place...!!!

Truly a classic post.  I am bookmarking it for future reference!
 

Hey, I think I have been a pretty good Roadfooder but I'll be honest, I never heard of Phillipi's and the claim of inventing the French Dip sandwich. I've had many a French Dip beef sandwich around the country and as far as I can recall they all had dipping juice in a cup or container. I always thought that was the catch that made them different from the other beef sandwiches.

I've heard of Phillipi's but only because they beat it to death of a number of the Food Network and Travel Channel shows that are shown over and over. To me the classic French Dip is beef on a hard roll with a cup of au jus, otherwise it's just a beef no matter who may have "invented" it.

Speaking as a combat vet, and as a reporter who covered a bit of combat, I kind of get tired of people saying "I'm a combat vet." And I'll say that to the face of anyone.

Michael Hoffman


Speaking as a combat vet, and as a reporter who covered a bit of combat, I kind of get tired of people saying "I'm a combat vet." And I'll say that to the face of anyone.

I wholeheartedly agree! It seems as if the phrase is thrown out instantly these days to try and impress.

I have had people dining with me complain that there is no ketchup at Louie's Lunch, or that they couldn't get cheese on a sandwich at the 2nd Ave Deli, or that the vegetarian offerings were poor at Kreuz' Market. Many of these places have been doing it "their way" for years, and right or wrong, that is their option, and in many cases, has been the secret to their success. To me expecting the world to always dance your dance is a rather limiting approach to life. You didn't get what you expected and that is too bad, but it is no more a "RIPOFF...(or)FALSE ADVERTISING"  than any other situation where you blindly walk into a place and get a meal you don't care for.

This would make a bang-up subject...for the next poll question!!!

I am sorry if I mention the next poll too early.

My complaint is that they serve their burgers on toast at Louis Lunch. Considering that I've been complaining to them about that for more than half a century I'm starting to think they haven't been listening.

Michael Hoffman


My complaint is that they serve their burgers on toast at Louis Lunch. Considering that I've been complaining to them about that for more than half a century I'm starting to think they haven't been listening.

 
I think Louis is a bit set in his ways, what with being dead and all. 
 
I actually like the toast. More meat, less bread!