Posted by Michael Stern on July 09, 2003
When Musso and Frank opened for business in 1919, Hollywood was young and fresh and Hollywood Boulevard was a magic address. The boulevard went to honkytonk hell in a handbasket and is now trying to rebirth itself with entertainment complexes and shopping malls competing for attention with cheap souvenirs and hookers’ wig shops, but the moment you step inside Hollywood’s oldest restaurant, the battle of the lifestyles is left behind.
In a swivel chair at the old long counter with its view of the grill or ensconced in a plush leather booth, you are taken back to a world of old-fashioned meat-and-potatoes comfort food served by no-nonsense, jacketed waiters, some of who look like they’ve been here almost since the beginning!
The menu is huge, a legacy of the days deluxe restaurants once offered hundreds of things to boast of their kitchen skills: a few dozen hot and cold hors d’oeuvre, sixteen omelets, ten kinds of potato (Julienne? Lyonnaise? Au gratin? Hash browns? Cottage fries? Et cetera.) Immemorial daily specials include corned beef and cabbage Tuesday, Sauerbraten Wednesday, chicken pot pie Thursday, boullaibasse Friday, and braised short ribs Saturday. There’s all kinds of fish and a bunch of really retro entrees such as “spaghetti Italianene” and macaroni au gratin; but the truly great thing to eat at Musso’s is something from the broiler: steaks, lamb chops (better yet, French-cut lamb chops), a profoundly flavorful liver steak, even a grill of kidneys and bacon. Many people eat the simplest possible lunch of flannel cakes (wafer-thin, plate-wide pancakes), which can also be had on the side of other things.
As you sip a Martini, Manhattan, Gibson, or Rob Roy in this wood-paneled Tudor enclave, chances are good you’ll spot some of the many show biz celebrities who still come to Musso’s. Perhaps even more than you and we, they crave the powerful sense of normalcy this old grill radiates.
Overall: Worth planning a day around
17 out of 17 people found the review helpful. Was it helpful to you?
Reviewers "Must Eats" List
Flannel Cakes
($5.00)
Corned Beef & Cabbage
($20.00)
Grilled Steak
($25.00)
Macaroni au Gratin
($11.00)
"Flannel cakes are available only from opening at 11am until 3pm. They are thin, simple, and good. Syrup comes alongside."
Michael Stern
"One of the great remaining legacies of the days Hollywood was a magic place"
Michael Stern
"Sourdough bread, baked for Musso's, is always served at the beginning of a meal. This plate is on the counter, and in the background you can see the grill where steaks are cooked."
Michael Stern
"One of the benefits of sitting at the counter is that you get to watch the short order men cook. It was mesmerizing to watch this some-of-everything omelet made."
Michael Stern
"Regulars count on Musso's regular rotation of daily specials. This corned beef and cabbage plate means it's Tuesday."
Michael Stern
"The counter makes Musso's a comfortable place to go if you are dining solo. That big bowl in the foreground contains parsley that the waiters add to plates of food as they get them from the counter chefs."
Michael Stern
