What if you want to make a French dip at home? You know most of the secret now. Simmer bones and aromatic vegetables for 24 hours to make the stock, roast some meat until it's well done and deglaze your roasting pan with stock. Pick up French rolls from Frisco Baking Co. in Cypress Park (that's where Philippe's gets them; the kosher pickles come from Schwartz Pickle Co. of Chicago). Slice the meat into 4- to 41/2-ounce portions (the lamb can vary more, because it's carved by hand). And then dip. Of course, you'll still have to come to Philippe's for the mustard, because that's one secret it's not sharing.
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The Big Dipper
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday, April 23, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 41 words Type of Material: Correction
Philippe's: In the Los Angeles Times Magazine's April 6 issue, a caption with an article about Philippe the Original misspelled the last name of a woman who has worked at the restaurant for 38 years. She is Juanita Gonzalez, not Gonzales.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday, May 04, 2008 Home Edition Los Angeles Times Magazine Part I Page 14 Lat Magazine Desk 1 inches; 21 words Type of Material: Correction
Philippe's: A caption accompanying "The Big Dipper" in the April 6 issue referred to Juanita Gonzales. The correct spelling is Gonzalez.
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You might not expect a sandwich joint to serve wine, but Philippe's offers a quirky and somewhat sophisticated range of 10 California reds and an equal number of whites; the list is posted prominently above the counter.
"I got a passion for wine a couple of years ago," Binder says. "I wanted to bring a few good wines by the glass, and I kept adding wines because the more you go to Napa, the more friends you get."
The remarkable thing is the low prices. "I got upset at everybody overcharging on wine prices at restaurants," he says. "So we charge cost plus 30%." As a result, the once-chic cult Silver Oak Cab is $15 a glass, when it would be $25 or $30 at most places. Philippe's has a beer list--more exactly, a dozen or so neon beer signs scattered around the walls--that includes Stella Artois and New Belgium Fat Tire as well as everyday beers.
In a way, Philippe's unchangingness is a mirage. Nothing in this world stays the same forever. The turkey sandwich joined the menu in the '80s when diners started expressing diet concerns. The tuna sandwich was introduced in the '70s as a meatless dish for Fridays and Lent. And now there's a wine list with hoity-toity Californias.
Still, if time travelers from 1918 entered Philippe's today, they'd be at no loss for words. Beef, double dip. Coleslaw, blueberry pie, coffee. *
Philippe the Original, 1001 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles, (213) 628-3781; www.philippes.com. Breakfast 6 to 10:30 a.m., sandwiches 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
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fil-LEE-pee's FACTS
The owners of Philippe's pronounce the name fil-LEE-pee's, but they don't insist that anybody else do so.
At Philippe, Mathieu's first restaurant, roasted sheep's and goats' heads were weekend specials.
