Philippe the Original

About the Business

Specialties

We invented the French Dipped Sandwich Beef, Lamb, Pork, Turkey or Ham French Dip either single-dipped, double-dipped or wet with choice of cheese. Chips, coleslaw, macaroni salad, potato salad, pickles, pickled eggs on the side. Beer and wine selection, including tap beer. We also serve breakfast and coffee daily until 10:30 a.m., and have a wide selection of desserts.

History

Established in 1908.

Philippe The Original is one of the oldest and best known restaurants in Southern California. Philippe's was established in 1908 by Philippe Mathieu, who claimed the distinction of having created the "French Dipped Sandwich." One day in 1918, while making a sandwich, Mathieu inadvertently dropped the sliced french roll into the roasting pan filled with juice still hot from the oven. The patron, a policeman, said he would take the sandwich anyway and returned the next day with some friends asking for more dipped sandwiches. And so was born the "French Dipped Sandwich," so called either because of Mathieu's French heritage, the French roll the sandwich is made on or because the officer's name was French. The answer is lost to history. Harry, Dave and Frank Martin were in the business of renting horses and wagons from their Jewel stables when they purchased Philippe's from Mathieu in 1927 for around $5000. They operated the restaurant 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until World War II.