French Dip Sandwich appears as a signature dish in 1 United States cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
French dip sandwich · Los Angeles
Sliced roast meat on a torpedo roll, dipped in pan jus. Invented in Los Angeles in 1908, eaten standing at the counter at Philippe the Original near Union Station.
Two LA institutions long claimed the French dip, but only one is still serving. Philippe the Original on North Alameda dates the dish to 1918, when owner Philippe Mathieu accidentally dropped a sliced beef sandwich into a roasting pan; the customer ate it anyway and asked for the same the next day. Cole's, in the Pacific Electric Building on East 6th Street, claimed an earlier 1908 invention; Cole's closed permanently in August 2025 after 117 years, citing pandemic, rent and downtown headwinds. Philippe's pre-dips the roll, slices the meat on a deli slicer, sells the sandwich under 12 dollars and still queues at lunchtime in its 1918 building.
Where to eat in Los Angeles:
- Philippe the Original
- Langer's Delicatessen