French Dipped

Perhaps similar debates rage in Philadelphia over the cheese steak or in Chicago over the deep-dish pizza. The longest-running culinary battle in Los Angeles is for bragging rights to the French dip sandwich. Two legendary downtown restaurants--Philippe the Original and Cole’s P.E. Buffet, both opened in 1908--claim to have invented it. Draw your own conclusions.

Philippe the Original

Bill Bender, 82, retired general manager

Who invented the French dip?

Philippe Mathieu had a French deli at the time. A policeman came in to rest, and Mathieu happened to drop the top part of the roll into the container where the beef was being kept warm. He was going to throw it away, but the policeman liked it so well he came back for six more.

Why does Cole’s say they invented it?

I don’t know. Honestly, I can’t imagine people weren’t eating this sandwich before our Mathieu made it. I think it’s kind of a joke.

Cole’s

Gitti Beheshti, 56, owner

Who invented the French dip?

Mr. Cole was German. He had a friend that was a chef working here. He was in the kitchen when someone wanted a sandwich, then the bread fell into the beef juice and they liked it. The other customer in line behind him asked for the same sandwich.

That sounds a lot like Philippe’s story.

Definitely the French dip was from here. Philippe’s is learning from us.