9 Iconic American Restaurants, Musso and Frank’s Grill
Musso and Frank’s Grill
6667 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 467-7788
A survey of Hollywood restaurants that leaves out Musso & Frank is like a study of Las Vegas singers that fails to mention Frank Sinatra. Musso & Frank is the paragon of Old Hollywood grill rooms.
The Musso and Frank Grill may be the best time machine in Los Angeles, Southern California or perhaps anywhere. Inside Hollywood’s oldest restaurant, founded in 1919, the wood-and-lead-glass bar awaits. Drenched in soft amber light and staffed entirely by grizzled pros in red jackets, this famed establishment is the last bastion of the city’s Golden Age. Dark mahogany booths with high sides keep conversations private. Unpretentious and old-fashioned, the sharp-tongued waiters know when they’re wanted.
The stories of the early days of Musso and Frank have become the stuff of legend and myth. Rudolph Valentino ate at Musso’s, where he could talk to the Italian waiters in their native language. There is the oft repeated, but unverified story of Valentino and Douglas Fairbanks racing each other on horseback down Hollywood Boulevard to Musso’s.
Musso’s martinis are in a class all their own. A bartender cascades an arc of the finest gin–vodka suits some–and a whisper of vermouth half into a pedestal glass, half into a tiny carafe. The menu promises steaks, chops and old-school sandwiches such as Welsh rarebit and corned beef. The menu is a la carte, so don’t forget the sides, like broccoli with rich bearnaise sauce and 11 varieties of potato dishes. Regulars also flock in for Musso’s trademark flannel cakes, crepe-thin pancakes flipped to order.
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