Musso and Frank Grill Centennial: An Appreciation

Musso and Frank Grill, the oldest restaurant in Hollywood, is turning 100 this September 27th.

Over the last 100 years, the restaurant has seen more adventures and plot surprises than fit in a short blog post. Please take time to visit the Musso and Frank website . It has a delightful history of the place; in the “press” section of the website are great articles and radio clips.

When our daughter Lily was attending college in Los Angeles, Dorothy and I wanted to learn more about southern California. To paraphrase the Randy Newman song, we already knew that we loved LA. We had impressions of the place from watching TV shows such as The Closer and reading authors such as Joan Didion and Raymond Chandler.

During a visit to see Lily, we went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In the gift shop we found Borislav Stanic’s Los Angeles Attractions, an informative guidebook with appealing

writing, lots of color photos and great maps.

In his section on Hollywood, Stanic describes Musso and Frank, which regulars call “Musso’s.” It lists some of the restaurant’s classic menu items, a photograph of the restaurant facade and references to famous writers.

After reading about the menu and seeing the facade, we were reminded of a favorite Albany restaurant, the Larkin. The idea that this was a writer’s eatery, a West Coast version of the Algonquin Round Table, was also appealing.

We had to go. And we have gone - - three times so far!

Our favorite meal at Musso and Frank is lunch. Whether we drive or take the subway and Metrolink, we can enjoy the service, the meal and the restaurant ambiance and be on the way home before the insanity of the evening commute.

This is one of two large dining rooms in Musso''s and
our favorite place to have lunch.
Photograph courtesy of Tina Whatcott-Escheverria

With 200 items on the menu, there is something for everyone. Vegetarians have found a good lunch at the place, although I am not sure if they have vegan items on the menu.

The restaurant has daily specials which have been on offer for decades: Tuesday is corned beef and cabbage; Wednesday is sauerbraten and potato pancakes; Thursday is homemade chicken pot pie; Friday is bouillabaisse Marseillaise; Saturday is braised short ribs with vegetables; and Sunday is duck confit. Another Musso’s specialty is flannel cakes, described on the menu as “lighter and sweeter than a pancake yet not as delicate as a crepe, truly an original.”

So far, we end up at Musso’s on Thursdays. While homemade chicken pot pie has potential, it’s never been a favorite. So, I order the Musso’s Burger, which is consistently excellent!

Although we were attracted to Musso’s by tales of writers and movie stars, we have decided the restaurant’s real stars are the waiters, bartenders, busboys and maitre d’s. When we lunched at Musso’s last October, our waiter, Boris, explained the restaurant hires waiters to be full time waiters - - rather than people seeking employment while waiting for another career. Boris and his colleagues know the menu and bar offerings forwards and backwards.

Musso and Frank owners and staff. 
Photograph courtesy of Tina Whatcott-Escheverria

They are very welcoming to new customers. They also know what their regular customers like for food, seating and level of attention.

Our standard cocktail at Musso’s? A Tanqueray martini. The bartenders make it perfectly dry. We order it with a twist but if you like olives, you can get one with olives of just the right size.

The Musso's martini.
Photograph courtesy of  Tina Whatcott-Escheverria

Musso’s is also a place to see and reconnect with friends. My friend Jim Burns once met a friend he had not seen in years at Musso’s. The friend was in town pitching a movie idea and, as Jim concluded, “it made perfect sense that we’d meet in front of a Hollywood mecca!”

Regarding old-school and new-school celebrities and authors: the Musso’s website or Michael Callahan’s April, 2016 Los Angeles magazine article “Don’t Change Anything” also on the website are full of many great stories, too many to share here.

The quote which I think best captures Musso’s decisions to stay the same and change and its star-studded pedigree came from Bobby Caravella, Musso’s assistant general manager. In the main dining room is a mural that may depict a hunting scene, but it’s so faded no one is sure. Callahan writes that when asked why it was not restored, Caravella said, “Because it’s painted with Humphrey Bogart’s cigarette smoke.”  

Happy 100 years, Musso’s!

At 11:00 AM on Friday September 27, 2019, a star-shaped “Hollywood Award of Excellence,” the first ever, will be awarded to Musso’s and unveiled outside the restaurant. The star will be in the sidewalk near the stars in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This event is open to the public.