Hollywood’s Iconic Restaurant Musso & Frank Is 105 Years Young!
Time to raise an ice cold Martini glass to Musso & Frank – Hollywood’s oldest and most iconic restaurant – with the best Martini in town as well!
I am back in Hollywood and this is the first place we go to celebrate!
Known for its iconic Martini, this classic Hollywood landmark is located on the famed Hollywood Boulevard in the heart of Hollywood.
And what’s out front? That’s right, this place is so cool it has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame!
The legendary Musso & Frank Restaurant has been the watering hold for Hollywood’s biggest stars since 1919…and going stronger than ever!
Musso & Frank has always been Hollywood’s clubhouse – name a star and they were there – usually enjoying one of their legendary Martinis – like this one that I had recently:
To celebrate a Hollywood institution, I say we toast with one of legendary Bartender Manny Aguirre’s Martinis!
I own their terrific coffee table book “The Musso & Frank Grill,” written by Michael Callahan and including recipes for such M&F favorites as sand dabs and calf’s liver!
Here’s a look at the restaurant interior, as it has looked for a century:
When we were recently at the restaurant, my wife Alex started with the classic avocado salad, which comes to the table with a half hard-boiled egg, tomato wedge, pickle spear and steamed asparagus spear!
What a classic old school dish! For her main course, she got the legendary Sand Dabs, presented simply on the plate:
I had a classic steak with a side of mashed potatoes and spinach…a great way to celebrates Hollywood’s past!
It all started in 1919, when Frank Toulet formed a fateful partnership with Joseph Musso. The men in 1922 hired French chef Jean Rue, who would showcase his artistry at Musso & Frank for 53 years.
Musso and Toulet sold their restaurant to a duo of Italian immigrants named Joseph Carissimi and John Mosso in 1927, and today, Musso & Frank is owned and operated by the families of Mosso’s three granddaughters: John and Cathy Echeverria and their son, Mark Echeverria; Steve and Anne Jones; and Richard and Kristen Kohlmeyer.
Perhaps the best news in the terrific story is that these signature Martinis will never be sold beyond this Hollywood location – they have stated they will NEVER expand to other locations:
“We’re here to serve our community,” Echeverria said. “It’s what we do.”
And serve it they do, including this iconic dish:
This classic Fettucine Alfredo dish has a star-studded beginning – click here for the story and the recipe so you can make it at home as well!
Sadly, there are very few places that survive this long in Hollywood:
Chasen’s was another classic restaurant, famous for their chili, which Elizabeth Taylor had flown to Rome while she was filming there!
Here’s the story of this classic Hollywood haunt – and that famous recipe, so you can make it at home yourself:
Here’s an Actor who not only loves great food, he knows how to make it!
Stanley Tucci loves to cook as well, so I made his family’s Chicken Caiiatore recipe – here’s the recipe:
About Stanley Tucci: you may know that I became obsessed with a dish he cooked on his CNN travel series.
How obsessed?
THIS OBSESSED!
I made “Spaghetti alla Nerano” with some added “Zoodles” as well – click here for this amazingly delicious recipe!
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Categories: Alcohol And Bars, Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Chef memoirs, Eat This!, Fine Dining, Food, Food Travel, Recipes, Restaurants, Travel, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
This sounds like such a great place, John
What a nice post! It’s good to see an establishment last so long in that setting.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
love this place. My grandfather, a filmmaker, would bring his clients there!
It has always been Hollywood’s watering hole and so cool that you have a personal connection to it! Thanks for the comment!
What an interesting story and it looks like such a great place!
It really is! So much history but they are so nice to everyone who comes in!
Oops – you’ll regard me as ‘horrible’ personified, but . . . I know of the place and truly respect its age and know of all the famous who have sat on its seats – BUT, is it really possible for martinis to be so different . . . and that avocado salad looks very similar to the ones I and most of my friends make . . . so, is it not mostly the ‘name’ – ‘I have been there’ kind of thing 🙂 ?
They make great food and have done so for more than a century…are Martinis that different? Well, it some ways “no” and some ways “yes” – but they are known to make the best on in Hollywood…but to each their own
Dear John – how many ways are there to put gin (or vodka) and vermouth together and stick an olive in the glass 🙂 ? But I do understand and respect the fame of the place and the fun of being there!
Looks like a great place. That interior pic looks like a scene from The Godfather Part 1 where Michael carries out the double killing.
I really do love to see tradition continuing. But looking at the prices, they are beyond my reach for dining out, and definitely suited to the ‘superstar’ clientele the restaurant attracts.
Best wishes, Pete.
Those are pretty standard prices for LA….New York as well…BUT there are SO many places to eat in both cities that you can do much much better price-wide and still get great meals!