We’ve been known to do a few foodie face-offs, and today we decided to compare Philippe and Cole’s to see who has the best French Dip Sandwich. They both claim to be the originators (read the rivalry story here) and are about 1.5 miles apart from each other. We’d been to Philippe before, but never Cole’s. While they both are amazing locations, we had to give Cole’s a slight edge on the ambiance. It’s dark and old-timey inside, and even has a urinal that was supposedly used by Charles Bukowski! :) The main difference is Cole’s is a sit-down-and-be-served establishment, with a bar inside. At Philippe, it’s bright and bustling inside, you order at the counter and seat yourself.
Cole’s served their sandwich with the au jus on the side, and it came with one of their “atomic pickles”. The pickle takes things over the top — they are so spicy, but really good! You’re supposed to add the hot mustard (seasoned with horseradish), but Ed and I weren’t big fans of the mustard.
Philippe serves their sandwich “wet”, which means the bun has already been dipped in the au jus. We could’ve asked for a “double dip”, but kept things simple. We didn’t realize you had to order the pickle separately (boo!), so we missed out on the pickle comparison.
The verdict? Ed and I both agreed on this one — it was Cole’s. We thought the meat tasted better, we liked dipping our own sandwich to meet our own preferential au jus to sandwich ratios, and the pickle … that pickle!
Of course, Philippe is still the bomb — it’s a great place to go, and a must-do in Los Angeles. But there can only be one winner of a face-off, and for us, it’s Cole’s!