Best Thing We Ate Yesterday: Philippe's Double-Dipped Beef

By Lesley Balla

The beauty of Philippe's is the whole package: easy parking, friendly efficient service, sawdust on the floor, and a double-dipped beef, coleslaw and 65-cent iced tea for about $10. If only every French dip sandwich across the country were as good as this, the original (unless you ask Cole's, which also claims to be the original). No jus necessary on the side for dipping. We want a matronly woman in a tiny blue hat to do the work for us, so the bread is good and sopping. While we miss the mustard jars on the tables, the squirt bottles are very useful for getting the nasal-clearing stuff in every nook and cranny of meat. Can't beat it for a late-afternoon lunch. By the by, on the eve of All Hallow's Eve, we did not see any ghosts of brothels past. Then again, we'd never eat a double-dipped beef on the second floor, sillies.