Oldest Hollywood Steakhouse Was Sanctuary to Frank Sinatra. Still Open Nearly 100 Yrs Later
Celebrities have haunted the Hollywood hills for well over 100 years, and they in turn haunted the booths of numerous restaurants and watering holes as their fame waxed and waned.
Big names such as Rudolph Valentino and Grace Kelly frequented the Tam O’Shanter Inn for its champagne-baked ham sandwiches and chicken and waffles.
“Fahrenheit 451” author Ray Bradbury was a virtual fixture at Clifton’s Brookdale Cafeteria in Los Angeles, so much so that the eatery has decorated his favorite booth with the writer’s memorabilia.
But few Los Angeles-area eateries have the pedigree and panache of Musso & Frank Grill.
The oldest still-existing steakhouse in Hollywood, Musso & Frank opened in 1919. In fact, it has stayed open continuously since then and is gearing up for its 100-year anniversary.
The restaurant became famous for serve up simply prepared cuts of excellent meat. That food, in turn, has drawn Hollywood legends for years.
“Musso and Frank, it’s always been a Hollywood hangout since the very beginning,” General Manager Andrea Scuto told Los Angeles Insider. “The same glamour that you had in the Golden Age of Hollywood is still here intact.
“Frank Sinatra was a regular here. When he was in LA, this was a place he called home.”
He wasn’t the only entertainment luminary to find solace at the restaurant. Writers such as Dashiell Hammett, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway also frequented it.
Some even say that William Faulkner would mix his own mint juleps when visiting. More recent celebrity fans include Harrison Ford, Frances Coppola, and Jack Lemmon.
“One of the ingredients to our success is that we don’t change much,” Scuto said. But bartender Ruben Rueda, who has served drinks at Musso & Frank since 1967, thinks there are other elements at play.
“Everybody gets the same treatment,” he explained to Vice. “ I’ve served the Rolling Stones, Johnny Depp, Keith Richards doesn’t drink anymore. …
“I don’t care who you are. If you’ve got money, you’ve got money. Just pay the check and that’s it.”
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