While I was down in Los Angeles for the PopSugar Tech Party, I couldn't pass up a trip to Phillipe the Original, the downtown LA institution that invented the French Dip. Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, Phillipe's (as it's known to locals) offers everything you'd want from a historic restaurant, including old-timey signage, 10-cent coffee, and a sandwich whose construction has been honed over decades to perfection.
Typically, a French Dip sandwich involves hot roast beef served on a French roll with a side of au jus, a gravy whose name amusingly translates to "with juice." But don't expect a dipping bowl at Philippe's; what makes its legendary version oh-so-tasty is that the au jus is built right into the bun. For a firsthand account of my Philippe's adventure, read more
