Tag Archives: foodie

Hungry? Here are some of my favorite food spots around LA!

By Chelsea Pelchat

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

[3.5 minute read]

One of my favorite ways to explore a new city is by taking a deep dive on Yelp and trying out as many food places as my bank account allows for. From frequenting late-night taco stands to celebrating the end of midterms with Korean BBQ, exploring the LA food scene has been a major highlight of my college experience. Since the start of my time at USC, I’ve been avidly documenting my favorite dining experiences in a list on my phone’s Notes app. I wanted to share a few highlights from this list:  

Photo by The Creativv on Unsplash

Brunch/ Lunch:

  • Yeastie Boys Bagels: If you’re like me and you love grabbing a good old fashioned bagel for brunch, this place is for you. The bagel trucks are located on Sunset Blvd, Ventura Pl, and Melrose Pl between the hours of 8 A.M. and 2 P.M. I promise this one’s worth getting out of bed for. From what I’ve seen, the two most popular orders are the “Game Over” (consists of a cheddar bagel with scrambled eggs, bacon, tomato, and jalapeno spread), and my personal favorite, the “Lox Deluxe” (consists of a sesame bagel with smoked salmon, tomato, red onion, capers, and a scallion spread). Be sure to check out their Twitter for updates on hours and location!
  • Joan’s on Third: Although a bit far from campus, this family-owned space has a short rib sandwich that is to DIE for! I had been hearing about Joan’s for months before I stopped by, and let me just say that it truly lived up to my expectations. During the pandemic, Joan’s had a great to-go order system set up with plenty of outdoor seating as well. Besides the short rib sandwich, other popular items from their menu include the Chinese chicken salad and BLT.
Photo by Arturo Rey on Unsplash
Continue reading Hungry? Here are some of my favorite food spots around LA!

Home of the French Dip Sandwich

By Kurt Ibaraki

While spending some time looking for something to watch, I stumbled across an episode of Man vs. Food; this one happened to take place in Los Angeles. As I watched Adam Richman enter his first location, he reminded me of a restaurant from my childhood. Back when I used to live in Montebello, California, I played for a youth basketball team. Our games would be played in various parts of Los Angeles so my family and I would go eat at various restaurants afterwards. While I fondly remember those days, one memory stands out more than the others. That memory was when we visited a place called Philippe the Original on the corner of Alameda Street and Ord Street.

Known as one of the oldest restaurants in Southern California, Philippe the Original’s specialty item is the French Dip sandwich. The French dip consists of meats such as pork, chicken, beef, or even lamb, served on a French roll that has been dipped in au jus sauce, or drippings of the cooked meat. The restaurant is named after its owner Philippe Mathieu, who is said to have created the French dip. Legend has it that Philippe was serving a policeman when he accidently dropped the roll into a pan of beef drippings. The police officer took the roll anyways and it became a hit. In addition to the French dip, Philippe the Original has an assortment of other delicious food, such as breakfast items, potato salad, chili, soups, pies, and cakes.

Over the weekend, I decided to revisit Philippe the Original. With my roommate and his visiting cousins, we went down to Alameda Street around 5 p.m. to get our hands on these sandwiches. When we walked in, the first thing we saw was the unorthodox way of ordering. There were about ten lines throughout the entire restaurant, separated by dining tables. The lines were long, as the customers waited for their food at the register. We waited for about 50 minutes just to get to the front. When we got to the front, we ordered pork and beef French dips, with a side of chili and potato salad. Philippe the Original has three levels of au jus servings, single dip, double dip, and wet, so everyone can get their perfect sandwich. We all got the double dip.

Continue reading Home of the French Dip Sandwich