Hollywood’s Iconic Restaurant Musso & Frank Celebrates A Century – And A Star On The Walk Of Fame!

Located on the famed Hollywood Boulevard in the heart of Hollywood, Musso & Frank is Hollywood’s greatest restaurant, and on Friday, it celebrated turning 100 years old by getting a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame!

The legendary Musso & Frank Restaurant is celebrating 100 years with a week of events that includes a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame!

Musso & Frank has always been Hollywood’s clubhouse – name a star and they were there – usually enjoying one of their legendary Martinis – like this one that I had recently:

Quentin Tarantino’s brilliant “Once Upon A Time In…Hollywood” shot several scenes inside Musso & Frank with Leonardo Dicaprio, Brad Pitt and Al Pacino – reminding millions of film fans about this classic institution.

Even better news! Deadline.com reported recently on the restaurant’s plan to expand their Hollywood location:

“Celebrating its 100th anniversary, the iconic Hollywood Blvd. eatery is about to undergo a major change: sometime late this fall, it will open three private dining rooms with special access entrances, all with an eye toward addressing a long-standing customer desire for more privacy.

“It’s something our customers have been asking about for years,” said Mark Echeverria, the COO and the fourth generation of his family involved in the restaurant’s operations. Plans for the space started germinating back in 2009 upon his appointment, and though it takes a long time to get anything through the city planning boards and to construct in old buildings, it appears that three private rooms will open sometime around Thanksgiving of this year.”

To celebrate the expansion of this classic Hollywood haunt, I say we toast with one of legendary Bartender Manny Aguirre’s Martinis!

This week of celebration began on Monday with the release of the coffee table book “The Musso & Frank Grill,” written by Michael Callahan and including recipes for such M&F favorites as sand dabs and calf’s liver!

Here’s a look at the restaurant interior, as it has looked for a century:

When we were recently at the restaurant, my wife Alex started with the classic avocado salad, which comes to the table with a half hard-boiled egg, tomato wedge, pickle spear and steamed asparagus spear!

What a classic old school dish! For her main course, she got the legendary Sand Dabs, presented simply on the plate:

I had a classic steak with a side of mashed potatoes and spinach…a great way to celebrates Hollywood’s past!

Here’s what the menu looked like a hundred years ago:

Musso & Frank Grill bought out some of it past to celebrate it’s 100th birthday this year, here, a menu from 1944. As part of a weeklong celebration of Hollywood’s favorite restaurant’s 100th anniversary a book has been produced on the iconic eatery. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

As Deadline reports:

It all started back in 1919, when Frank Toulet formed a fateful partnership with Joseph Musso. The men in 1922 hired French chef Jean Rue, who would showcase his artistry at Musso & Frank for 53 years.

The restaurant has never been busier, Echeverria claims, and there will be some special centennial celebrations in September. The secret to surviving 100 years? “It’s all about the people,” said Echeverria, whose most cherished memory of the place is as a four-year-old sipping some Shirley Temples in a booth with his cousins and feeling very sophisticated.

Perhaps the best news in the terrific story is that these signature Martinis will never be sold beyond this Hollywood location – they have stated they will NEVER expand to other locations:

“We’re here to serve our community,” Echeverria said. “It’s what we do.”

The LA Daily News has a great story with tons of information and anecdotes about the restaurant – you can see it here:

https://www.dailynews.com/2019/09/23/musso-franks-in-hollywood-is-turning-100-heres-how-its-celebrating/

My friend Alison Martino has been covering all of the Musso & Frank events for her remarkable Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page. Alison posts lots of great vintage content about the classic part of Hollywood that shouldn’t be forgotten – or torn down!

Check her out here:

https://twitter.com/alisonmartino

So many of Hollywood’s iconic locations are closed or forever altered, and people in town were excited to see that the legendary Formosa Cafe was saved:

The Formosa Cafe was closed for a time, and its future was uncertain – but it has been saved and is now open again!

Here’s the story of this classic Hollywood haunt:

https://johnrieber.com/2017/06/07/has-hollywoods-iconic-formosa-cafe-been-saved-finally-a-great-hollywood-story/

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Here’s to another hundred years of Musso and Frank Martinis!

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