RESTAURANTS and other eateries
Musso and Frank – After living there for a while I finally ventured in to see what it was all about, and entered a whole different world. But not a strange world; somehow this had always existed for me. It was a world come true. It was a Saturday afternoon and very few people were in there. I sat at the counter and ordered eggs with (probably) ham, and had a Manhattan, followed by coffee. I was blown away by the white linen place settings at the counter. And of course the old-time waiters. I loved every last thing about the place.
Diamond Jim’s – Oh, what a loss. What an incredible place. This one was gone maybe a year or two after I arrived, but there was at least one other I knew about (on Wilshire, west of the 405 - ?) that I got to a couple of times. I think I first ordered eggs in here, too. No, I know what it was -- a spinach omelet with extra spinach on the side. And a Manhattan. (Yes! It’s true.) As I recall, the place had a waiter vibe similar to Musso and Frank.
Hamburger Hamlet (No. 10) – Another incredible loss. There are too many reasons I loved the Hamlet to try to list, so just a few highlights. My favorite burger in the whole world, if it still existed as prepared by them, would be the #11/#32. I believe the low number series was the half-pound burgers, and the 30’s were the quarter-pound. The large one was the first thing I had upon ignorantly wandering into the place on that short visit in summer 1971. Fairly simple, really, just a medium-rare (it was always perfect—always!) patty with cheese (probably American), chopped raw onions, and what they called “Russian” dressing but it was really Thousand Island. I’ve since found that a lot of places call it Russian, that wasn’t unique to them. And fries. That’s it. But their beef and charbroiling (I think) was incredibly perfect for my taste.
Saw lots of famous faces in that location. I fondly remember the day I was sitting at the counter around the “corner” (it was a “J”-shaped counter and I was at the tip of the “J”) from Eddie Egan – he’s the actual cop in The French Connection, who played his own boss to Gene Hackman. He was living out there then, getting more acting parts. He was sitting at the counter chain-smoking cigarettes and chain-drinking coffee while reading a handwritten letter over and over. I so wanted to speak with him for a moment -- but I didn’t feel right about it, and didn’t. Now I kind of wish I had.
Watched the 1973 Academy Awards broadcast in the bar there (the one for which Brando didn’t show up to accept his Oscar?), over my #11 and drinking a (you guessed it) Manhattan. I believe I was having that one on the rocks.
Took me a while, but I just recalled the names – Harry and Marilyn Lewis – the couple who started Hamburger Hamlet and created its vibe with the faux-Shakespearean theme that permeated everything. It was a little heavy-handed, even back then, but I’d welcome it all back in an instant. I haven’t begun to communicate why I found this such an all-around great place.
BTW, I didn't just love store no. 10. Other favorites were Sunset Blvd. (west end of the Strip), Westwood (next to the Bruin), and whichever street that was in Beverly Hills. I'm afraid you're doomed to hearing more from me on this subject whether you want to or not.
More eats to come...
