Musso & Frank Grill
Sourdough Bread
Spumoni Slice
Brioche Bread Pudding with Blueberries and Vanilla Ice Cream
Musso & Frank Strawberry Torten
Doing the bulk of the day’s eating before noon, mid-day reserved for rest before a concert at Hollywood Bowl, friends had frequently half-joked that a visit to Musso & Frank Grill was an ‘essential’ Los Angeles experience, words that a dinner-turned-“just desserts” largely proved, at least historically, to be true.
Laid out much like San Francisco’s Tadich Grill, the focus at Musso & Frank more steak and pasta than the North Bay’s home of Cioppino and Sand Dabs, those entering the 1919 restaurant at 6667 Hollywood Blvd. will immediately appreciate the old-school nature of low bar seating as high-backed booths form enclaves to the left of the doors, and persistently jammed during peak hours all the way to a second room unseen from the entrance only one option for seating is offered without reservations, the far end of the bar where swinging doors offer an occasional glimpse of the kitchen.
Cliché professional in service, the staff proper but almost intentionally stiff in a 50s sort of way, a red-vested middle-aged man quickly dropped a knob of sourdough plus butter soon after I was seated, and with a menu already present for perusal I quickly debated the “Original Fettuccini Alfredo” as well as Chicken a la King before deciding such things were unlikely to offer any insight beyond the typical, a few steak specials ignored much like my request for Flannel Cakes (that, unbeknownst to me, apparently cease to be served at 3pm) with the end result a request of three desserts, served in courses over the next 45 minutes.
Humorously priced with regard to savories, though chock-full of tourists undoubtedly generating more than enough revenue to offset the costs of such an enormous space on the Walk of Fame, it was after a short delay listening to upsells of ‘famous cocktails’ to a couple at my right that course one arrived and although at first too hard to eat the Spumoni Cake quickly warmed to spoonability, the layers of ice cream not really different from many classics seen elsewhere, though the thick ribbon of ganache atop a graham cracker crust admittedly did add an pleasant textural contrast.
Describing the difference between Diplomat Pudding and Bread Pudding simply as “one is cold, the other is hot” it was not particularly amusing when the latter arrived only modestly warmer than room temperature with texture not dissimilar to a wet sponge and Vanilla Ice Cream no creamier than Thrifty, a few bites taken before the rest was rejected and all-in-all a good choice providing both time and capacity to enjoy the cream-meets-crunch juxtaposition of Musso & Frank’s famous Strawberry Torten.
www.mussoandfrank.com
