MUSSO & FRANK'S HISTORY OF A GREAT RESTAURANT

MUSSO AND FRANK GRILL (MUSSO AND FRANK'S) - HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES' GREATEST RESTAURANT & BAR

While the original four (well, yes there were a few other short lived incarnations) Brown Derby Restaurants in Los Angeles may always remain the most famous of Los Angeles restaurants, Musso and Frank's is, in my modest opinion, historically Los Angeles' greatest restaurant. While Musso and Frank's cautiously only claims to be the oldest restaurant in Hollywood, if you consider the same family has at least co-owned it since 1927, it is in the same location since 1934 (at least the "old room") and has essentially not been remodeled, it could probably claim to be the oldest restaurant in Los Angeles under the same ownership, in the same location and not remodeled. I don't have enough information on the rest of California, but it may possibly be the oldest restaurant in California under those criteria. There are restaurants in Los Angeles with older inception dates, but they have either moved, changed ownership and/or substantially remodeled. I'll have to do more research to give you a definitive answer on all of this. There are amazingly few historic pictures of Musso's interior. If you have any pre-70's pictures of Musso's interior (with or without people) - please scan me a copy!

Of course the historical importance of Musso and Frank's Grill goes way beyond the incredible time machine historic interior. We can start with the historic recipes with some of the dishes going back to the early 20's (perhaps even 1919). There is the living history of a staff that often has decades of service in the place. But of course, being in Hollywood, especially in an era where America's greatest writers were also working as screen writers, Musso's has an unparalleled history of clientele from the movie industry and of course writers like Fitzgerald, Faulkner and Chandler, just to name a few.

And of course, even ignoring Musso and Frank's historic importance, latimemachines.com (despite its rather humble design and stature) has awarded Musso's with its incredibly prestigious award of best restaurant in the world! A rather uncontroversial proposition if you have ever had their hot turkey sandwich or onion soup au gratin. If an earthquake would make all of Los Angeles fall into the sea except an island a few blocks around Musso's (hopefully also saving Miceli's and Boardner's), I'm sure I would continue to go there on a regular basis (albeit perhaps by canoe).

[If you see someone like Martin I. Townsend ("I told you so") eating at Musso's, it really poor form to ask him for an autograph. If he's at the bar and not deep in conversation with an entourage then perhaps... ]

And without further adieu (well maybe a little adieu), let's get to the history of the Musso and Frank Grill (which perhaps never had an official name - often being called Musso and Frank's, Musso's, Musso-Frank, etc. - I use all of them for search engine purposes). First, a bit of a warning. This is a work in progress. It is in no way an "official" history. Quite frankly, the story I have gathered is full of holes and likely inaccuracies (I even add a few inaccuracies to protect my copyright in case someone wants to steal my paltry work!). Hopefully, the owners will some day do an official book on the place, since they are the only people who have the full background knowledge and they are the only people, who by the sweat of their brow and creative long term efforts, deserve to make such a book. Historic records are often full of inaccuracies. Census workers rushing to get a job done, government workers who don't care about spellings, failing memories, human error, etc. lead to such errors. I saw an article saying that Musso's was founded by two writers (probably mishearing waiters) from France. I saw an old ad for the place advertising the "Mosso and Frank Grill" confusing the similar names of past owners Musso and Mosso. Dates vary in various news reports on the move of the old room, the closing of the back room and the addition of the "new room". Confusion is added by all of the early owners adopting American names. Joseph was probably born Giuseppe, John was definitely Giovanni, Frank was most definitely Firmin and Robert was probably "Prosper" (still a bit of a mystery). To further complicate things, surprisingly the names Musso, Mosso, and to a lesser extent Carissimi are fairly common names in Italy, so there were quite a few Joseph Mussos, John Mossos and a few Joseph Carissimis. Fortunately the names Toulet and Prechacq are fairly rare. So no complaints about inaccuracies! (although corrections are appreciated).

The Musso and Frank Grill began on Hollywood Boulevard as "Frank's Cafe" (and later Frank "Francois" Cafe perhaps to clarify its French origins - although Francois was apparently never really a nick name of the founder Firmin Toulet). Frank's Cafe opened at 5:00PM on September 27, 1919 with a "Special French Dinner". However, the restaurant has older origins than that. The origins of Musso and Frank's can be traced to several events. One root of the restaurant started in Portland, Oregon, the first venture of Joseph Musso and Joseph Carissimi called the Progress Cafe. Musso then moved to Sacramento for a time (along with Joseph Carissimi) and then Los Angeles and eventually teamed up with Firmin "Frank" Toulet , Firmin's wife Helene Toulet and Helene's father (Firmin's father in law) Prosper Prechacq. There is a mystery since the newspaper on opening night reported Firmin's partner as "Robert" Prachacq [sic]. I suspect this was Prosper Americanizing his name. So the founders on Hollywood Boulevard at least were Firmin Toulet and the Prechacqs. The Prechacqs had earlier restaurants where Firmin worked as a waiter (starting in San Francisco). I have not found the exact date but it appears Musso joined up in Hollywood between 1920 and 1922. Gregory Paul Williams puts the date at 1923. Let's look at the founder's lives.

Opening night ad for Frank's Cafe (later Musso and Frank's on September 27, 1919 - recently rediscovered by latimemachines.com) - please give latimemachines.com some credit if you use this!

Firmin "Frank" Toulet and Marie Zoe Helene Prechacq . Frank was born in Lys (possibly Saint Lys), France on 2-25-1880 (or 1879). He came to the U.S. at New York on board the ship Normandie in July of 1896 after living in or embarking from Havre, France. He kept a pretty low profile, so information on him is sparse. In 1910 he was living at 1952 Stockton St. in San Francisco and working as a waiter. He married his only wife, Marie Zoe Helene ("Helen") Prechacq in New York on 11-8-1917. She was subsequently known as Helene (sometimes "Helen") Toulet. Her father Prosper (possibly nicknamed "Robert") Prechacq apparently owned several restaurants and they met when Frank worked at one of them. Both Frank and Prosper "Robert" Prechacq were original partners in Frank's Cafe (the beginning of Musso and Franks Grill) which opened on September 27, 1919 (a fact recently rediscovered for the world by your not so humble author). Helene's role is apparently almost forgotten. She was born on 10-13-1893 in New York, New York (and she apparently lost her U.S. citizenship when she married Firmin - originally a French citizen - as was the strange law back then - she had to naturalize to get her citizenship back!). According to Gregory Paul Williams in his definitive book on Hollywood "The Story of Hollwood", Helen was admiring Charlie Chaplin's costume one day when he came in, which consisted of a Panama Hat and a fake mustache, Chaplin promptly gave them to her. At one point the couple lived at 202 West 31st Street. in Los Angeles. In 1920, just after opening Frank Cafe's, Frank and Helene where living at 6685 Hollywood Blvd. as lodgers. Helene worked as the cashier at the time. Frank cashed in his interest in Musso's in 1927. Frank once bragged that he had shelled out over 15,000 grand in tabs or credit at the restaurant to starving actors and had only been stiffed for 200 dollars of that amount. Frank then went into obscurity. Frank died on January 1, 1941 "suddenly". He was living at 1813 West Seventy-Ninth St. at the time. He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery. Helene died on 7-18-95 at the grand old age of one hundred and one!

Prosper "Robert" Prechacq - Not much is known about this original partner in "Frank's Cafe". He was born August 6, 1868 in Lys, France (same as Firmin) and came to the U.S. in September 10, 1886, initially to New York on board the "La Champagne", where he worked at the Martin Cafe. His wife Elise Pindat was born on 4-13-1868 and died 6-12-1940. Elise's mother, Zoe Pindat, died at age 83 on May 8, 1926 in Los Angeles. On June 23, 1907 he bought the famous and very early San Fernando Restaurant, Campi's for 4000 dollars along with partner Bruno Pindat (the Pindats, sometime spelled "Pindart" where Prosper's in-laws). The Prechacq family was also associated with the Pindat Catering Company. In 1910 the Prechacq family, consisting of Prosper, his wife Elise, daughter Helen (soon to be Toulet), and sons George (born 12-23-1894) and Adrian (born 10-19-1901) lived at 1919 Maple Ave. in Los Angeles. In 1930, Prosper and his wife lived at 232 W. 31st Street. in Los Angeles. Elise lived at 2005 Strong Ave., Venice, California in 1939. Prosper died in April of 1938, three years before Frank Toulet. Well, I hope I got all of that right. I guess Musso and Frank's could have ended up being called Prechacq and Toulet's or Mosso and Carissimi's, Prosper and Firmin's or Giovanni and Guiseppe's! Somehow - Musso and Frank's seems just right.

Joseph L. Musso (probably born Giuseppe) , was born in Voghera, Pavia, Italy on 4-19-1880. His parents were Giovanni Musso and Marianna Crose and he had two sisters, Adele Giolitto (who at one time lived at 77 Lafferty Ave. in Pittsburg, PA) and Lina Danovi. It appears he came to the U.S. in 1904. He started out with the Progress Café in Portland, Oregon in 1910 with Joseph Carissimi. He naturalized as a U.S. citizen in the Court of Portland Oregon on 5-13-1913. He lived for a few years together with Joseph Carissimi in Sacramento, probably at least 1916-1918 (he lived at 505 K St. in Sacramento and 1314 6th) before moving to Los Angeles to eventually form the Musso and Frank Grill in Hollywood with Firmin "Frank" Toulet. Interestingly enough, he was a Republican. His first wife was named Leora born on 8-6-1890 possibly in Pennsylvania or Los Angeles. It appears Musso and Carissimi had a grocery store together in Sacramento and they may have even lived together at 505 K. St. In October of 1930 there was apparently confusion over whether he had opened a new Musso and Frank Grill. Various disclaimers give the impression that he still had some role at Musso and Frank’s (even though he sold it in 1927, he appears to have continued to help in some capacity). On February 21, 1934, he did open his own restaurant at 6300 Wilshire Blvd. called Musso Café or just Musso’s. He was not only a restaurant owner but considered a great chef, known for his Canape Sous Cloche, Potatoes a la Musso, Plank steak, Zucchini Florentine, Zabaione and Chicken Valencia. He often gave public cooking classes. On May 26, 1934, he expanded his restaurant to include a Parisian outdoor Garden with dancing. Some places Joseph Musso lived: 313 W. 8th St. (1922), 1221 Hill Drive, Sherman (probably Sherman Oaks) , CA, 1221 Ozeta Terra (1929), 1111 N. Steward St. (1940), Joseph Musso was living in West Hollywood when he died at age 66 on July 7 (or 5 depending on the source), 1946. His 2nd wife Emma Musso died on 10-30-1968 in Las Vegas. Emma was from the Rovere family, whose most notable member was Bert Rovere, owner of the Paris Inn, Lucca's and a well known Opera singer (see my great restaurateur page). A marriage of two great lines of restaurateurs! Descendents of the Rovere family currently live in Las Vegas (which is also home to some of the Mosso descendents - one of Las Vegas' most famous families - the Jones family).

This is the restaurant Joseph Musso opened for a while after he sold his interest in Musso and Frank. Donated by R. Rovere.

Giovanni "John" Mosso was born in Turin, Italy on January 30, 1885. He came to the U.S. with his wife Maurina (nicknamed "Rina") and his daughter Rosa aboard the S.S. Canopic (leaving from Genoa) on 3-2-1920 (arriving in Boston, MA). He was apparently a friend of Mussolini before Mussolini revealed his fascist beliefs. The two had a falling out when Mosso discovered Mussolini's nascent fascist philosophy, prompting an almost overnight necessity to flee Italy with his family. Mosso's destination upon arriving in the U.S. was Las Vegas, Nevada. It appears he was originally a mechanic before becoming a restaurateur. His father was Guiseppe Mosso born in Moncacco, Torino, Italy. He purchased the Musso and Frank Grill in 1927, along with Joseph Carissimi. In 1930 he was living at 1211 Douglas St. in Los Angeles. In 1936 it appears he was living at 1665 N. Sycamore Ave. He also lived at 7249 Franklin Ave. in Hollywood. He took a trip back to Italy in 1948 aboard the Ship "Vulcania". He passed away on March 15 of 1974 at age 89 in Los Angeles. He was survived by his daughter Mrs. Charles Keegel (Rosa). One staff member remembers Mr. Mosso as a frugal man who liked to make meals out of the "day old" bread the restaurant would no longer serve. He is also remembered as only liking to eat things he himself cooked.

Guiseppe "Joseph" Carissimi was born in Milano, Italy on March 2, 1876. He father was Carlo "Charlie" Carissimi, also of Milano, Itally. It appears Joseph first lived in the U.S. in San Francisco from 1892 to 1895 (he passed through the Panama Canal on 9-21-1895). He came to the U.S. to reside permanently aboard the Steamer Regina D' Italia in October of 1908 from Genoa, Italy. He lived in Portland, Oregon from 1908 to 1915 and then about four years in Sacramento. He first business with Joseph Musso was the Progress Cafe in Portland, Oregon in 1910. He then moved with Joseph Musso to Sacramento, California where the two had a grocery and Mercantile business at 505 K (or Kay) St. They may have lived together at that address as well. His first wife was named something like Liuela and she lived in Lucca, Italy in 1918. Joseph became a U.S. citizen in Sacramento on 3-12-1918. In 1919, Joseph traveled to Guatemala to see his friend Juan Pierri in Guatemala City. He purchased the Musso and Frank Grill in 1927 from his old friend Joseph Musso (he purchased it along with John Mosso). By 1930 Joseph had remarried with his wife, Theresa, born around 1879 in Italy. In 1930 he was living at 6668 Franklin Ave. in Hollywood, which sounds like it was almost directly behind Musso and Frank's. He died at his residence at 6712 Franklin Ave. at age 68 on June 9, 1944. He was survived by his wife Theresa or "Teresita" and his two son’s Louis and Charles. Charles died on December 17, 1969.

Jesse Chavez - for a brief time Jesse Chavez, not part of the long chain of families mentioned above, owned a percentage of Musso's. He had been the restaurant's Captain who by his frugal habits amassed quite a bit of money. During a brief period (probably during the bad old days of Hollywood Boulevard when it was at it's low point) Musso's hit a sudden cash shortage and he bailed the place out. Part of his ownership deal, however, was that he could not sell or leave as a legacy his ownership interest - so that disappeared (possibly with some litigation) when he died. At least this is what a staff member recounted to me.

Maurina "Rina" Mosso, (first?) wife of Giovanni "John" Mosso (see above) opened the highly successful Mona Lisa Restaurant (see my extinct restaurant page). She co-owned the place with a Mr. Frank Balzano. The first Mona Lisa Restaurant was located at 2534 W. 7th St. It burnt down, with perhaps only the Mona Lisa picture in the restaurant being saved. It reopened on October 16, 1926. The place featured Italian and French cuisine. People would also come for mid-day tea and to play mah jong. The 2nd and longest lasting Mona Lisa Restaurant was located at 2534 Wilshire Blvd. not far from the Wilshire Brown Derby Restaurant. Rina was so proud of her restaurant that at one point, when a robber came into the Mona Lisa Restaurant and pointed a gun in her face, she was able to get it away from him and have him arrested.

The families of John Mosso, and Joseph Carissimi carried on with the Musso and Frank Grill for many years. I have no information on the Chavez family. I'll leave out any information on living family members for both privacy reasons and for lack of information, with one exception since this family member has been prominently featured recently in the Los Angeles Times, LA Magazine and on the web.

Jordan Jones, great grandson of John Mosso and of the pioneering Jones family of Las Vegas is one of the fourth generation owners keeping this great tradition going. The Jones family recently bought out the Carissimi family's interest in the place. Jordan has made some long needed, but historically accurate, changes at Musso's including improving the lighting, adding a gourmet wine selection, and extending the bar hours with historically appropriate music. Jordan has more important innovations in the works to improve things without changing in anyway the historic ambiance and character of Musso's that everyone loves. The place is in good hands!

Now let's go from the story of the owners to the story of Musso and Frank's in general. In the 1920's their motto was strangely enough "Some place to eat". Their New Year's dinner in 1928 cost a whopping $2.00. By 1966, the highest priced meal had risen to the princely sum of $6.00.

A little information on the Musso and Frank building: Depending on the resource - the brick structure that houses Musso and Frank's was built either in 1917 or 1919 by Frank (just a coincidence) Meline with architect L.A. Smith. It appears the back room interior was designed by "Allen McGill and Douglas McLellan" architects.

The most famous chef of the Musso and Frank Grill was Jean Rue. born in Limoges, France, who worked here for 53 years starting in 1922. Rue also worked at the Ambassador Hotel . He died in 1976 at the age of 78, when John Helman took over and then later Michel Bourger (who had been trained by Rue). Current Chef is Silvestre Moya.

Musso & Frank's moved next door on or about April 4, 1934 (where the "old room" is now located - this is a date you will not find accurately anywhere else - except the Los Angeles Times April 4, 1934). They moved on that occasion from 6669 Hollywood Blvd. to 6667 Hollywood Blvd. In November, 1941, Musso's decided they would start closing on Sundays for the first time. The "new room" I believe dates from 1954 or 55 and possibly contains the bar from the famous "back room" (sans the bar's "roof" or top), now closed (one source says the back room bar was sold - so possibly the new room bar is a copy of the bottom of the back room bar - who knows?). The "New Room" was created to make up for the loss of the "Back Room." The "new room" (I think) was once the Stanley Rose Bookstore, a hang out of some of America's greatest writers (it may have been located a little further over in the same building). This leads us to the story of the back room.

The back room of Musso and Frank's is where great writers and other famous creative people like F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Saroyan, William Faulkner , Raymond Chandler (who is rumored to have written some of "The Big Sleep" here), John O'hara, Christopher Isherwood, Erskine Caldwell, Lilian Hellman, Thomas Wolfe, Thomas and Heinrich Mann, Dorothy Parker, Dashiell Hammett and Budd Schulberg hung out. Even the great composer Igor Stravinsky was known to visit. The Back Room of Musso and Frank's was leased from the Vogue Theater on or about May, 1935 (another figure you will not find accurately anywhere else - except the LA Times May 5, 1935). The backroom was apparently lost around 1954, when they lost their lease to it. Thus, the need to move into Stanley Rose's Bookstore for the "new room". It appears that the new room was designed in part by Webb Coleman (although it is basically a copy of the old room - see LA Times 2-26-1955). Long time maitre d' for the back room of the Musso and Frank Grill was Daniel Ilich who so jealously guarded the spaces for the writers that he was fired when the owners discovered the room empty, even though there was a long line to get into Musso's. The writers apparently were late in arriving from a horse race. The space where the Back Room was still exists (although it may soon be converted into yet another Hollywood "club"). If you are facing the back of Musso's, the old room is on the right side. They say that Hemingway ate at Musso's, but if so, it was only once or twice. I believe he only made one or two trips to Hollywood (incidentally Hemingway hated every single movie based on his writings). Hemingway might have been upset that they don't make Mojitos at Musso and Franks (but they do make his second favorite - the Daiquiri). The bar is strictly "old school" and even though Mojitos are "old school" Cuban - they didn't become a fad until recently.

The food at Musso & Frank's is outstanding. Parking in the back is reasonable with validation. While Musso's is not for people on a McDonald's budget, you can almost fill up on the free sourdough bread. If you order a la carte dishes like the incredible hot turkey sandwich – it’s quite affordable (but don't be too cheap - we want this place to do great business forever). There is also a vegetable plate for vegetarians. Also famous are the signature ultra thin flannel cakes that have been the talk of Hollywood since the restaurant opened. There is also counter seating that's considered a great place to eat alone or with friends (perhaps the only dinner counter in LA in an upscale restaurant). Charlie Chaplin’s favorite table was the first one when walking in the old room from Hollywood Boulevard. Charlie Chaplin's favorite dishes were broiled lamb kidney and also boiled lamb with caper sauce. Raymond Burr's long time table is in the back of the "new room" closest to the bar. The bar is always guaranteed to have very interesting people to strike up a conversation with (I've made some great friends there!!). Steve McQueen favorite spot was the counter seat coming in from Hollywood Blvd. against the wall (bartender Ruben Rueda had to throw him out a few times for getting rowdy - but they remained friends).

In the Raymond Chandler story "The Long Goodbye" Philip Marlowe and Terry Lennox eat at Musso's. Musso and Frank's is also one of the few places where Bukowski definitely did hang out (as opposed to the many places he is rumored to have imbibed). He was a friend of Ruben Rueda, the longest running bartender at Mussos. One fun fact is that in 1935, the majority of the waiters were Italian. Now the majority of the staff is Hispanic (mostly Mexicanos).

It will probably take me years to compile even a very partial list of all of the stars and famous people that have eaten at Musso's (obviously an impossible task), so this is just a start. I have already mentioned Charlie Chaplin. Rudolph Valentino was also a client and he loved - what else - the spaghetti (which may have been an exotic dish back then). Other clients included the illusive Greta Garbo (who liked to hide from reporters here and dined on spaghetti and "near beer" during prohibition. She was also once spotted here with a Swedish prince.), Gary Cooper who loved their tenderloin steaks, Ginger Rodgers who favored Rum cake for dessert, Marty Feldman, Jackie Coogan (who boasted that he had been eating at Musso and Frank's for over 50 years), John Cameron Swayze (who loved the flannel cakes) Carrie Snodgress (obviously not a Hollywood name!), Henry Armenta, Dorthy Comingore, Ben Gazzara (who liked smoked salmon, with onions and capers), Richard Thomas, Quentin Tarrantino, Raymond Burr, Charles "Hank" Bukowski, Mickey Dolenz, Orson Welles, Drew Barrymore, William Shatner, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Jonathon Winters, Johnny Weissmuller, Paul Douglas, Carol Howard, Jack Smith, John Voight, Rich Little, Myrna Loy and John Beal (who liked smoked tongue and creamed spinach). There are literally thousands more, but this will do for just a sample.

As to my personal experiences at Musso's, they start about 1980. When my son was still small, they used to make a tuna sandwich for him with a face on the top made out of a pickle and olives. He really loved that. They would also occasionally bring him a small glass of maraschino cherries. Don't know if they do any of that anymore. My all time favorite here is the hot turkey sandwich. My mother loves the smelts. The French onion soup is also to die for and well as their signature flannel cakes. Did I mention the the steaks that will evoke pleasant dreams for years to come? There are what are now exotic dishes (historical food) - like Welsh Rarebit (not for people with high cholesterol!). Unfortunately, I am a creature of habit so I can't report of the multitude of other Musso delights. No matter what may be going on in my life, I know the instant I walk in Musso and Frank's - I'll be happy!

Over the years, I've made a habit of ensuring that everyone I cared about in my life had dinner with me at least once at Musso and Frank's (Musso and Frank Grill). It so reassuring to always walk into a place that never changes and has so many wonderful memories. I may not be able to find my way around the place I grew up in Maryland anymore, but I know I will always be able to go to Musso's and sit at the same both and order my favorite meals with the people I care about.

AWARD: Los Angeles Time Machines has given Musso and Frank's its top award - "Best Restaurant in the World". This is really not subject to debate - where else in the world can you find a place that combines so much history of the movies and TV, and Hollywood, including the history of many of the world's greatest musicians, directors, actors and writers. This in conjunction with great service (taking into account the unique and unparalleled personalities of the staff), a perfect "time machine" interior, nice and enlightened "hands-on" owners, and fantastic food. A totally non-controversial decision!

UPDATE: Musso's is prominently featured (both the bar and old room and rather properly the Martini's in Season One, Episode 7 of the Mad Men TV Drama on AMC - what a combination! It also substitutes for Sardi's in New York in Season 2, Episode 5 ("The New Girl"). The best TV show ever combined with the best Restaurant ever (though I wish they would use the real waiters and bartenders rather than actors)! Incidentally, Hollywood Boulevard had it's own branch of Sardi's in the 1930s. It burnt down and then was briefly reborn as Zardi's for some strange reason. Musso's is also featured in Ben Stiller's current hit movie - Greenberg along with some of the staff!

Burial Site for Joseph and Emma Musso

Hungry for more information on the Musso and Frank Grill? Read my essay on why Musso and Frank's is the WORLD'S GREATEST RESTAURANT AND BAR - click here

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