cole's french dip

let’s give credit where credit is due. cole’s sandwich isn’t bad. it’s a hand carved piece of work on two outstanding pieces of bread. the pork (the kind i got, has the look, feel and taste of hand-pulled pork via south carolina), almost a meal onto itself. the dipping sauce is sweet and light. couple that with their…was it called “diablo” mustard, and over all, it’s a pretty good tasting sandwich. i would probably be the most famous in town if it wasn’t for philippe’s.

so, again, it’s not that cole’s didn’t do something fantastic, it’s just that i personally think philippe’s does it better. you may disagree. (i’m pretty sure that the folks at cole’s do too).

philippe’s sandwiches are in a way constructed different. there is no au jus dipping, they just dunk the whole sucker into the bath, and i personally find their mustard better. it melds perfectly in with the sandwich. the diablo did a find job of that as well, but i thought the mustard was a bit more standard and tart, than what i think philippe’s does.

again, that’s just me.

disapointed in l.a. i just moved to downtown los angeles in september of 2010 from bakersfield, ca. i was definetly excited about all the food i want to try out here. i was online searching for some great spots, and i heard about cole's..the originator of the french dip..so i was on a mission to try it...i waited for my cousin to visit from philidelphia so he can also enjoy it and spread the news about it back home..but to our dismay the sandwich tasted like penis's roasted over a fire of herpes infested vaginas. very disappointed.....

if the sandwich was decent, the biscuits and gravy were outstanding, with sizable chunks of sausage in a thick, well-seasoned buttery gravy dumped atop doughy crumble-in-the-gob biscuits. it was bang on.

according to carvers at cole’s, henry cole first dipped the french bread in jus at the request of a customer who had had recent dental work. the french bread was too hard and it hurt this customer’s teeth, so henry dipped the bread in order to soften it. other customers, with perfectly good teeth, saw henry dip the bread and requested that he do the same for them – and thus the french dip was born.

brother could you spare some pastrami?. my 1/2 sandwich had hardly any meat on it for the $9 price tag + $3 for a coke. someone in a review here said the meat hand sliced , i got news, it's not . it was shaved on a commercial slicer. i got a dixie cup of mac and cheese that had no flavor and a quarter slice ( i am not kidding) of a pickle . i haven't been there for a few years. it's still cool looking, but too clean now. i guess cleaning costs money so they cheap out on the food and think the hipsters won't notice. redwood is better.

the mac n cheese bites were quite an indulgence. the mac and cheese bite by themselves were quite perfect themselves — cheesy and crispy. the truffle dipping sauce just created an explosion of flavors and even more creaminess. this was addicting and probably the mot memorable thing at society cafe.

the sandwiches here are okay. i couldn't really tell if the ingredients were fresh or not, and the bread got a bit soggy after a few minutes. the wait during lunch is really long: up to 30 minutes. unfortunately there are a lot of other great sandwich places in the area like tartine.

cole'€™s may be known for its french dip, but it also serves up the kind of bloody mary that makes your mouth water just thinking about it. intensely acidic and very spicy, this bloody mary is all about cole'€™s famous atomic pickles. tomato juice gets a big hit of pickle brine and a good pour of vodka along with a pickle garnish and a crunchy celery stalk. add a celery -salted half rim, and this brightly flavored bloody mary will send your salivary glands soaring. why go? atomic pickles.

happy hour. finally got around to coles. came in for happy hour, and really enjoyed it. i was able to get $5.00 draft beer and grub. very good draft beer selection, got a french dip sampler with garlic fries. coles give you that old school feel, with old school happy hour prices. definitely will be back soon.

the poor quality of the food was surpassed only by the rudeness of the staff. i was told, "maybe it will be better next time." what in the hell makes you think there will be a next time? don't waste your money here! philippe's is much better!

we both thought cole’s was slightly better. plus i liked the fact that you can do your own dipping at cole’s.

: (. maybe it was an off day but...the meat tasted warmed in a microwave and the portions didn't match the price.

that have excellent cocktails and very good french dip. i like that they give you the au jus on the side so you don't end up with a soggy sandwich.

everything i could have asked for as an avid french dip enthusiast! so good and you must try the spicy garlic fries!

good but probably not the best. we stopped here after hearing great things about the french dips. don't get me wrong, it was good. i went with the pork option, instead of the usual beef. the meat, bun, and au jus were all tasty, but there could've been more pork on it. overall, the best french dip ever? probably not. still worth trying though.

i ordered sweet potato fries with it, and those were awesome. they had a garlic flavor which really added. i would definitely get them again. and the homemade mustard/horseradish sauce was so good that i ended up buying a jar for myself.

service was fine. prices maybe a little high, but not ridiculous.