Forget fast food... Shun cookie-cutter "concept" chain restauruants...
Forget the trendy hip joint that's here today and gone tommorow...

Where do you go for a traditional dining experiences?

-I still remember my grandfather (in the Hollywood film business since the 1920s) taking me to Musso and Frank's Grill on Hollywood Blvd., where the waiters knew him by name...and the menu seemed straight out of 1940.... Steaks, chops, grilled liver, corned beef and cabbage, and even chicken pot pie. The waiters all wore high collar red jackets and the place was dimly lit with heavy wood paneling like a film noir set.

-Superior Dairy (Hanford, California), the last of the great 1930s ice cream soda joints and temple to the Gods of butterfat. Pink and white Naugahyde for days, waitresses in matching pink uniforms and white ruffled aprons. Amazing shakes and malts blended by hand...and so thick the spoon stands straight...even with the mixing can held sideways. The S-O-S (Superior Over-sized Sundae) serves 2-4, but you can risk death by ice cream and order it by yourself. Hamburgers, grilled cheese, or Ruben sandwiches served with frys and a couple of home-made dill pickle spears. Does life get any better than this?

-Philippe's, home of the French Dipped Sandwich. Since 1908, Philippe's has been feeding Los Angeles hot sandwiches at long communal tables and a stand up bar around the walls, on a floor covered in sawdust. The only place where you can see the political elite of Los Angeles dining elbow to elbow working stiffs and the homeless. There's a news stand by the main entrance like something out of the past. The coffee is STILL $0.10...although everything else has gone up in price. And it's not just French dip sandwiches....the pie is fabulous, the soup of the day is a tradition...and the glass case counter contains such treasures and mysteries as stewed prunes, macaroni salad, kosher pickles, and baked apples.

So what's YOUR favorite culinary journey to the past?