Happy 100th, Musso & Frank Grill

How do you know when you've made it in Hollywood?

A sidewalk-based star, emblazoned with your moniker, is one strong indicator. Your picture splashed on the front of the trades, with a bunch of words like "boffo" in the headline, is positive.

And if people begin to shorten your full name, not one but twice? You're likely so beloved in town that you simply don't need to go by a longer handle.

Take The Musso & Frank Grill, which some local folks call "Musso & Frank's" while other people just stick with the quicker, catchier "Musso's" (but never, ever "Frank's" on its own).

It's an establishment that has made it, in other words.

It's been in movies, like Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," but the restaurant made it long ago, when the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Frank Sinatra enjoyed their favorite booths (The Little Tramp's preferred table is located in the "old" room while Mr. Sinatra favored the restaurant's "new" room, it is said.)

While glamour and legend can sometimes obfuscate true stories in Hollywood, Musso's, it may be factually stated, has been around for a long time.

One hundred years, in fact. And, as long as we're basking in the realm of facts, here's another one: The restaurant is celebrating its centennial as September 2019 comes to a close.

Speaking of things closing down, the eatery is observing a few closed days, to host some special centennial parties, but here's something that is as tangy to chew upon as as a vodka-marinated olive: Sept. 27 is the exact date when Joseph Musso and Frank Toulet welcomed the first official customers to the fine dining establishment located at 6667 Hollywood Boulevard, a century ago.

A Walk of Fame star, the first presented to a restaurant, will be unveiled for Musso & Frank Grill on Sept. 27, and fans will return for those memorable martinis and tasty chops when the landmark reopens after its big centennial week.

And they say nothing lasts in Hollywood, and things are too new and shiny, and there's nowhere to find stuffed celery and jellied consommé in LA.

And those crisp red jackets, the ones worn by the waitstaff, a sartorial sight that is both retro and timeless all at once? They also say those are hard to find nowadays.

"Pah," we do say to the they-sayers who'd make such spurious claims.

Better yet, we'll gently retract that "pah" and politely suggest any naysayers who haven't yet experienced this true Tinseltown treasure stop by for a martini, an appetizer, and some classic restaurant service soon. 

That martini, by the by, will be stirred, as is the Musso's way. Don't be shaken by this idea, either.

For Musso's is now beginning its second century, a celebratory notion that leaves us neither shaken nor stirred but as cheerful as a seafood chiffonade salad is chilled.