While its physical address can be found on Hollywood Boulevard, the true location of Musso & Frank lies at the intersection of Hollywood past, present and future.
What would eventually become Musso & Frank was founded in 1919 by Frank Toulet, who three years later formed a fateful partnership with a similarly forward-looking restaurateur named Joseph Musso. In 1922, the two men hired French chef Jean Rue—a culinary master who would wind up showcasing his artistry at Musso & Frank for 53 years and creating a menu that remains mostly intact to this day (amazingly enough, current Executive Chef J.P. Amateau is only the third person to serve in that position in the restaurant’s entire 100-year history following the tenures of Jean Rue and his successor, Michel Bourger).
In 1927, Mr. Musso and Mr. Toulet sold their restaurant to a duo of Italian immigrants named Joseph Carissimi and John Mosso and today Musso & Frank is owned and operated by the families of Mr. Mosso’s three granddaughters: John and Cathy Echeverria and their son Mark Echeverria; Steve and Anne Jones; and Richard and Kristen Kohlmeyer.
Propelled by a compelling and richly detailed narrative, an unforgettable cast of characters, and lush, color-drenched images worthy of a cinematic epic, an ambitious new oversized book to be published this fall entitled The Musso & Frank Grill will chronicle the evolution of the iconic Hollywood restaurant as it celebrates its centennial milestone.
Published by Story Farm and written by noted author and journalist Michael Callahan (Vanity Fair, Esquire), The Musso & Frank Grill (Sub-Titled Some Place To Eat in honor of the restaurant’s longstanding tag line), features a poetically heartfelt introduction by best-selling “Bosch” author and frequent Musso & Frank patron Michael Connelly, as well as photography by JonPaul Douglass and Tina Whatcott-Echeverria, and illustrations by Rick Plummer.
Chronicling the multi-generational story of a truly legendary venue whose history over the past 100 years has in many ways mirrored that of the Hollywood entertainment industry itself, “The Musso & Frank Grill” will be available to the public October 1 immediately following Musso’s official centennial anniversary date on September 27.
For more on the restaurant and book, visit www.mussoandfrank.com.
