Free Chili at Philippe's Jan. 31

Guzzle and Nosh

Philippe's French dip

You always knew you wanted chili to complement your French dip sandwich. Didn't you? Well, find out tomorrow. Beginning at 10:30 a.m., Philippe the Original will offer a free cup of chili to the first 500 people who purchase a French Dipped Sandwich. The chili usually sells for $2.20 a cup (or $3.10 a bowl). Philippe's is known more for the fantastic French dips (beef, pork, ham, lamb and turkey) than the chili. But we guess there's no reason not to have both. "Get there early," says the press release; the chili supply is expected to run out by noon.

There are other reasons to visit Philippe's. As our critic Jonathan Gold wrote on the occasion of the restaurant's 100th anniversary in 2008, "Philippe's is one of those places that seem truly timeless." He commented, "The café is one of the few relics of the Los Angeles that Philip Marlowe knew, a sprawling complex of long tables, cheap coffee, sawdust-sprinkled floors and a Depression-era beef stew of the type that has always made hard-working Americans swoon."