Pleasures of L.A. dining, past and present

I enjoyed reading about the restaurants in “Comfort and Joy” [Dec. 22] and have eaten in many of them. But how in the world could Charles Perry not have included Philippe the Original? It’s a real Los Angeles institution with French dip sandwiches, delicious side dishes and scrumptious desserts. I frequently take out-of-town guests there, and they all have enjoyed it. The wine is good and reasonable, and coffee for 10 cents is always a surprise.

BETTY A. KEEL

Hawthorne

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Charles! What about Langer’s?!

RICHARD HARRIS

Los Angeles

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I enjoyed Charles Perry’s roundup of longtime restaurants still going strong. Too bad that many of the places popular between the ‘50s and ‘70s are not still around. I’m referring to the fab La Cienega restaurant row (Captain’s Table, House of Murphy, Mediterrania, Frascati, Tail o’ the Cock, Stears for Steaks, Ollie Hammond’s, Fish Shanty, etc.), which to me represented the true Golden Age of L.A. dining, including Scandia, Perino’s, Brown Derby, Windsor, the Cove, et al.

SID SKOLNIK

West Hollywood