Tadich Grill

My hunt for a traditional, authentic San Francisco restaurant ended at the Tadich Grill.  Recently made famous by Anthony Bourdain when he toured this city, Tadich Grill set up shop during the California Gold Rush. This area, now full of gleaming towers of glass and steel, was back then swamp land; this eating place a tent with a sign that said Coffee Stand.  However, its Croatian owners soon reinvented the increasingly popular place into a seafood restaurant.  And that it has remained during the last 160 years.



Hundred and sixty years is a lot of history, especially in a young country like the USA.  Tadich Grill still does not take a reservation which means you can see people waiting in a line during the busy lunch hours.



A long bar covers most of the restaurant.  Bowls of lemon quarters that adorn the bar are yet another thing that has stood the test of time here.



I started with a salad and waited for my Cioppino soup, a hearty Italian sea-food soup said to have been invented right here!



The Cioppino lived up to its reputation.  With every variety of sea-food in a hearty tomato broth, the soup was accompanied by slices of fried garlic bread.

I ended with a cup of coffee.  The cup says "The Original Cold Day Restaurant".  There is a story behind that.   In 1882, due to a remark made by Alexander Badlam, Jr., San Francisco's tax assessor, the restaurant acquired a new name.





Badlam, running for re-election, bragged that it would be "a cold day" when he'd be defeated. He was soundly defeated, and the newspapers had a field day over his remark. Since Badlam was a regular here, everyone began to call it the Cold Day Restaurant!