Tadich Grill
San Francisco
The first time I ever went to Tadich Grill must have been in the late ’60s when I was younger than five. My grandfather grew up in the Louisiana bayous and didn't have access to the seafood of his childhood in the landlocked Central Valley of California. We used to drive up to the city and eat at Tadich's. I still remember the excitement of being on California Street and hearing the cable cars rumble past. And then entering the warm restaurant with the packed bar, coats and hats hanging at the edge of the tucked-away, secret booths. It was so exciting as a young child. We would eat cracked crab or a crab cocktail, petrale sole and sand dabs, my grandfather and parents would drink martinis, and we would have the time of our lives. Tadich is definitely my earliest memory of any restaurant besides those in my very small hometown. It was the first big-city restaurant I ever went to.
—Traci Des Jardins, JBF Award Winner
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