Despite more than 50 years of columnizing, when Caen vacationed abroad, says de Wildt, he'd tell friends he had to call home to "find out what's going on.". TRATTORIA CONTADINA -- 1800 Mason Street at Union Street, S.F., (415) 982- 5728: Trippa alla Caen, sauteed tripe with pancetta sweet onions and parsley in a tomato-vodka sauce, only 38 cents with any dinner. BUENA VISTA CAFE -- 2765 Hyde Street, S.F., (415) 474-5044: 75-cent martinis on the rocks; BV Burger (Herb's favorite), $3 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. BUTTERFIELD'S SEAFOOD -- 202 Townsend Street, S.F., (415) 281-9001: Meat loaf and mashed potatoes, lunch $8.95; dinner $11.95; Vitamin V Elixir (vodka martini), $1 from 3 to 6 p.m. CADILLAC BAR & RESTAURANT -- One Holland Court, S.F., (415) 543-8226: 99 cent Cadillac martinis all day. substitute teacher Mr. Fillin, hospital spokesman Pam Talkington, periodontist Dr. Rott, piano teacher Patience Scales, orthopedic specialist Dr. Kneebone, and the Vatican's spokesman on the evils of rock 'n roll, Cardinal Rapsong. Vietnamese restaurant Tu Lan on Sixth Street in San Francisco. THE MANDARIN -- Woollen Mill, Ghirardelli Square, 900 North Point Street, S.F., (415) 673-8812: Half-price martinis. For lunch, meatloaf and potatoes ($10). This 1967 file photo shows Julia Child explaining "with a little practice" you can do everything with the flare of a gourmet. "I always speak in the past, " he proclaims, "but Matthew is the future. ", When it's time to sit, the mayor occupies the spot nearest the window on the banquet side, which is marked by a plaque honoring Caen. appeared in 1972. Mostly the columns are of the classic three-dot variety, a compendium of local gossip, silly puns, cute license plates, jibes at neighboring communities -- and as many names as Mr. Caen can squeeze in. I told Herb, 'If they swing, I will meet you at the corner.' The Vietnamese restaurant is a block and a half from the newsroom in San Francisco, and a time machine when it comes to both dcor and price. He mentions a Washington lawmaker who once worked at City Hall and "lived in fear of Herb. ", Could Caen have been elected mayor? It originally arrived with the flood of . SCOMA'S RESTAURANT -- Pier 47, S.F., (415) 771-4383: Half-price martinis. Then home to put on his best bib and tucker for yet another opera opening or yet another dinner for 200 with the likes of Ann and Gordon Getty. Hartlaub and columnist Heather Knight co-created the Total SF podcast and event series, engaging with locals to explore and find new ways to celebrate San Francisco and the Bay Area. . is a question Mr. Caen (pronounced cane) is used to hearing, and he's got the answer down pat. The destination has another draw, and its completely free: The story of The Chronicle, Tu Lan and Julia Child. 14000, [15] He popularized obscureoften playfulterms such as Frisbeetarianism,[16] and ribbed nearby Berkeley as Berserkeley for its often-radical politics. POMPEI'S GROTTO -- 340 Jefferson Street, S.F., (415) 776-9265: Vitamin V martinis for $1, from 5 p.m. POSTRIO -- 545 Post Street, S.F., (415) 776- 8358: Herb Caen's name on the menu; $2 Herb Caen martinis. PIER 23 CAFE -- Pier 23, Embarcadero, S.F., (415) 362-5125: 80-cent Stoli martinis with orange slice from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.; Melody Ann Quartet on sidewalk from 6 to 9 p.m.; $5 meatloaf plate to go starting at 5 p.m. Will provide candles for the march. Paul Child really liked the food, but in Woods article, Childs thoughts about the meal remain vague throughout. "You don't think I'm washed up, do you?" "Remember the Chinese driving school?". Sometimes he just inwardly rebelled. Kelly sighs. The first vodka martini is on us! GRAND CAFE -- 501 Geary Street, S.F., (415) 292-0101: Duck terrine a la Caen with liver mouse and balsamic sauce for $5.95 all day. What are dupes? The Blue Fox Restaurant. ", "We are all a certain type of flotsam," says de Wildt, "and we all float up at the same time. It is Mr. Caen, an old-time boulevardier in natty threads and fedora, who dubbed San Francisco Baghdad-by-the-Bay, which was also the title of his 1949 book (Doubleday). And yet beyond those details, theres almost no information readily available to the public. Served all day. Friday lunches at Le Central were legendary / Window table, boss dice, power talk, A portrait of Herb Caen hangs in Le Central restaurant on Bush Street where he and (from left) Matthew Kelly, Harry deWildt, Mayor Willie Brown and Wilkes Bashford met on Fridays for lunch and comraderie starting in 1974. (415) 986-1886: Complimentary bottle of Fior d'Italia wine (Chardonnay or Cabernet) with meal for mentioning Herb Caen's name. These are his odes to San Francisco, his purple paens to America's favorite city, with its rich gold-rush history and unparalleled physical beauty. Ed. HARRY DENTON'S -- 161 Steuart Street, S.F., (415) 882-1333: Herb's meat loaf with buttermilk mashed potatoes $5.38; three- dot mini-burger at the bar (three burgers wrapped in today's Chronicle), 50 cents or 4 bits each; Memorial Martini (to salute Herb in the Skyy). [6] After high school (where he wrote a column titled "Corridor Gossip") he covered sports for The Sacramento Union;[7] in later years he occasionally referred to himself as "the Sacamenna Kid. Fatigue caused a journalists nightmare to come true. Alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health. Caen never mentioned the incident in his column. Then there is a leisurely lunch, usually at the sort of restaurant that thrives on a celebrity clientele and takes its booze at least as seriously as its food. [6] His funeralheld at Grace Cathedral despite his Jewish heritage[37] Mooky's 242 reviews Open Now French, Wine Bar $$ - $$$ Menu "A brilliant restaurant" "IMPATIENCE" 2022 2. doctors treating him for pneumonia discovered he had inoperable lung cancer. "Most of the people looked like they were wearing uniforms from hotel school," huffs de Wildt. "The level of my arrogance," says the mayor, "assumes that everything I say is publishable.". My goal is to ultimately have lunch alone. "Shaken, Not Stirred" martini T-shirt, $15; customers will receive a bejeweled martini glass with purchase of a Baghdad Stoli martini, with three olives for three-dots. This is serious stuff." GRACE PHOTO -- 456 Montgomery Street, S.F., (415) 788-5587: Bring in film from the Herb Caen candlelight march and receive free developing with prints. Chronicle columnist Herb Caen wrote, "The best restaurant in San Francisco is in Oakland." According to Bergeron, he sat down with his bartender one evening in 1944 to create the world-class drink . : San Francisco rises as a great restaurant town, Explore the stories behind classic front pages, Bay Area gets a break from winter storm. [12]:94. Despite the traditional male camaraderie of mutual insults, "If he were rude at the table," says de Wildt, "he would call before five o'clock that day and ask, 'Are you still thinking of it?' SCOTT'S SEAFOOD GRILL & BAR -- 2400 Lombard Street, S.F., (415) 563-8988: Herb's Heavenly Pasta, tagliarini with clams ($5.50); Vitamin V martinis, $1. The first known Chinese restaurant in America, Canton Restaurant, opened in San Francisco in 1849. Day in and day out, he writes his love letters to this once-glorious city, somewhat faded now, that rescued him from Sacramento, then a sleepy farm community, and made him famous, as much a landmark here as Coit Tower, the cable cars or the Golden Gate Bridge. Small unpretentious restaurant with a welcoming vibe, open kitchen layout and creative menu. Outside, Brown has finished his phone conversation, but now he's taking a minute to meet with Rabbi Joseph Langer, a maxi-bearded man who has come to give him a box of handmade matzos for Passover, which is to begin the next day. JUDY'S CAFE -- 2268 Chestnut at Scott, S.F., (415) 922-4588: Meat loaf and potatoes ($4.95). Archive. The Chronicle archive is filled with wonderful surprises, but rarely is a question so satisfyingly answered. 1 on his life's list of priorities. ", Leah Garchik washed up on the shores of Fifth and Mission in 1972,began her duties as a part-time temporary steno clerk, and has done everything around The Chronicle including washing the dishes (her coffee cup). (Thrice divorced, with a son, he shares his home with a female companion.) FIOR D'ITALIA RESTAURANT -- 601 Union Street, S.F. Caen, 15 quai Franois Mitterrand, Caen, 23 Boulevard Georges Pompidou, Caens item was indeed longer than what currently appears on the menu. (Its awfully young to die, she said. FLEUR DE LYS -- 777 Sutter Street, S.F., (415) 673-7779: A five-course menu dedicated to Herb featuring a Vitamin V sorbet as intermezzo, $65. Child is moving back to her native California in November and is leaving her Cambridge, Mass. Le Royal Brasserie 254 reviews Closed today French, Bar $$ - $$$ "Great food, fairly diverse menu." "A good choice of meals, casual and great." 3. BOULEVARD RESTAURANT -- One Mission Street, S.F., (415) 543-6084: Big Band music all day and a complimentary taster plate of meat loaf and mashed potatoes when ordering a Vitamin V martini. he asked the perky saleswoman. GABBIANO'S RESTAURANT AND OYSTER CAFE -- One Ferry Plaza, S.F., (415) 391-8403: Martinis $1.38 from 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; In the Bay Room: meat loaf with mushroom sauce, garlic mashed potato and fresh vegetables, $3.38. SINBAD'S -- The Ferry Building, Pier 2, S.F., (415) 781-2555: Filet of salmon florentine ($14.50); Big Band music on the sound system. She drank Tsingtao beer and liked it. . 4 photos. Herb Caen, April 2, 1958. locations, (415) 882-1849: With any sandwich purchase, customers will receive a complimentary half-pound round loaf of Herb's favorite San Francisco sourdough bread. RUSSELL YIP As part of the Our San Francisco project of 2015, this was excerpted from a Herb Caen column June 27, 1971: I KEEP. Great Deal. See the article in its original context from. Becoming San Francisco's Most Famous Unknown Celebrity. "He would call Willie on it," says Bashford. The city, in turn, anointed him Mr. San Francisco, which means he gets good tables at restaurants, invitations to the best parties, quick service on his aging Jaguar and 1,000 letters a week from devoted readers who say, "I hope I die before you do.". 14000, HARRY DENTON'S STARLIGHT ROOM -- 450 Powell Street, S.F., (415) 395-8595: Special Herb Caen martinis with Big Band music from 4:30 to 7 p.m. MARRIOTT HOTEL/FISHERMAN'S WHARF-LOBBY LOUNGE -- 1250 Columbus Street, S.F., (415) 775-7555: Half-price martinis from 4 p.m. PIER 39 -- Pier 39, S.F., (415) 705-5500: The Black Tie Jazz Orchestra plays Big Band tunes from 6.30 to 9.30 p.m. in the Pier 39 Entrance Plaza, and half-price martinis at these Pier 39 restaurants: Alcatraz Cafe & Grill, Bay View Cafe, Chic's Seafood Restaurant, Dante's, Eagle Cafe, Neptune's Palace, Old Swiss House, Pier Market, Swiss Louis, Yet Wah. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-9:30 p.m. GAYLORD (INDIA) RESTAURANT -- Ghirardelli Square, 900 North Point, S.F., (415) 771- 8822: Half-price Vitamin V martinis at dinner. But like a Lord of the Rings movie, or perhaps a good Tu Lan meal over too many beers, there are multiple false endings to this story. Works. RITZ-CARLTON, SAN FRANCISCO -- 600 Stockton Street, S.F., (415) 296-7465: $500 donation to the UCSF Foundation for the Cancer Research Fund in Herb's memory. As if reminded of frailty by the turn of conversation, Bashford tells the others that a once-famous stalwart of Caen's column had died during the weekend. . CAFE PESCATORE -- 2455 Mason Street, S.F., (415) 561-1111: Herbed Crab Cakes a la Caen, $6.95; Sackamenna Sling (Stoli martini with three dots of vermouth), $5.50. "Why don't you retire?" PLUMP JACK BALBOA CAFE -- 3199 Fillmore Street, S.F., (415) 921-3944: Meatloaf with garlic mashed potatoes and porcini gravy ($12); martinis with Stoli vodka, over ice, in a wineglass with a twist ($4.50). " As if to cut the sweetness of that recollection, Brown chimes in to add that he'd tell Caen he didn't think Kelly had understood the insult its hurler had regretted. Brown's not ready to wallow in such sentiment. GINO & CARLO -- 548 Green Street, S.F., (415) 421-0896: 99-cent Vitamin V martinis and free hors d'oeuvres from 2 to 6 p.m. GOLD CLUB -- -- 650 Howard Street, S.F., (415) 536-0300: Vitamin V martinis for 80 cents from 5 to 6 p.m. No cover charge between 11 a.m. 7 p.m. GOLD COAST RESTAURANT AND SALOON -- 230 California Street, S.F., (415) 989-6939: Blue Plate lunch special of meat loaf and mashed potatoes, $6.95 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Caen martini special $2, from 5 to 7 p.m. Big Band and jazz music on tap. I say is publishable. `` almost no information readily available to the.... Francisco & # x27 ; s Most Famous Unknown Celebrity bottle of Fior d'Italia (. 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