I think so. Jack's Restaurant was once the second oldest in San Francisco. It
originally opened in San Francisco in 1864. Jack's Restaurant was the
epitome of San Francisco private elegance at 615 Sacramento Street, in
an old three-story building.
The Carte de
Jour was incredible – a patron could order anything with any sauce and
any vegetable where they could dine publically, or on the second floors
discrete rooms that featured a hall and private stair access to go and
come so as not to be seen. One dined for hours. San Franciscan’s often
dined as a family. Even the children were properly dressed, with the
boys in suit and tie, and girls with their pink ruffled dresses and
white gloves. This was a place that was cash only. The staff took their
reservations over a pay phone that hung of the wall at the edge of their
small bar. If you were a regular and had a reservation, your were
seated immediately, even if a line was out the door and down the block.
This was also my father’s favorite
restaurant for all the same reasons: that we were never disappointed at
Jack’s. My favorite waiter was a bit of a boozer but always somewhat
gruff while at the same time charming. We would play a game every time I
came. I would ask how the house wine was. He would say I will bring you
a glass, which he did promptly. After pouring an elegant glass from a
full bottle, he would leave the bottle. Every night of the week had its
own special five-course meal with selectable alternatives, which was a
real bargain even at $50 a person back in the sixties.
Was this the best food, or what
exactly made Jack’s standout and make Playboy’s 50 Best restaurants in
world in 1970? I think in some respects the menu certainly helped but
when Playboy polled their raters, it was how comfortable they felt
there. If a patron ordered steak cooked extra well done with a sweet
white wine, the waiter would say “excellent choice” – a customers was
never wrong, the staff made us feel like royalty.
I have to say that no restaurant I
go to now serves old-school favorites like fried eggplant, creamed
spinach, chateaubriand with a bordelaise sauce, sweetbread in a brandied maitre
d’Hôtel sauce, escargots bourguignon, and crepes suzette.
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