{"id":16840,"date":"2024-02-01T11:54:37","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T19:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crawlsf.com\/?p=16840"},"modified":"2025-04-13T14:35:32","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T21:35:32","slug":"the-legacy-of-the-3-martini-lunch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crawlsf.com\/the-legacy-of-the-3-martini-lunch\/","title":{"rendered":"The Legacy of the 3 Martini Lunch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dine Like a San Franciscan: The Legacy of the 3 Martini Lunch Lives on in the City By the Bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco, from the days of the Gold Rush to present day, has always been a Cocktalian\u2019s city. I am not sure which came first, San Francisco or Day drinking. Regardless, the Bay Area is a place where nobody has ever needed to use the excuse, \u201cit\u2019s Five O\u2019Clock somewhere\u201d. An Irish coffee<\/a> with Breakfast at the Buena Vista is a daily norm. Bottomless mimosas in the Marina and Cow Hollow are a given at breakfast and brunch. Over in Laurel Heights, the Billecart Salmon Champagne begins to flow like water at 11:30 AM, when Spruce opens for lunch. On Haight Street some of the bars, including \u201cHobson\u2019s Choice\u201d Victorian Punch House, open the doors before many of the retail businesses. The list goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sam's
Sam’s Grill San Francisco Sign<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In downtown San Francisco, the fifth oldest restaurant in the Country, Sam\u2019s Grill and Seafood Restaurant<\/a>, is still going strong. This classic San Francisco destination for local cuisine and cocktails, has been open since 1867, not long after the Gold Rush. Today you can still enjoy the quintessential three-martini lunch at Sam\u2019s without apology or excuse. Drink and dine, like business men of yesteryear and \u201cladies who lunch\u201d. With the dark days of covid lock downs behind us, it is nice to slow down and enjoy the finer things in life. Sam\u2019s is a place to enjoy the freshest seafood, classic San Francisco cuisine and to enjoy refreshing libations at your own pace. The menu is heavy on some of the freshest seafood around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oysters have been a staple on Sam\u2019s menu since it first opened. In 1867 the place was called \u201cM. B. Moraghan\u2019s\u201d, after the first owner, Michael Bolan Moraghan, an Irish Immigrant, who also raised oysters, back when the San Francisco Bay was lousy with them. The business changed hands a couple times over the years and the name was changed to, \u201cSam Zenovich Restaurant\u201d in 1922, but was simply referred to as \u201cSam\u2019s\u201d by locals and upon Mr. Zenovich\u2019s death in 1937, it was changed to \u201cSams Grill and Seafood Restaurant\u201d. The menu today still offers oysters on the half shell, baked oysters and even the Gold Rush delicacy, \u201cHangtown Fry\u201d. You could easily make a lunch of just oysters and Martini\u2019s. But let the Mad Men Episode, \u201cRed in the Face\u201d, serve as a cautionary tale.I would recommend something a little more substantial than Don Draper and Roger Sterling indulged in at their \u201c3 martini lunch\u201d. The restaurant offers delicious mesquite grilled fish, Cioppino<\/a>, dry-aged steaks and other hearty fair to soak up the booze. For just $3 you can add a half loaf of delicious bread from Jane Bakery with sea salt butter. I highly recommend it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The oysters at Sam\u2019s are no longer sourced from the San Francisco Bay. Due to environmental issues, caused from mining and environmentally unsound practices, the San Francisco Bay is not the best place to source oysters.Not far away, in the cleaner and less muddy waters of Tamales Bay, outstanding oysters are being cultivated. Not the San Francisco native variety of Olympia, as would have been served city wide in the 19th century, but Japanese varieties, such as Miyagis. Olympia oysters are farmed in Washington State; however.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Baked
Baked Clams Elizabeth at Sam’s Grill<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The menu at Sam\u2019s offers a wide-array of San Francisco dishes, including Seafood Louis, Sand Dabs, Green Goddess Salad, Cioppino, Dungeness Crab, Hangtown Fry and the very rare \u201cCelery Victor\u201d a dish created in 1910 at the St. Francis Hotel, by Celebrity Chef Victor Hirtzler. In addition to San Francisco classic dishes, there are a few harder than average to find, classic 20th Century dishes, like Clams Casino, Oysters Rockefeller, and Clams Elizabeth featured on the menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tourists in the Bay Area often ask me where to get fresh seafood in the city. Sam\u2019s has got to be one of my top recommendations. It is a true San Francisco culinary experience. It is a historical restaurant, with fresh, well prepared local cuisine that is priced fairly, cooked to perfection and with great service to boot. You are never rushed at Sam\u2019s. You can truly enjoy a 20th Century San Francisco dining experience, taking your time, conversing with friends or colleagues, sipping martinis and never feeling rushed, as you do at turn and burn tourist traps. Dining out should be enjoyable, not rushed. Life in the 21st Century is hectic. Sometimes it is nice to slow down and truly enjoy the good things in life. At Sam\u2019s you will feel welcome, well taken care of and will never, ever be rushed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cheers to the 3 martini lunch, may it long prosper at Sam\u2019s!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Celery
Celery Victor at Sam’s Grill San Francisco<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

Table of Contents<\/p>\nToggle<\/span><\/path><\/svg><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n