John's Grill, San Francisco, USA

It was created in 1908, only two years after San Francisco’s devastating earthquake. Indeed, John’s Grill was the first downtown restaurant to open after the quake. It quickly became a bustling anchor in the city’s multi-faceted life.

“Sam Spade went to John’s Grill, asked the waiter to hurry his order of chops, baked potato, sliced tomatoes...and was smoking a cigarette with his coffee when...”

With Dashiell Hammatt's the Maltese Falcon as the backdrop, the restaurant serves American cuisine prepared with fresh ingredients.

Specialties include fresh oysters, Maine lobsters ravioli, feta cheese for appetizers, seafood for salads with their special herbs and dressings, steak and lamb chops, seafood and shellfish. The restaurant stands at the edge of the Tendeloin neighborhood, more or less where it becomes the tourist-oriented "Powell Street Turnaround" section of San Francisco.

Declared as one of the top 10 restaurants in the country by Esquire agazine, John's Grill has drawn critical acclaim patrons for over 100 years.