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Tadich Grill - an Expensive Seafood Chain in the Former TenPenh Space at 10th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue - Closed


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Oh my God! This is unbelievable! Back in the day, I worked in the financial district in San Francisco and we lunched regularly at the Tadich. Loved it!!! It was very old school. Never imagined that it would 'franchise' itself. I'll be one of the first in line to dine here. Grilled Pacific seafood, oh yes.

(Of course, I'm a little bit skeptical about the success of the translation of the concept to the East Coast, but I'm willing to research, personally, how well it goes.)

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I certainly loved the Cioppino at Tadich in San Francisco, but the perfect part of the meal was dipping the sourdough bread into the liquid love at the bottom of the bowl, and tht sourdough cannot be duplicated back here in the east...

You make a very good point. SF sourdough is something unto itself and really can't be replicated.

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I certainly loved the Cioppino at Tadich in San Francisco, but the perfect part of the meal was dipping the sourdough bread into the liquid love at the bottom of the bowl, and tht sourdough cannot be duplicated back here in the east...

You make a very good point. SF sourdough is something unto itself and really can't be replicated.

Sure it can. The native SF yeast can easily be purchased and kept propagated for years. It's no different than using the various beer yeasts when homebrewing.

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Should it seem weird to essentially airlift a regional seafood restaurant and plop it down on another coast with it's own regional seafood culture? I know we live in a world where any cuisine is basically a FedEx cargo hold ride away (sushi grade tuna that goes from East Coast fishing grounds to Tsukiji Market back to the East Coast rings a bell), but this struck me funny. It shouldn't anymore, but it does in this case. I got the same feeling about Joe's Stone Crab. I don't get me wrong, I'm excited to have both as options in town.

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Should it seem weird to essentially airlift a regional seafood restaurant and plop it down on another coast with it's own regional seafood culture?

We have a regional seafood culture? Blue crabs and Old Bay don't quite make a culture.

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We have a regional seafood culture? Blue crabs and Old Bay don't quite make a culture.

We have different species of crabs, oysters, and fish than the west coast, and different regional preparations of all three. Finding a culture inferior does not invalidate it as a culture. Now if you want to argue class, that's another matter. I'm a local and I'd never argue that I had any.

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We have a regional seafood culture? Blue crabs and Old Bay don't quite make a culture.

I like blue crabs, but they are tedious and I won't sit down for a crab picking any more. For me, it has to be crab cakes or soft shells....

On the other hand, give me a dungeness crab and a good beer and I'll gladly tuck in.

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Coming soon to DC. Best Ciopinno I have ever had anywhere.

"Tadich Grill To Open a Location in Washington, DC" by Paolo Lucchesi on insidescoopsf.sfgate.com.

If you are into cooking and don't want to wait until 2014:

Tadich Grill's Cioppino recipe on cookingchanneltv.com

Dinah Shore's Cioppino recipe on mealsteps.com (Craig Claiborne called this the best he ever had):

Best seafood stew of all: Bob Kinkead's Portuguese Seafood Stew recipe on starchefs.com Note: use REAL fish fumet which you make from scratch with heads, frames, etc.  Last, the stew base is incredibly time consuming and must have 20 ingredients alone. It is worth it. This is the best fish stew I have ever had. This, along with pepita crusted salmon, was Bob Kinkead's signature dish.

Yes, I have made all of these myself. I'm obsessed with bouillibasse (best I've ever had was this), Cioppino and Portuguese Seafood Stew. Kinkead's is a bitch to make, really time consuming, expensive and 39 ingredients in total.  Plus what goes into your fish fumet which you should use instead of clam juice in the stew "base." And worth it.

Note: in Bob Kinkead's cookbook he does NOT mention that you need to cook down the broth by a 1/4 at the end. The linked recipe above does mention this.

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Perhaps we're heading off on a tengent here, but the latest issue of Lucky Peach has three delightful recipes for seafood stew, one each from Eric Ripert, David Chang and the Bar Tartine team.

I've enjoyed cioppino all over San Francisco and the Bay Area. To me, what separates it from an East Coast seafood stew is the San Francisco sour dough bread (which could be our second tangent) for dipping in that divine broth. From what I hear in the Bay Area, they say that the native yeast in the air out there distinguishes San Francisco sour dough bread from the rest. I've also read counter-arguments to that theory, so let's fan the flames of debate.

Regardless, I'd love to find a place where I can taste a bowl of each -- cioppino, a righteous East Coast seafood stew (like Bob Kinkead makes), and a good Louisiana seafood gumbo (like Jeff Tunks makes). All in one overly-caloric but definitely delicious sitting.

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The wife and I have reservations this weekend. We went to the original on our honeymoon and had a great time. Unfortunately, since being diagnosed with gout, I've had to skip most crustaceans, so the cioppino is off the list. Looks like I'll be opting for the broiled fish and clams. And hopefully, they have a decent barkeep.

"First Look: Tadich Grill Opens in DC" by Rina Rapuano on zagat.com

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They did a great job replicating the overall feel/vibe of the original location. Sampled the wife's cioppino and it was excellent. Highly recommend skipping the raw bar and going for the fried oysters. They're some of the best I've had in town. And if you like your fish prepared simply, this place does an excellent grilled petrale sole in lemon butter sauce.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/tadich-grill-washington

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We ate there Saturday night as walk-ins at the bar. Obviously had not seen the article above at that point. As fans of the San Francisco original, we've been waiting and waiting to take it for a spin.

We hit some of our favorites from the SF menu (sand dabs, Louie salad) and an unusual opportunity to compare crab cakes (the "coast to coast" crab cake app with one dungeness and one lump cake.) Excellent food, excellent service. Seeing that the carrot cake was pre-sliced and waiting under shrink wrap in the fridge should probably have deterred us from ordering dessert, but it didn't, and no regrets.

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We ate there Saturday night as walk-ins at the bar. Obviously had not seen the article above at that point. As fans of the San Francisco original, we've been waiting and waiting to take it for a spin.

We hit some of our favorites from the SF menu (sand dabs, Louie salad) and an unusual opportunity to compare crab cakes (the "coast to coast" crab cake app with one dungeness and one lump cake.) Excellent food, excellent service. Seeing that the carrot cake was pre-sliced and waiting under shrink wrap in the fridge should probably have deterred us from ordering dessert, but it didn't, and no regrets.

But what's the verdict on the crabcake wars?

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Just a thought: this story seems to be a little *too* easy. I'm personally waiting to pass judgment until I see at least one more piece of information (which may already be there) - but why didn't this come out before? I should also admit (which I'm doing right now) that I haven't even read the article carefully, as I was waiting for an owner response before I do - has there been one? I've seen family members get incredibly mean during domestic disputes, and do some nasty, borderline-inhuman things. From what little I know, this story is a potential business-wrecker - what was the motivation for it coming out now? Again, I want to emphasize that I'm not at all familiar with the details of the allegations; I just know that something really bad has been said about the owners by their daughter.

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Just a thought: this story seems to be a little *too* easy. I'm personally waiting to pass judgment until I see at least one more piece of information (which may already be there) - but why didn't this come out before? I should also admit (which I'm doing right now) that I haven't even read the article carefully, as I was waiting for an owner response before I do - has there been one? I've seen family members get incredibly mean during domestic disputes, and do some nasty, borderline-inhuman things. From what little I know, this story is a potential business-wrecker - what was the motivation for it coming out now? Again, I want to emphasize that I'm not at all familiar with the details of the allegations; I just know that something really bad has been said about the owners by their daughter.

Many details were left out of the article, I discovered.

For example: the article didn't mention the man she married had a family before. When he died, she had to settle with the son from his first marriage. None of that was mentioned in the article.

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Well, this makes it much easier to decide where not to spend one's scarce dining dollars.

My dining dollars aren't scarce, and I'm not easily deterred if the food is good. I suspect there's a lot of knee jerk reaction to this piece, especially since only one side of the story is told and the race card was played.

I have no knowledge of the situation and don't want to get sued for libel but there are news articles floating around regarding his second wife being sued by Upshaw's children by his first wife for a deathbed will. When it comes to people trying to get their hands on money, stories get very strange.

"Gene Upshaw's Will - Or Was It Really His Will?" by Patti Spencer on pennsylvaniafiduciarylitigation.com

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 I read the recent story and the story from 2011 on Gene Upshaw's deathbed. (1) the deathbed will story, even if unseemly, has absolutely nothing to do with how her family treated her in the early 80s. (2) since not a single member of the family would respond to her allegations, even to simply deny them, I'm going to believe that her story is essentially true. She may be a 100 percent moneygrubber, but she doesn't own a restaurant I can choose to avoid.

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Can I just put this out there-

Families are interesting, and I wouldn't assume that her family is racist because they didn't have a relationship with their daughter or her family.  That could be how she has spun the whole thing.  Maybe they had a bad relationship with HER and just chose not to have contact with any of her family because their relationship with her deteriorated so much over the years.  Maybe they didn't like her husband and that is the reason she has given to that fact.  Families not having relationships with a member of their family is much more common than anyone would assume.  Humans tend to create realities of past history that justify their actions, even if they aren't completely true to protect ourselves and our realities in our minds.  I would not want anyone assuming anything about my family based on one persons statements ( I have a member of my family that doesn't speak with me or my Mother. What she would say and I would say about it are very different.).  Her family may not want to continue the news cycle or embarrass their daughter by coming out with more personal information about themselves or her or her husband.  I can understand that.  I hear a lot of horrible family stories and I am never quick to believe any persons story as a completely true version of events or that things are ever black and white.  OR the whole thing could be true, but I don't think anyone can say it is true based on that article.

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I read the recent story and the story from 2011 on Gene Upshaw's deathbed. (1) the deathbed will story, even if unseemly, has absolutely nothing to do with how her family treated her in the early 80s. (2) since not a single member of the family would respond to her allegations, even to simply deny them, I'm going to believe that her story is essentially true. She may be a 100 percent moneygrubber, but she doesn't own a restaurant I can choose to avoid.

The deathbed story suggests (if not proves) she's a liar.

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Look's like there is another side to the story.

I have found that if an article is behind a paywall and you do a Google search of the Headline, you most often find the full article.

We can all have our own opinions, and mine shouldn't carry any more weight than anyone else's. Having now read the articles, I see absolutely no reason to boycott or punish Tadich Grill in any way because of this internal, family matter. Of course, I'm someone who went to Ravi Kabob yesterday, so maybe I'm just too forgiving on issues where race is tangentially involved.

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You can get the full article by googling the title and then clicking out from there. Thanks for the article!

The father came out and said that 1) the disowning was not because of the race of man she married, 2) that he had not been actively involved in the business for 20+ years, and 3) other members of the family did stay in touch with the daughter.

I won't get into #1 (though the stories certainly suggest that she's a golddigger and a homewrecker, which may be sufficient cause to alienate me from a person in my life). The fact that someone would go out of her way to air dirty old family laundry to the financial detriment of family members that maintained a relationship with her, tells me all I need to know about the situation.

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First and foremost, this is a sad story. I'd hate for my personal family matters to be aired publicly.

Secondly, it reflects an enduring trend in our society which truly flies in the face of our national beliefs: Instead of innocent until proven guilty, it seems to be much easier, and much more popular, to condemn people without any semblance of a fair discussion, much less a trial.

As an earlier poster mentioned, if you really believe you should only frequent establishments that mirror your own beliefs, you probably don't eat out (or shop) very often.

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First and foremost, this is a sad story. I'd hate for my personal family matters to be aired publicly.

Secondly, it reflects an enduring trend in our society which truly flies in the face of our national beliefs: Instead of innocent until proven guilty, it seems to be much easier, and much more popular, to condemn people without any semblance of a fair discussion, much less a trial.

As an earlier poster mentioned, if you really believe you should only frequent establishments that mirror your own beliefs, you probably don't eat out (or shop) very often.

I was a customer at a business that I appreciated and referred others to it.  Later I learned the operator held views that were completely repugnant to me, and they were views that I'm quite sure that operator knew were and would be repugnant to me.

He liked taking my money.  He never aired those views directly to me while I was a customer.  I learned of those perspectives later and I learned of them repeatedly.  I repeat, he liked taking my money.

Currently the truth of this story is one I can't know.  Its also a family story (and one wrapped in sadness) and its an evolving story with more perspectives coming out every day.  The charge is one I find repugnant.  Conceptually, the very idea that one happily takes everyone's money while harboring views that I find repugnant makes it worse in my mind and experience.   I don't know the whole and complete truth...but I'll stay away for now.  There do happen to be thousands of restaurants.

BTW:  I've been to San Francisco many times over the decades.  I ate at Tadich Grill a long time ago.  I enjoyed the cioppino.  I've had it elsewhere while in the Bay Area and enjoyed it elsewhere.  Cioppino never changed my life.

For the time being I'll stay away.  Possibly the "charge" is completely false.  Possibly its not.  It irritated me no end though to know some business operator loved taking my money, loved the fact that I referred other people to his business, and was well aware he harbored strong views that he knew I'd find repugnant.  That irritated me then and it irritates me now.

I'll stay away.  (btw:  I'm sure employees or virtually most employees would never have the faintest idea on the owner's perspective.  I know with regard to the employees of the business I'm referencing they wouldn't have had any notion on the owner's perspective.)

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Read the SF Chronicle article and and the SFist update. Ahhhh, the Washington Business Journal explains their reasons for not going to Seattle or Beverly Hills.

Still something just doesn't add up for me with these facts; a silent family matter for over 30 years, then the brother decides to open a second location in the city where is his estranged sister lives and the uncle says there is a glimmer of hope for reconciliation now that the story is in print [sfist].

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Is wanting your children to marry someone of your race/ethnicity/nationality racism?  If that qualifies as racism, I think you'll find many cultures are de facto racists.

I'm not defending old man Buich.  I've never ate at Tadich, and may never eat there.  I'm just wondering what is acceptable societal norm these days?

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Is wanting your children to marry someone of your race/ethnicity/nationality racism?  If that qualifies as racism, I think you'll find many cultures are de facto racists.

Juuuuuuust a small gap between wanting that and disowning a child who marries someone else.

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[This is poking at the borders of the topic at hand, and approaching generalities. Bob, you're not obligated to answer, but you did provoke a response with your "Juuuuuuust ..." :) Keep respecting one-another's opinions, please! Don't get sarcastic or pissy - this is a good conversation. Eric's right - a lot of cultures put tremendous pressure on children to marry within their ethnicity.]

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I'm not trying to provoke or entrap Bob.  It's a simple question.  I think many of us know that certain cultures want their children to marry within their culture and they can get disappointed to the point of disowning their children who do not obey.  I'm asking is that racism?

I was still writing my post when you replied to a rough draft! I think it's a very tough question, "Is that racism?" Yes, probably, but it's also a fact of life - it isn't hard to visualize a caricature of "the fainting grandmother" when the news is broken, and that grandmother could be from one of dozens, perhaps hundreds, of various cultures.

Personally, I've accepted the fact that interracial marriage is not something you can convince older people to accept; the sad fact is that it will take the older generation dying off, and being replaced by a newer generation, in order for progress to continue on this front (at least that's what I've concluded). It doesn't mean the older people are "bad" by any means; just set in their ways and social beliefs. I'd bet a lot of people on this website have parents or grandparents (and certainly great-grandparents) who, by today's standards, are racist as hell, but they're still wonderful people. What was that movie where a white man was having dinner at his black girlfriend's family's house, and tried to convince her blind grandmother that he was black? It didn't work! I can't remember whether or not it was actually funny, but the concept is funny as hell.

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I think we can look up racism in a dictionary and this isn't a clear case of racism.

Racism is the belief that a particular race is superior or inferior to another, that a person's social and moral traits are predetermined by his or her inborn biological characteristics. Racial separatism is the belief, most of the time based on racism, that different races should remain segregated and apart from one another.

That's from the Anti-Defamation League.

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You didn't answer my question. Is wanting your children to marry someone of your own race/ethnicity racist?

You didn't ask a question the first time, Ace. But if you did, the answer would be if you want to call it racist, it's racist, but so what? You know there is a massive difference between thinking those thoughts and disowning the kid. Best of luck to you.

[This is poking at the borders of the topic at hand, and approaching generalities. Bob, you're not obligated to answer, but you did provoke a response with your "Juuuuuuust ..." :) Keep respecting one-another's opinions, please! Don't get sarcastic or pissy - this is a good conversation. Eric's right - a lot of cultures put tremendous pressure on children to marry within their ethnicity.]

Don -- I'll tell you what I told him: So what? I know quite a few mixed-race couples and none of the people have been disowned by their parents. He is trying to justify what these people -- according to the daughter -- have done, and that is laughable.

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I actually know of a south Asian couple where the husband was disowned by his parents for marrying a woman whose family came from the *wrong* region.  I certainly disagree strongly with the parents in that situation, but lots of older people (especially those born elsewhere) feel very strongly about their kids marrying within their culture.  It's very against the USian ideal of individual freedom to choose, but the strong cultural identification (especially for people who were minorities in their original country) was what allowed them to survive culturally and sometimes physically.  It's very important to them.  It's obviously putting their kids in a not ideal position, but it's as important as religion or guns is for many USians and should not be dismissed as mere prejudice or racism.

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