San Francisco’s ‘world rudest waiter’ restaurant Sam Wo shuts after 100 years

The world’s rudest waiter would be Edsel Ford Fung, and I learned from the article that he died in 1984, and now his restaurant is shutting its doors after a century.

Back in 1971 and 72, I went to a high school in the San Francisco East Bay that had a huge radio station staffed by students, about 50 of us at any given time. A couple of times a year we trooped aboard a school bus to take the latest crop of newbies to the FCC field office in San Francisco to take their exams for the Third Class Radiotelephone License, their ticket to the glamorous world of high school radio. And afterwards, every time, an unvarying and hallowed ritual, we all went to see Edsel for the traditional meal of “tomato beef” (chow mein, but we knew the insider’s jargon).

A half dozen times I ate lunch there, entertained by Edsel, who seemed entertained himself by this pack of feral high school kids. Not all of us understood that it was an act. Like my future first ex-wife, whom Edsel once sent climbing up my back to get away from his bellowing and scowling. Went back a couple of times after high school, last time with my mother while showing her around The City.

A belated goodbye to Edsel, and good bye to Sam Wo’s.