Tad's Steak House....??
What's the scoop on Tad's Steak House?
In a not too attractive neighborhood, this place has a marquee like none other - to say it stands out is to understate.
Hounds, have you dined there?
Waterboy
Jul 05, 2008 06:54PM
Links.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/504729#3551687
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/45287...
120 Powell St San Francisco CA
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I thought it was downtown, close to Jos. Magnin -- oops, dating myself!! Well, it was great for a meat binge for $1.88 (well, maybe 4.88) for a "steak," + baked(?) potato + salad. Bet it's pretty much the same except for the price.
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wow... can't believe they're still open, haven't been since the mid90s -- was a cheap steak dinner back then, I'd imagine it still is.
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In the early sixties when I was in college I used to eat at Tad's near Union Square in NYC . . . steak, baked potato, salad and a hunk of garlic bread for 99 cents. And you could go across the street to the automat for blueberry pie, which I think was 15 cents. Then I remember Tad's going to $1.19, and then to $1.59. I can't believe it's still around!
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I too ate at Tad's in NYC in my (iceberg lettuce) salad days and transitioned to Tad's in SF in 1962. It was a cheap crummy steak served with a baked (in foil) potato and aforesaid iceberg lettuce salad in 1962, and probably still is today.
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My friend's report: Nothing's changed. All comments here true.
I'll pass!
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Brings back memories. After wearing ourselves out shopping at Joseph Magnin, we'd go to Tad's for a cheap tasty meal and then take the cable car home to Telegraph Hill. The Cable Car guys would be flirting with us, of course, they considered it part of their job.
Wonder if Tad's still has that red flocked wallpaper.
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Doesn't look like it.
http://www.tadssteaks-sf.com/memories...
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Link didn't work
Tad’s first floor dining room now — new gold-colored walls!
http://www.tadssteaks-sf.com/memories...
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Fixed it, thanks.
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I loved Tad's Steak in NY a zillion years ago ... but I was 5 years old at the time. Tad's SF was one of the first places I tried in SF. It didn't match my childhood memories.
Anyway it seems that Tad's was sold in 1988 to the same group that owns places like Dunkin Donuts, Pizza Hut, T.G.I. Fridays and such
http://www.rieserestaurants.com/corphistory.asp?pagenum=2
It is not clear from their site if they own all the locations, since they only mention NY. Maybe they sold the San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia restaurants.
http://www.rieserestaurants.com/restaurants.asp?rest_id=1005
Anyway, It might be interesting to drop in since the remodel. Hey ... they have breakfast ... in Union Square ... Certainly the sourdough French Toast can't be any worse than what Sears serves up ... and the French Toast is only $5.99 ... and you can order a side of garlic bread with breakfast.
Love you can get the classic diet plate of yore ... though no canned peaches ...
DIET PLATE 1/2 LB ground chuck w/cottage cheese, Rye Crisp® Crackers and Green Salad (No potato or garlic bread) $8.99
The homemade soup is only $2.39 for a cup.
A few of the sandwiches might be worth exploring (served w/fries and salad)
- TADBURGER with cheese 1/3 lb. Ground Chuck on Toasted Bun $6.29
- HOMEMADE CHICKEN SALAD on grilled sourdough with lettuce & tomato $6.29
- TUNA MELT on Grilled Wheat Bread $6.49
I giggled a bit when I saw the picture of the desserts and was oddly touched by the description ...
http://www.tadssteaks-sf.com/menu.html#desserts
"We offer a wide selection of desserts from cakes to pies that vary seasonally. Be sure to come on by and see what we've whipped up just for you!"
This review circa 2000 before the fancy remodel in 2007 is hilarious and captured the Tad's I encountered in SF
http://www.leisuresuit.net/Webzine/ar...
"He was also thrilled by the prices, his jaw hanging slack at the prospect of a sirloin steak with all the fixings for under $7 (the voice of Homer Simpson echoed through my head: "Woo hoo! Cheap meat!"
"the cavernous dining room presented itself in its full glory ... had to be post-modern, because nothing so kitschy could have taken itself entirely seriously ... If the decor was post-modern, then the clientele was post-nuclear."
The reviews on yelp are mixed but there are some that give it a thumbs up ... especially the burger and breakfast bargains. It seems the original Tad's two sons may still be working there.
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I think the SF Tad's is no longer connected with the NYC ones, since they have separate Web sites and different menus.
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Welcome to 2008.
TAD’S FAMOUS STEAK Special cut $13.49
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I'm sure it's quite "special."
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I remember when Tad's opened in 1955. In fact the original "Tad" was very gracious. My wife (then girl friend) didn't like the place, but I worked at Macy's for a while and ate there often. Steak dinner was $1.09 then. Secret was tendrized cow NY steaks...Tad bought hundreds weekly. Some were pretty good, if occasionally gristley. If they are getting away with prices over $10.00, I'm sure they are into steers and no more cows. We used to get cow tenderloins at Joy Meat Market on Polk, for about $1.50 lb.
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I went there a few years ago, when I was attending a Macworld and looking for something quick and not too expensive, but marginally real (instead of fast food), to have. I'm gonna stick up for Tad's -- at least to a degree. :)
When I looked in and figured out their shtick -- cafeteria line, essentially, with you putting your order for your steak in at the start and getting it at the cash register at the end, what I immediately thought was, "This is what Ponderosa is pretending to be." Frankly, I don't like Ponderosa, so that made me dubious, but I was a little desperate and have a sort of perverse affection for dive diners.
And you know? For what it is, I thought it was pretty good. I knew going in that a steak, baked potato, salad and roll for what I think was $12.50 at the time ($13.50 now, I understand) was, well... let's just say I expected it would have some limitations. :) I've had markedly better steak, but I've also had markedly worse -- sometimes at higher prices.
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Ponderosa? Where/what is that?
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Think Sizzler, Bonanza, Western Sizzlin', Fern's, et al. Ponderosa is/was a family steak house where you could feed the family cheap and everyone got what they got. You ordered, you paid, it got cooked, you picked it up (or later, they'd bring it out to you) and you ate it without complaint, and then you left.
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Ponderosa/Bonanza is an East coast chain.
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