![]() Why? Because he never knew how real Chinese food was prepared. Usually a man like this will end up being a real enthusiast. Well, with our glass-enclosed kitchen, we could say to the difficult guest, 'Will you please do us a favor? Come and watch us prepare fresh food and see our woks.' It usually took me about fifteen minutes to educate a disliker when I could have him smell the aroma of fresh, barbecued pork coming out of the oven, or sizzling filet of chicken breasts in a wok with beautiful, fresh vegetables around, snow peas or chard toss-cooked for just a few seconds. No matter what the captain or waiters may say to him, his answer is, 'I hate Chinese food, bring me a steak!' Then what? in a party of six or eight persons, there would always be one who disliked Chinese food. To tourists (and natives) who would innocently order chop suey, Johnny would purr, 'I'm sorry, we serve only Chinese food here.' World-famous celebrities, movie stars, the rich and the powerful came to Kan's, and their appearances were written up by San Francisco columnist Herb Caen." Don Clever was credited with designing the interior at Kan's. Its name was frequently on top ten lists of San Francisco restaurants. " : 115 According to the Chinese Historical Society of America, "Kan's was the first restaurant in Chinatown to win the Holiday (magazine) Award for fine dining that award was given to Kan's for 14 consecutive years. In Kan's words, he wanted to "launch the first efficiently operated and most elaborate Chinese restaurant since the collapse of the old Mandarin. The eponymous restaurant "Kan's" operated at 708 Grant Avenue. The initial suit was not successful, and a subsequent state-level appeal was also unsuccessful, but the verdict was later overturned in federal court. According to Tsang's testimony, he had offered Kan the co-manager job at his previous salary of US$500/month upon Kan's return from the Army, but Kan had refused and asked for a salary equivalent to Tsang's, at US$750/month. After his discharge, Kan expected to be restored as co-manager of Cathay House, but Tsang refused and Kan sued him in 1944. ![]() Kan left the restaurant to serve in the Army during World War II, enlisting on July 23, 1943, and being honorably discharged on November 26 of the same year. Theodore Lee jointly founded the Cathay House restaurant, housed in the landmark Sing Chong building at Sacramento and Grant, on Septemthe largest single investor was Ernest Tsang, who contributed US$5,500 of the US$9,700 in capital raised. Sing Chong Building and Cathay House Restaurant at Sacramento and Grant (2008) ![]() It offered the first Chinese food delivery service in America food was kept hot with the help of stainless steel hot water tanks in the back of a fleet of Chevrolet trucks. Kan is credited with opening the Chinese Kitchen restaurant at the corner of Mason and Pacific in 1939. Fong Fong became a magnet for local Chinese-American youths, drawing weekend crowds from Berkeley and Stanford. Kan went on to manage the Fong Fong soda fountain and bakery, introducing ice cream with traditional Chinese flavors in 1935. Sam Hing also roasted peanuts Kan advertised in Variety at his brother's suggestion, and earned a lucrative contract with Barnum and Bailey. Because his parents could not afford the tuition, he began working at a grocery store (Sam Hing and Company, 1040 Grant) instead of attending junior high school. Kan was raised in Grass Valley, Oregon and moved to San Francisco with his family when he was nine. Kan and Cecilia Chiang (proprietor of the Mandarin in Ghirardelli Square) are credited with popularizing authentic Chinese cuisine as a fine dining option, displacing the stereotypical chop suey American Chinese cuisine prevalent in the 1950s and 60s. He was the owner of Johnny Kan's restaurant, which opened in 1953, and published a book on Cantonese cuisine, Eight Immortal Flavors, which was praised by Craig Claiborne and James Beard. Johnny Kan (1906–1972) was a Chinese American restaurateur in Chinatown, San Francisco, ca 1950–1970. Chinese restaurant (Kan's) in Chinatown, San Francisco
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