Who is she
that looketh forth as the morning,
fair as the moon, clear as the sun,
and terrible as an army with banners?
Edna ran a fish & chips shop on Columbus in North Beach in the 60s and early 70s. It was a work of culinary art, and she knew it. A narrow storefront, as I recall, and perhaps 2,3,4 stools. I miss it, Edna, her fish, her chips, her art. I ate there, from time to time, oblivious.
(Song of Solomon 6:10, to save you the trouble. KJV. (I’m not, particularly, a big KJV fan. But here they’ve got it right, and everyone else, not.))
Hi Jonathan, Edna is my nana, can you please contact me via email? I would love to chat briefly about her fish and chips…thanks!
Hi, Jonathan! I was one of the lucky people to have eaten Edna’s fish and chips and to have known Edna. Not only were her fish and chips perhaps the best I’ve ever had, but Edna was one of the warmest human beings I have ever known. As a young beatnik manqué 3000 miles from my roots, I regarded her as almost as a surrogate mother.
“G,” if you are still watching this space, I would also like to get in touch with you You can get in touch with me “friscogary at comcast dot net” or theough one of my blogs.
Hi Jonathan,
I absolutely agree with Garyâ€Soupâ€Stevens that Edna was one of the warmest persons I have ever met. Her Fish and Chips were absolutely the best and very authentic in that European taste. There were a few times that in my early years as an artist living in Chinatown and North Beach during the Seventies that she showed me kindness and fed me until “I could gladly pay her next Tuesday for some Fish and Chip today’sâ€. I’ll never forget her kindness and top of the notch Fish and Chips.
Warm Regards
Kenn Fung
Hi Kenn, Gary and Jonathan!
Thanks for remembering and keeping the conversation going about my nana’s delicious Fish & Chips and your time eating at Edna’s.
I love hearing stories of your experiences so please do keep them coming!
Pretty sure Gary and I connected back in 2018…if you still wanted to get in touch please let me know.
Best,
G
I just came on here to say that I still pine for Edna’s food. The most sublime fish and chips ever. I always ask old San Francisans if they remember….
Hi Gwenevere! I would love to hear about any encounters you had with my nana and others at Edna’s Fish & Chips back in the day! I too loved her Fish & Chips. What do you think made her food sublime?
She made vege’s too! Same batter as the fish! It was a mainstay for me back in the 80’s, being a vegetarian. I was hoping it’s still there, as im on my way for a visit…â¤ï¸
Dave from Williamsburg Va.
Was a very young man from Southern Maryland when I was stationed at Mare Island on the USS Hector in 1976. As Sailor will do, I spend many a night in the city. Edna’s was a stop for sure, the best cure for was too man beers. I’m with my wife in Yorktown VA eating F&C fr I’m lunch at a local place and I had to bring up Edna’s . There is no comparison.
In 79 we visited Edna’s on a recommendation from our US Guidbook. My UK mate liked it because Edna’s had a European style. I did not know better, but liked it. Upon showing her the book recommendation, she offered to comp us the meal for the page out of our US Guidebook. She posted the page in her window, we knew that because in 80, hitching through a second time we stopped off again at Edna’s. When we showed her the book with the missing page, she comped us again.
Hi all ~
My family took over the Edna’s Fish & Chips restaurant around 1980 (not from Edna herself, but I guess from whoever had purchased the place from Edna) and ran it for about 5 years. I still remember the red and gold wide vertical striped wallpaper. We used the same recipe for the batter, and all Edna’s prep and cooking equipment. Haven’t had a decent plate of fish and chips since.