#20: Swan Oyster Depot, San Francisco, CA

If the food world, myself included, is guilty of anything, it's overhyping the latest and greatest at the expense of the timeless classics. Which brings me to Swan Oyster Depot, a fish store with an 18-seat counter that just might be my favorite restaurant on the planet. From the minute it opens (10:15 a.m.) to the minute it closes (5:30 p.m.), there's a line. I don't wait in lines, but I make an exception for Swan's cracked Dungeness crab, clam chowder, smoked salmon on rye, and ice-cold Anchor Steam. Food is only part of the allure. There's the look of the place (sports memorabilia, seafood posters, a hand-painted menu tacked to the wall) and the devastating charm of the Sancimino brothers, whose family has run the place since 1946. (It opened in 1912.) Swan isn't a boardroom concept; it's proof that honesty, passion, and hospitality will bring you longevity and fans. It's the kind of restaurant that makes you ask, "Why aren't there more places like this?"