Edsel Ford Fong

Edsel Ford Fung (AKA Eddie Fung, d. 1980s) was a Chinese American restaurant server from San Francisco, California. He has been affectionately called the "world's rudest, worst, most insulting waiter."
Details
Edsel Ford Fung was born and raised in . He worked the second floor of the Sam Wo Restaurant on Washington Street. (The restaurant name means "three in peace," a reference to its founding partners.) As head waiter, Fung greeted visitors with an admonition to "sit down and shut up." He is also known for calling patrons "retarded" and "fat", criticizing people's menu choices before telling them what they should order, slamming food on the table, complaining about receiving only 15% tips, and groping female patrons.
Fung was made famous by columnist Herb Caen, who often described the misanthropic Fong during his visits to Sam Wo. Caen would interview Fung on matters of local politics and gossip, then reprint Fung's Yogi Berra-like responses, which Fung would in turn proudly show to his loyal regulars. Although genuinely rude, his style was self-conscious and his role at the restaurant was not just to serve food but also to be a resident "entertainer" and "madman."
Legacy
Fung is remembered fondly for his rude behavior. He was a regular recurring character in Armistead Maupin's series of Tales of the City novels, and was played by Arsenio 'Sonny' Trinidad in the 1993 BBC miniseries. Robin Williams referred to Fung in his 1997 eulogy of Herb Caen: "'Oops, she (Pamela Harriman) is missing our table, going right to God's.' I hope they have a waiter like Edsel Ford Fung who goes, 'No water here. Only wine!'" A series of club-level bistros at AT&T Park are named "Ford Fung's" in his honor. He is also memorialized by a portrait on "Gold Mountain", a mural depicting Chinese contributions to American history on Romolo Place in North Beach, a few blocks from the restaurant.
Sam Wo Restaurant continues to operate (as of 2009) in Chinatown, and is still listed in tourist guidebooks as being where Fong practiced a "wicked sarcasm took on aspects of performance art."

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