Wow, this is incredible. When I was little, my Mom would take a friend and me to the Pam Pam for dinner every year for my birthday. Our all time favorite was always Steak Soup to start, then a Monte Cristo sandwich (calories don't count on birthdays, right?). My friend who used to go just told me she was in the mood for Steak Soup, but neither of us had the recipe anymore. I did a search and found your post. Thank you!

There are no potatoes in the original recipe.

James Diltz -- You are correct, there were no potatoes in the original recipe. The true recipe appeared in the newspaper the SF Examiner in 1971, from the horse's mouth; that being the chief chef of Pam Pam East. I looked the newspaper up online pretty easily.

For years I went to the Pam Pam Restaurant in S.F. for the steak soup luncheon plate. It was served with a clump of crunchy grapes, a wedge of S.F. sourdough and wedge of sharp cheddar. Since Pam Pam closed I have been trying to duplicate the recipe at home. Pretty good results, but it's nice to find the original recipe. Thank you.

I have prepared this soup from the Pam Pam East postcard for decades! When we lived in SF my husband worked for "Ma Bell" and an uncle of one of his co-workers was the Maitre D' at Pam Pam East and he gave us their "secret ingredient". It makes all the difference... a 1/2 cup of sherry.

Recipe was pretty much right. Only correction I made was that I did use the sherry as suggested by another comment and instead of half and half I used cream. The recipe made no sense that it did not have a wine or sherry component and cream over half and half. It adds better flavor and a richer texture to the soup.

My mother and I first went to San Francisco in 1969. We are at this restaurant many times and had to have the steak soup. My best friend and I went to SF every year. We had to have the steak soup every day. We were glad they were open 24 hours. We would go there every night before going back to our hotel we would have to have a bowl. I made this soup many times but lost the recipe many years ago. I'm so glad I thought to look up recipe. It is fantastic!

Very tasty. Usually went to the Pam Pam East after the bars closed for steak soup. Drag queens everywhere. Was a favorite spot and favorite dish. I made it this morning and added a bit of sherry. The original recipe from Chef Joe Rivas didn't have sherry, potatoes, and only a teaspoon of MSG. Was still wonderful.

Yes, this was the favorite place to go after the bars closed. The steak soup was a great way to end the night before heading home. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

We always went to Pam Pam East for the Monte Cristo, after the bars closed. Does anyone know what kind of cheese they used or have their recipe?

Haven't tried it yet, but the ingredients (minus the potatoes and plus the sherry) seem right. And I among many other used to go there with my mom for either lunch or dinner when we went into the city to shop. Of course, we all must remember Blum's as well ; )

I was on the way to Viet Nam. I stopped at Pam Pam East because it was close to my hotel. I don't remember what I ordered for dinner. I guess I got the soup rather than a salad. First and only time in my life I have ever asked for a recipe. The waiter gave me a post card with the recipe on the back. I left the next morning on my way over but dropped the post card off to my wife to save it for us. I have made this a couple of times a year ever since. Thank you, Charlie O