Following its appearance on the Food Network show, Bayway Diner in Linden, New Jersey, the first restaurant on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," exploded in popularity. Since then, host Guy Fieri has visited eateries in every state (and Washington D.C.), each featuring its own unique offerings. However, there's one James Beard Award-winning California tavern that made our list of the best Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Restaurants in every state that still stands out from the crowd.

Open since 1894, Duarte's Tavern in Pescadero, California, calls itself the place "where friends meet." Its warm atmosphere is complemented by its food, which draws on local flavors and seafood. In his visit to Duarte's, Fieri sampled the restaurant's artichoke soup and its most famous dish, crab cioppino. Unique to the San Francisco area, this seafood stew originated with Italian fishermen in the early 20th century. Duarte's uses locally-sourced seafood, and the dish is only available on weekends. Along with crab, Duarte's cioppino recipe includes prawns, snapper, and clams, all in a delicious tomato-based sauce. If you visit Duarte's on a weekday, you can try other menu items like the Cajun catfish sandwich.

The tavern's rich history is intertwined with its Portuguese flavors

Duarte's Tavern exterior at dusk

Smith Collection/gado/Getty

Duarte's also features homemade pies, many of which are based on old family recipes. One sweet standout is its famous ollalieberry pie. (The ollalieberry is a hybrid blackberry unique to the West Coast.) Fieri enjoyed a bite, and customers on Yelp rave about its "flaky, buttery crust holding a tart and sweet filling."  Additionally, the tavern is home to its own garden, which it uses to supply most of its produce. The garden grows artichokes (for soup), along with beans and rhubarb brought to Pescadero from the Azores

Duarte's Tavern has a deep history, and its proprietors have infused the eatery with their Portuguese roots. Many of its dishes have Portuguese influences, most notably the cioppino, tripe, and soups. In a 2001 interview with Coastside News, late owner Ron Duarte, who died in 2017, said that after coming to the United States from Portugal in the late 1800s, his grandfather, Frank Duarte, bought the site of the eatery for only $12.00 in gold. Duarte's Tavern initially opened as a saloon and barbershop in 1894 but temporarily closed during Prohibition. When Prohibition ended in the 1930s, Ron Duarte's father and uncle reopened the establishment as an eatery and bar. Business took off in the 1940s, when the nearby highway was built. Traveling workers wanted lunch, and during World War II, so did soldiers. Since expanding in the 1960s, the eatery has been a popular local spot. 

In the family for four generations, Duarte's Tavern is now operated by Tim Duarte, Ron Duarte's son. Family and local history remain important to the establishment. In fact, Ron Duarte's book of handwritten recipes still holds a place in Duarte's Tavern's kitchen.