Lunching at the oldest restaurant in Cali; Tadich Grill

The night I arrived San Francisco, my youngest sister B had already gone for her first meal in the city.  I asked her to bring me back some food since I was exhausted and had not eaten.  She presented me with a very large serving of bread pudding soaked in vanilla cream and caramel.  Then, she proceeded to rave about the wonderful meal she had at Tadich Grill. I dragged her back the following day for lunch.  I needed to find out what this place was all about.  

Known as the oldest restaurant in California and having been opened since 1849, the restaurant is considered to be one of the oldest businesses in the US and an establishment which captured the history and development of San Francisco. 

 The ambience carries an Old World feel to it.  The restaurant has one long counter at the bar that extended from the front of the restaurant to the back of the kitchen.  There are also small tables on the other side of the restaurant.

While we waited, I started off with a glass of Bloody Mary.  I love drinking in the states, the ratio seems to always be half and half, nice and stiff. 

 B ordered herself a clam chowder.  It was very traditional and hearty.  The soup was quite thick, very creamy with a lot of clam meat, potatoes, and other veggies.  It went great with crusty sourdough.

 I ordered what B ordered the night before, dungeness crab and prawn a la Monza with rice.  It was delicious.  The casserole was filled primarily with large chunks of succulent crab meat.  It was baked in a zesty tomato-based sauce with some spices to it and topped with grated parmesan.  The 2 prawns were large.  They were cooked well to maintain that "crunch" and were not rubbery.  I wish the side didn't come with brussel sprouts.  I never liked it as a child, and I don't think I'll ever acquire the taste for it.  Added some lemon on top, and I just went off.  It was a rather large portion but I finished it all, and I enjoyed every single bite of it.

Just when we thought we were full, we couldn't help but notice this enticing fume coming from the gent sitting next to us.  He ordered what appeared to be a steak tuna, perfectly seared with rare centre.  It smelled and looked so good we thought about ordering one too.  Unfortunately, we couldn't bring ourselves to do it.  I wish P was here, it would've happened.  When we did tell P, she demanded we go back there, but B refused to do so the 3rd time in a row.

The restaurant maybe old fashioned but they kept it real.  I respect the fact that they managed to keep the place busy all these years and have a lot of loyal and returning customers.  Not many successful business are able to last this long.  I will definitely come back.