Boulevard, San Francisco, California

Always listed as one of the better restaurants of San Francisco, if not America. When it opened in 1993, it was the coolest place. Designed by reknown Pat Kuleto, it was so unique back then and you felt privileged while dining there. Fast forward to now, I'm a jaded Master of Light Bitch, oh I mean, Chick, and it's o.k. Still cool, but not knock my socks off. Perhaps for all the Japanese businessmen in town and tourists it's still the cat's meow...never used that saying in a sentence.
I get my teeth cleaned around the corner, so decided to treat myself to lunch. Dining is so boring on the East Coast for me. Even when I'm in New York for some reason. Perhaps it's because the higher end places seem less approachable when I'm bumming around during the day and don't feel dressed enough to go in. I don't know. But, I was one of the few people at Boulevard in jeans and a oversized skate rat sweatshirt, that's for sure. Even though, I felt completely comfortable sitting at the bar. I reminisced about going there for lunch all the time when I had a corporate job around the corner. What a different life. Lots has changed though my interest in food has remained the same.

The veggie choices on the menu were not fab. I asked about getting a plate made and it seemed totally boring - mashed potatoes, veggies, that's about it, so I opted for some Hawaiian fish on a bed of beans and greens. I would have ordered an appetizer but there were no veggie options. Again, fabulous sour dough bread was brought out with a butter plate containing 2 butters. I had to ask and one was a salt butter while the other was sweet - cool idea, huh? I devoured both of them. I'm away from home, so butter is being ingested with frequency. The special pink drink sitting at the end of the bar was calling my name. It turned out to be some berry, watermelon lemonade which was awesome. If I recall, they make a new one every day. The bartender even treated me with a second glass on the house as one was left over from the batch.

The fish was delicious albeit tiny. I sometimes forgot the tiny little artistic servings one finds around. The bean and green sauce was delightful and a perfect complement to the Hawaiian fish. I was ready for a fabulous dessert but the menu left little to be desired. Nothing popped out of interest. So, back to Marin I went. 7.10.6

1 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA (415-543-6084) www.boulevardrestaurant.com