I’ve been to Boulevard Restaurant on San Francisco’s Mission Street many times but have never taken the time to focus on the food from a review perspective — oh so many dishes, oh so many great wines. It’s been around for awhile — I recall going there for business dinners in the mid-nineties. Opened in 1993 by Nancy Oakes and Pat Kuleto, the place has transitioned into a classic San Francisco restaurant that’s hard to beat. Chef Oakes wonderful expression of American regional flavors with a French influenced style has made it a culinary landmark in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Let’s start with my favorites: AHI TUNA Ito-Zukuri if you want to keep you healthy. Or, if not, padron pepper tempura with white sesame aioli and togarashi-shoyu vinaigrette. They also have a scrumptious rossa bianca eggplant with wasabi shinku pear dressing & shiso.
For something a little more unusual, try their calamari street vendor style pork belly, which is stuffed with yam starch noodles, white shrimp & scallions, chili pickled watermelon, cucumber & peanuts. Someone ordered the pan-seared sea scallops with artichoke hearts, fresh shelling beans & sea spinach, which is served with preserved lemon, castelvetrano olive & amaranth gremolata.
Before we even got to starters, they brought out a delicious cheese sampler to die for with a l’il fig on the side.
No one seemed to order a dish I SHOULD have ordered: the Ravioli Porcini Butter Confit Rabbit with wild greens and ricotta. What was I thinking? Calories likely but I’m still dreaming of the ‘what would it have tasted like?’ They serve with bellwether basket ricotta, borage, nettles (yes nettles) and lamb’s quarters. And, this delicious dish comes with hon shemeji mushrooms. As for salads, no one ordered any of those either yet they’re my automatic go-to appetizer most of the time.
They had a poached pear, roasted squash and Spanish goat cheese salad on the list made with grapes, roasted walnuts and topped off with a Noble Sherry vinaigrette. OR, how about the browkaw avocado and roasted beet arugula salad that none of us ordered either? (served with pine nuts, hearts of palm and truffle relish, with an Arbequina olive oil — idiots that we were?)
That said, some of us did something right since we went for the Buffalo Mozzarella & Heirloom tomato salad which was served with a red quinoa persillade, sweet basil pesto, arugula and olio verde. AND, one person ordered the grilled salmon with lemon & herbs. Need I say more? (served with roasted lobster, abalone mushrooms, Nasturtium Beurre Fondu, HeirloomCorn, Wild Rice & White Rice Beans with Roasted Shallot & Toasted Caraway). Not so much the idiots I thought we first were when I dove into the earlier menu.
Then, of course there was a dish I personally didn’t pass up: the Wolfe Ranch “King” Quail, poached with herbed confit legs in butter and served with Pelmeni Dumplings with Roasted Chestnut & Porcini Sausage. Whoah Nelly, I was a happy camper. On the side, they included Shaved Brussels Sprout & Apple “Hash”, Sage, Pancetta, Crispy Chestnuts & Roasted Quail Jus. My friend next to me ordered the Pork Prime Rib Chop oven roasted, served with Carolina “Rice Grits” with Allan Bentons Smoky Mountain Country Ham, Sauteed Swiss Chard, Green Tomato Jam, Popped Sorghum, Pan Seared Okra with “Picka Pepper” Vinegar and Roasted Pork Jus.
A few other dishes we ordered……..
If you’re passing through, let’s be clear: Boulevard isn’t a bargain. The food is delicious, the service reliable, the ambiance consistent but you will pay in the $28-38 range for an entree which isn’t out of line with most San Francisco restaurants in its category. For those coming in from out of town, its worth noting however. Wines by the glass are in the $9-23 range, again, pricier than many other American cities, but definitely not excessive for the Bay Area.
I started with the Pride Mountain Merlot from Sonoma (2009), but was blown away by the Bordeaux that my neighbor had: the Chateau La Fleur 2009 St. Emilion. Hands down, the best choice for the Quail and not a bad choice for the Lamb Prime T-Bone on the menu as well although they had a couple full bodied Cabernet and Merlots by the glass that would do the trick).
Photo credits: First photo from Boulevard’s site, all other photos taken by Renee Blodgett.
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Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
