BOULEVARD

Some restaurants, such as Boulevard, are so solid they immediately become classics and never go out of style. After more than two decades, and being honored by the James Beard Foundation as the outstanding restaurant in the nation, chef-owner Nancy Oakes continues to innovate while being true to her guiding principles. Here, the vegetables are as important as the protein. Oakes and chef de cuisine Dana Younkin carefully craft each combination so everything works together. Quail, pan roasted with rosemary and sage, is plated with dried pluots, brown butter coalroasted yams, kalettes (a cross between kale and Brussels sprouts), pecans, coffee-blossom honey and bird jus. Wood-oven-roasted fillet is highlighted with creamed parsley, truffled potatoes, potato galette, roasted mushrooms and bay leaf oil. Desserts by Lisa Lu follow a similar complex pattern. The Belle Epoque-inspired interior has also stood the test of time.

Cuisine Northern Californian | Specialties Scallops and beef cheeks with polenta and porcini pudding; Dungeness crab salad; wood-oven-roasted pork chop with varying accompaniments; any dessert | Seats 150 (plus 50 at the bar); private room for 60 | Prices $29-$51 (plus 5% S.F. surcharge) | Noise rating | Parking Valet $18 Vitals 1 Mission St., San Francisco. (415) 543-6084. www.boulevardrestaurant. com Lunch Monday-Friday, dinner nightly. Full bar. Reservations and credit cards accepted.

Spanish Octopus & East Coast Squid at Boulevard, which never goes out of style.