Review : Bistro on the Boulevard

Chrissy, a good friend of mine won a gift certificate to Bistro on the Boulevard, and was kind enough to treat me and two other friends to a wonderful dinner to celebrate our birthdays. The Bistro is located inside the Boulevard Inn, a hotel overlooking Lake Michigan in Saint Joseph, Michigan. Inside is comfortable and spacious with stunning lake views, and they also have a covered deck for dining in the summer months.
To be honest, I have been to the Bistro twice before and was never impressed with the food nor the service. However, I believe this was due to the fact that I went on half-off martini nights, which were packed full of people and ordered off the bar menu. Not exactly the best conditions to spawn an excellent experience. Nonetheless, a restaurant should shine in it's busiest moments.
We made reservations, although not necessary at the time we got there, and were seated next to a window with a great view of the lake.
We started off with some bellinis and appetizers of frizzled onions and beets tempura. Fried onions are always good, but I was weary of the beets. They're not my favorite vegetable, but I decided to give them a try anyway. It was an excellent blend of sweet from the beet, and salty from the tempura and were quite enjoyable.
For my main entree I decided to take a leap and try the duck confit.

Confit is a french word, and is one of the oldest ways utilized to preserve food. Meats confit are usually salted with herbs and then slow cooked in their own rendered fats. Sounds unappealing, I know, but the actual meat you get is not that fatty and falls off the bone with tenderness. I normally don't eat the skin of poultry, but I gave in with this dish and had a little. It was so crispy and perfectly seasoned. The meat was tender and juicy in every bite, and very flavorful. I can't wait to go back and have some more and I've been craving it ever since. The duck was served with garlic parsley potatoes that were sliced so thin they had a delightful crunch. I couldn't get enough of their flavor.

For dessert we ordered a Butterscotch and Gingersnap Parfait and Chocolate Packets. The butterscotch parfait consisted of butterscotch pudding layered with ground gingersnap biscuit. The mix of soft and creamy with the crunch of gingersnap was enticing. The chocolate packets were more my favorite, though they could work on the name. They were phyllo dough turnovers filled with bittersweet chocolate and topped with caramel sauce and homemade icecream. The bittersweet chocolate wasn't very sweet at all, and was a perfect pairing with the icecream. It had a bold chocolate kick and a wonderful phyllo crunch.

Overall this experience was very fulfilling. If you are going to the Bistro for the culinary selections, I recommend steering clear of the bar menu and going for a full menu instead. The food was well prepared and nicely presented. Our service was pretty good as well this time around.
Due to inconsistancies on quality from previous visits to this one, I give this delightful local restaurant 4 stars, out of 5.
★★★★