Since last fall, Kim had been talking about how she’d like to have mojitos in the hot sun on the patio of the Boulevard. The weather having finally caught up with this idea, we decided to meet Marco and Irit there for dinner. Marco was there when I arrived, and after an entertaining discussion with the waiter on the potential location of our seats, we took a table. Kim soon arrived, slightly inconvinenced by the fact that we hadn’t ordered the mojitos yet. Needless to say, they arrived in short order, just in time for Irit to sit down as hers was arriving.

The bread served before dinner was dense, thick and tasty, but very filling. I tried not to eat too much of it as I ordered an appetizer plus entrée (their portions will leave few people unsatisfied), but since Marco and Irit were sharing a meal, they chowed down. Later on, Marco passed two large boxes of it on his way to the washroom and joked that he wanted to stuff some in his pants and take it home.

Anyway, for appetizers, Marco and Irit shared the Creole salad, which included chickpeas, avocado, artichoke hearts, and a whole mess of other stuff with a tangy, eggy vinaigrette that we all enjoyed (Marco insisted we try it, and he was right!). Kim got the soup of the day, an avocado puree which she also enjoyed, decribing it as “yummy guacamole in a bowl.” I got the Choros Tropicales, a sizeable plate of mussels covered in an outstanding spicy mango salsa on a bed of fresh greens.

For mains, Kim got the grilled swordfish brochettes and Marco and Irit shared the same, except with sole. All reports were of excellence. I ordered the Parrillada Mixta, a mixture of grilled meat (lamb, chicken, beef, and sausage) served with rice or potatoes (I got rice) and a salad with the same excellent vinaigrette. I quite enjoyed it, and although there was a problem with one of the pieces of meat, it was quickly and politely replaced.

After coffee and apple pie, and the polishing off of the second round of mojitos, we left with Kim saying, “We should go there sometime and have sangria…”