Once upon a time, we stumbled into the Boat Street Cafe looking for a place to celebrate a job change. ANd from that day on, that’s where we went to celebrate the big things in our lives. There were two reasons: one, because it’s not exactly cheap (dinner for two with wine usually ends up in the $100 range), and two, because the food was insanely good. And oh, the bread pudding, made with amaretto and soaking in butter and cream. I could eat that every day without tiring of it, and I wouldn’t regret dying of a heart attack by the end of the year.

Boat Street sat in a semi-industrial waterfront location under the University Bridge. At least, it did until 2003, when it was another victim of condoification. Boat Street vanished, but owner Renee Erickson promised that, like MacArthur, it would return.

So, we waited.

And had a kid.

And got poor.

Then weren’t so poor.

And then Boat Street came back last fall, appearing on the lower level of a new development at Western and Denny (3131 Western Ave., to be precise).

And now, all we needed was babysiiting, and we could go back.

More waiting.

So, last night, finally, we got babysitting, and off we went to Boat Street yet again. The decor is different (still Ikea-esque, though) and the positioning is a little strange (it’s pretty well hidden from the street). The food, though, is still incredible — the crab cakes were marvelous, the pork belly like butter, the pickle plate hot and spicy. And the bread pudding still makes you wish you could make sweet, sweet love to it all night long.

No, it’s not cheap. But it’s worth it. And there were tables open on Friday night — shame on you! What, you had better things to do or something?