Guest Blogger Wednesday: Outerlands

I went down to 45th and Judah over the July 4th weekend to check out a new restaurant that has been receiving a lot of buzz in places like the Chronicle and even the New York Times. The restaurant, the five month old Outerlands, not only lived up to the hype, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a whole little hippie business district out there that I had never really appreciated before. I picked up some organic flowers at Other Avenues, the co-op between 44th and 45th, and I am contemplating a return trip out there to try out yet another raw food restaurant. I am not always so up on raw food, but I was a fan of some Café Gratitude specialties (if not the weird cult-like atmosphere).
I read that Outerlands was originally conceived as a soup restaurant, so I ordered a cup of carrot soup, and I also tried a salad with apples, pine nuts and cultured raw sauerkraut (whatever that is). The soup, which came with dill and garlic toast, was phenomenal, and the salad was out of this world. Everything was just unbelievably simple and delicious. The restaurant has great décor, too, with simple wooden tables and quirky wall art made up of what looks like pieces of driftwood. It all felt very calm and soothing, even as I was trying to contend with a wriggly ten month old who desperately wanted to get her hands on everything (in the end, I just fed her some carrot soup, which she loved).
I left Outerlands of two minds. I was glad to have a reason to set out for the far reaches of the Judah line. But I also found myself really wishing we had such a simple, hearty option in the Inner Sunset. Hey, that makes me think—now that the Café Gratitude space is empty, maybe Outerlands can move inbound?
Debra Solomon lives in the Inner Sunset with her husband and baby girl.