FOOD REVIEW EPISODE 1- GEORGE'S AT THE COVE

GEORGE'S AT THE COVE
858 454 4244
1250 Prospect Street, La Jolla, CA 92037

So, those of you who are my close friends all know that I am a huge foodie. I love food, and for the most part meals are kind of the defining moment of the day for me. Every once in a while, I come a cross a restaurant or food dish that is truly noteworthy, and I have decided to share these experiences here on my blog.

Last week in San Diego wrapped a local tradition called Restaurant Week.





What does that mean? Well, two weeks out of the year a good number of restaurants (the website for the event says over 160) have special 3 course meals for $20, $30, or $40. With this you get an appetizer, salad, or soup depending on the venue, a main course item and desert. Typically, the restaurant will feature three or four of their signature dishes from each category to choose from and may even have optional sides or alternatives available for a small (relative to the regular item cost) extra fee.

In order to kick off this week of new culinary experiences, my friends and I decided to try George's At The Cove of La Jolla, located right next to La Jolla's famous cove (the one with the seals) on Prospect St. The venue was very nice and the decor of the restaurant was modern and stylishly minimalistic.

ON THE MENU

George's is a high class eatery and ranks up there in price as one of the $40 restaurants to be featured in Restaurant Week; it's also well liked among Yelp reviewers and boasts a 4-star rating. Did my experience live up to the hype? Keep reading, true believers.

DRINK- PEAR BLOSSOM (jasmine pearl infused Grey Goose Vodka, lemon grass, ginger, candied orange zest, and pear)
I started my meal with a pre-dinner cocktail called the Pear Blossom. It was delicious! The drink (as described on the menu) is a blend of jasmine pearl infused Grey Goose Vodka, lemon grass, ginger, candied orange zest, and pear; the sum of which is a slightly fruity sweet drink that escapes being to sugary and has a great dry finish. Also the orange zest was a great touch and didn't have the over-powering dry/bitter taste I normally associate with citrus rind.

Some of my friends ordered drinks as well, which I had the pleasure of sampling- the Tango and the Wisecrack , both of which were fantastic as well.

APPETIZER- SWEET POTATO SOUP (apple, ginger, curry and coconut)

For my appetizer, from which there were PLENTY to choose, I decided on having George's Sweet Potato Soup. When brought to the table I was give a bowl with a base for the soup that consisted of apple, ginger, curry and coconut , to which the sweet potato broth was added. The resulting flavor was magnificent, the creaminess of the broth was superb and velvety, while the sweetness of the sweet potato was given an extra zest by the tartness of the ginger and curry, and balanced by the texture and mild flavors of apple. Truly, one of the greatest bowls of soup I've ever had the pleasure to eat.

DINNER- BRAISED COLORADO LAMB SHANK (feta salsa verde, sweet onion raisin relish, butternut squash risotto)

So, going into this meal I had never had the Italian dish Osso Bucco; but had heard about it many times from my friend, Raymond. While the name is different, this was indeed the fabled dish along with some excellent sides. Now, really, words fail to properly illustrate this meal. It was good; really, REALLY GOOD.
The meat fell off of the bone at the slightest touch of the fork and was perfectly braised, the seasoning was perfect and the sides definitely complimented the main course well.
I love risotto alot and in many cases will order a dish if it's offered as a side just to get the risotto. I love butternut squash, too. This side was perfect- plenty of flavor, complimented the entree well and really the only complaint is that there wasn't enough of it.
The relish and salsa I can't really say I remember too much about unfortunately, other than the sweetness went well with the richness of the meat.

DESSERT- PEANUT BUTTER RICE PUDDING

Finally, to round out our special meal we got down to dessert. For starters, Rice Pudding is one of my favorite desserts, period. I love it alot and am very, very thankful the Lolita's by my house keeps a regular supply of it on hand. I also love peanut butter, so mixing the both is a no-brainer- it's gonna be good. And it was, though at this part of the meal there were some minor complaints to be had, but the dish was delicious none-the-less.
The first gripe is that this dish is mostly about texture rather than taste. It's served with crispy wild rice, graham cracker streusel and roasted banana sorbet- all of which, while lending many different flavors to the pudding, take away from the core part of the dish. The sorbet's flavor was really strong and cold and over powered the much milder taste of the pudding. I was sad about this- not because it was bad tasting but because I wanted rice pudding.
Again, it was delicious, but I'd much rather have it as a simple pudding than as a an accompaniment to it's garnish.

FINAL THOUGHTS-

In the end, this dinner ended up being far and away the best meal I got out of Restaurant Week. I have a review of Nobu's coming up but really, George's took the cake right out the gate, not only for myself but for my friends as well. The regular prices are high but not exorbitant, so I think I will be planning a return at some point and if you're in the mood for a unique food experience this might be the place to look up.