Reserve your spot for a romantic Valentine’s Day
George's California Modern is widely regarded as one of the most romantic restaurants in San Diego. For couples looking for an intimate dinner, we've got a lot to offer: a quiet-yet-vibrant atmosphere, attentive service, outstanding wine list, and, of course, our legendary romantic dining room view — overlooking moonlight-dappled waves of La Jolla Cove that will take your breath away!
On…
Blue Hill at Stone Barns: My Staging Experience
I’ve never done a “stage.” Well…maybe as part of interviewing for a new position, but never to just hang out and learn or absorb what another chef is doing. About six months ago I started thinking about staging with Dan Barber at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. I’m not sure what prompted the thought, but I believe it had something to do with the creation of our TBL3 concept. My relationship with the farms we use, especially Chino Farms, has shown me the responsibility I have to use their produce with the utmost respect and I knew Dan was living this same reality, although on a grander scale. I wanted to go not just to see the food, but also to get a sense of how the relationship between a chef and the ingredients translated into a clear and personal culinary vision.
Read MoreTravels with George, 2011: Europe
My wife, Paula, and I have been avoiding Europe for a number of years due to our desire to see the rest of the world and the punishing value of the dollar versus the euro. Overcoming fear of bankruptcy, we set out for Spain in early September. Our first stop was San Sebastian, a city of 187,000 people in the heart of the Basque country bordering the southwestern flank of France.
Read MoreLocal Lobster Season: A Bust (Part 2)
This is a note I sent to all our staff last week. Because this is the second year in a row that we will not be able to offer our popular spiny lobster tasting menu, I felt it was worth sharing in a broader context. "The spiny lobster season recently opened and once again the local community is being priced out of the market..."
Read MoreA Celebration of American Regional Cuisine at Craft, NYC
It’s cool how attention comes in waves. The last couple of years I’ve been participating in many local culinary events, but not much on the national scale. Then, within the same week, I’m invited to participate in two New York City events with a lineup of chefs that humbles me. The first event was put on by blogger/author Steve Plotnicki of Opinionated About Dining and the excellent Opinionated About U.S. Restaurants guidebook on September 14th at Craft, Tom Colicchio’s restaurant that just received three stars from the New York Times.
Read MoreLuna-Mulligan Wedding Reception
Style Me Pretty recently featured a story on the Luna-Mulligan wedding and reception. We loved playing host to Elle and Brenden's celebration and thought we'd share an excerpt from the beautiful bride.
Read MoreWines to Talk About
Getting into the world of wine, I decided to take some classes with the International Sommelier Guild and was lucky enough to study under a very talented and passionate mentor, D.J. Kearney. She helped shape our perspective and attitude toward wines and the food and beverage industry as a whole. One of her little sayings that stuck with me was that “there are wines to talk over, and wines to talk about.”
Read MoreWhy We Use Niman Ranch: A Reminder
One of the challenges of owning and running a restaurant is escalating food costs. My philosophy is that we do not change our standards. Instead we look for creative ways to manage these increases throughout all aspects of our operation, from how we control waste to how we purchase. After speaking with some of my colleagues who have changed all or parts of their Niman Ranch program, I started thinking maybe I should stop being so hard-headed and rethink the whole Niman relationship.
Read MoreOur Ballast Point Tour & Tasting
To kickoff our new beer menu, we took our team over to Ballast Point for a tasting and tour of their brewery and new distillery. We have always carried Ballast Point brews and more recently their spirits – not only are these products delicious, but also uniquely hand-crafted.
Read MoreTaking on the Bay Area with Jason Knibb
I just got back from a very quick eating trip to Los Gatos and San Francisco with Jason Knibb (of Nine-Ten). We flew up Friday afternoon and drove straight to Los Gatos for dinner at Manresa. I have wanted to eat year for a couple years and finally made it. The following day we started out at the Ferry Plaza Marketplace and ate our way through many stops, including a new favorite, Saison. What is interesting about San Francisco, a truly great food city, is how it is branching away from its predominantly Mediterranean/Italian vibe to a city with many different inspirations.
Read MoreTasting the Wines of Oregon
Three Hours in Portland
The Many Flavors of Veuve Clicquot
I recently attended a dinner at Flavor restaurant in Del Mar for Veuve Clicquot champagne. Very few names in the champagne world are more recognizable than that of Madame Veuve Clicquot, and there are two things about Veuve that you should know.
The first of these is the story of Veuve Clicquot. To oversimplify its history, you could simply say Veuve is the first champagne house brought into its own by a woman – Madame Veuve Clicquot. After her husband passed away, she herself became actively involved and eventually marketed her champagne to become a respected brand through the royal courts of Europe, including holding a royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II. What I find most amazing is how the widow Clicquot revolutionized champagne production to make it what it is today.
Read MoreA Typical Fabulous Sunset at George's at the Cove
Summer is high season for the Ocean Terrace and our bartender Mischa Wright took this great timelapse video of the setting sun from the Ocean Terrace.
If you want a hard-to-get reservation at San Diego's most popular outdoor restaurant, just let us know you are a Table of Friends member when you call. We'll do our best to get you a spot!
A Look at Chateau Ste. Michelle-Dr. Loosen Eroica Rieslings
From the 1880s well past the First World War, Rieslings were selling in London auction houses for 3-4x what first growth Bordeaux were fetching. Riesling is perhaps the only grape varietal capable of producing everything from delicate and aromatic dry wines to Ice Wines (wines made from crushing bunches of grapes harvested well below freezing) or TBA’s (Trocken – dry or raisined, Beeren – individually picked, Auslese – selected), as well as the full range in between. Rieslings are also capable of aging just as long or longer than any other varietal.A New Level of Green
This week marks the 41st annual Earth Day, which is now celebrated by over one billion people in 192 countries around the world. That’s pretty humbling. Here at George’s we’re celebrating our own recent milestone in what has been a decade-long journey toward greater environmental sustainability for our business.
Read MoreL.A. Restaurant Review
How I Ate My Way Through San Francisco
So George goes to South Africa on safari and to wine country, Trey goes to Paris with a fellow chef and I go…to San Francisco – one of my favorite cities. I just love this place. It’s beautiful. It’s a short plane ride. The shopping is great. And the dining is fantastic.
Read MoreBest Reinvented Classic – George's "Fish Tacos"
On a recent episode of "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" on Food Network, Aaron Sanchez had this to say about the fish tacos in California Modern – "They have taken the whole fish taco concept and taken it to the next level...best reinvented classic I've ever had."
Read MoreMy Paris Trip: February 7-12, 2011
I just returned from a week in Paris with my good friend Brian Hill. We worked and lived together a long time ago when we were both coming up, and have a similar sense of food and humor which makes him a great traveling companion. He had never been to Paris, so the restaurant reservations were left up to me. Here's a meal-by-meal recap of our flavor-filled journey.
Read More12 Days of Christmas at Meadowood Napa Valley
When I got a call from my old cook Christopher Kostow to join him at Meadowood resort in Napa for their 12 Days of Christmas event it was an honor, and all for a great cause – Share Our Strength. But being invited as a guest chef for an event is always a bit nerve-racking. What’s the right menu? Where is the event? What are the kitchen and the staff like? Who are we cooking for…what is the expectation? If you have the wrong answer to any of these questions, your experience can be anything from disappointing to disastrous.
Read MoreChuckEats calls California Modern 'Of the Place'
Chuck, one of the most respected food bloggers (ChuckEats.com), was in recently and allowed us to cook for him. Here's a bit of what he had to say.
Read MoreTravels with George, 2010: South African Wines
After our two-week journey into the African bush, Paula and I set out to explore the exciting wine region of South Africa. From our broad experience traveling to international wine destinations, this area is clearly one of the most dramatic settings in the world for the production of quality wines.
Read MoreTravels with George, 2010: Africa
Paula and I just returned from a month-long journey to Africa. Traveling around parts of this enormous continent, one is constantly reminded of the primal nature of existence there. And while the human landscape was always present on our journey, the bottom line was always focused on the wonderful birds and animals we were fortunate to see.
Read MoreThree-Star Applause for Christopher Kostow
I wanted to take a minute and note the significant accomplishment of Christopher Kostow, chef at The Restaurant at Meadowood in St. Helena which just received three stars from the prestigious Michelin Guide.
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