I often say that I was built for this business. When I was 11 years old, I spent my paper route money on pens and order pads, and I’d make my little sister play “restaurant” with me. I would set the table, take her order, hang the order up in the kitchen, cook it, serve it, do the dishes, and beg her to let me do it again. I was fascinated with the idea of being a waitress, wondering how in the world servers could memorize all those table numbers! It seemed like such fun.
My Decade of Definition
As a cook, I was not the most strategic thinker. I moved to the kitchen from the front of the house because I didn’t like interacting with guests, but liked the restaurant business. I moved around a bit not thinking of a career path or what the next step might be until I had a “moment” working the line at a busy restaurant on Maui and decided I needed to go to cooking school to get myself out of the path I was headed. I didn’t know what I wanted, but I was sure of what I didn’t want and that was to be a middle-aged, washed up line cook.
August 16, 2009
A Quarter Century of Restlessness
Approaching our 25th anniversary, I am prompted to look back on the numerous landmarks that have helped define our operation over the past quarter century. When I reflect back on the early days of our existence, the driving force was survival.
August 16, 2009
The Cocktail War
Food is always an extraordinary experience in New York City. But, on California Modern mixologist, Frankie Thaheld's recent trip to attend the 3rd Annual International Chefs Congress with Trey Foshee, he found the cocktail culture in this acclaimed culinary Mecca equally exciting.
August 7, 2009
Great food comes from great ingredients.
I was asked to contribute a recipe to the Niman Ranch Cookbook. Having had a long and productive relationship with Bill Niman and his company, I was honored and sent over the requested recipe without hesitation. At George's at the Cove, we share the same values of sustainability, support for family farms and proper animal husbandry as the Niman's. We use their pork exclusively and a good portion of our beef also comes from Niman Ranch.
August 7, 2009
Star Chefs Congress
Last year I took some of the mixology classes and thought they were very interesting, with modern interpretations and twists on old cocktails, as well as some new ways of looking at this exciting field. I decided to bring Frankie along this year to help in his development as one of the most exciting mixologists in San Diego. As you will read in Frankie's article, I think he found some new inspiration for our Modern Bar cocktail menu.
August 3, 2009
Hot Summer Cocktails
Summer is the perfect time of year for a nice, cold cocktail. Here, we share a collection of seasonal cocktail recipes fresh from the bar.
July 31, 2009
Reimagining George's at the Cove
Flashback to 1984, the year George’s at the Cove opened. I had just purchased my first VCR. Computers were not an integral tool in business or personal use.
December 1, 2008
