vday recap & food review

oj and I had really late dinner reservations at georges: 930. yikes, I know because I normally dont like to eat late, but the menu looked so good that I couldnt say no. so before that, we were going to kill some time by going ice skating with some of ojs friends. I was actually really looking forward to it because I havent been in a long time & always like to relive my childhood dreams of being a figure skater lol. but we come to find out that the skating event wouldnt start until 845 or so, which meant we couldnt go:( instead, we headed up to downtown escondido because they were having a chocolate tasting event in some of their stores & even had carriage rides down Grand. we ended up at this super cute wine bar called VINZ and had a flight of 3 wines with these an order of mediterrean nuts and fruit that was super delish! it had dried figs, salts almonds, golden raisins, and these extra tasty candied pecans mmmm!

we got to georges just after 9 and were pleasantly surprised to be seated right away, even thought we were 20 minutes early to our reservation, and there was even a couple ahead of us who had a 930 reservation too and were made to wait. we didn't get seated facing that ocean (which is why I suspect we got seated before the other couple) in a room that only had a view other couples. I wasn't feeling too well--I always think I can read in the car, and I'm always proven wrong--so no alcohol for me.

I ordered the 4 course meal that I mentioned before, while oj got a scallop ceviche, a surf and turf with steak and lobster, and a pear gallete for dessert. They gave us warm bread and this really good 12 spice ginger salt that made the bread taste like gingerbread. yummm.

first course:
+ me: dungeness crab- crab was not messing around. so good with avocado and thin shavings of crispy cold pear. there was a curry oil that didnt bother me, but the salad on top had a ton of cilantro on it--I cant stand cilantro--so I just moved all the greens to the side.
+ oj: ceviche- served cold & citrus-y.... the way its supposed to be! (jeff from top chef)

second course:
+ me: butternut squash ravioli- loved loved loved it! there were chestnuts that I didn't care for (I gave them away) but everything else was absolutely divine. ravioli were perfectly rich with the creamy sauce that wasnt too heavy or overwhelming. and I loved the fried sage that came with it. I tried to eat this slowly to savor all of it, but it was just too good. I would have been happy to have this as my main course, but bigger portion please! haha

third course:
+ me: lamb shank- omg this was to tender --I didnt even need a knife--I just pulled at it with my fork--and it just melted off the bone. and it was HUGE. butternut squash risotto was maybe too mushy for me, but nonethless was yummy. the lamb was topped with like a spinach and feta mixture, and normally I hate feta, but it worked to cut through the richness of the lamb.
+ oj: hanger steak and lobster- I felt kinda bad for oj when our plates came out. mine was like a huge rock on a plate, and his was kinda dinky. I knew that it would taste amazing, but it was just so small compared to my lamb. I knew he was jealous of me haha.

dessert:
+ me: chocolate tart- a warm dark chocolate cake with a googey middle, and peanut ice cream with cocoa nibs. soo rich and just perfect. I didn't want to share.
+ oj: pear gallete- he ate it all but it wasnt what he expected. it was served with candied ginger & I was glad I didnt order it (candied ginger reminds me of fruitcake...gross). I had to share my dessert bc I knew oj was jealous again.

service: excellent. my water and iced tea never fell below half of the glass, the servers cleared the table and brought out food in a timely manner, and always noticed when I didn't have silverware. thats good service worth 20%.

funny story: the only thing I didn't really like was that our tables were really close together, so that I kept getting distracted by the other couples around us (I can't help to eavesdrop!!). toward the mid part of our meal, a new couple was seated next to us with this super irritating guy who couldnt get over himself! first, he was complaining about how georges wasnt "fancy" enough for him...only, that guy was wearing jeans! if he thought that georges was going to be like Mr. As, then him wearing jeans would make him stick out like the low class that he is. secondly, when he ordered the champagne, and the server did the wine presentation, the guy didn't even know how to properly respond...leaving the server hanging. the server, knowing that the guy didnt know the first thing about fine dining, ignored the guys faux pas and finished pouring the champagne. I watched the whole thing and I was even embarrassed for the guy. thirdly, the guy had no idea what he was ordering. I guess he was too used to the bread at outback steak house that he couldnt enjoy the 12 spice ginger salt, and didnt even know what ceviche was! when ceviche came out, he took a bite and hated it. he kept complaining that he thought it was going to be scallops (I'm guessing he was thinking seared scallops) but then went on to say that he didnt even like seafood. the guy wanted high class, well guess what, georges is too high class for you buddy! even his date was embarrassed by him!

overall: I wish I had 4 thumbs...so I could give the whole experience 4 thumbs up!! =)