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Great News! Goes Out..... TBL3 At  George's At The Cove

This article is not like any of our past articles, as we had the opportunity to enjoy a fourteen course tasting at George's At The Cove, located in La Jolla. Kristin and Kelsey were joined by Ron Eisenberg, owner of Great News!, and Jessica Rhomberg, Kitchen Manager and we wanted to share this unbelievable experience with everyone. Upon walking into George's At The Cove: California Modern, we were pleasantly greeted and seated at TBL3 (the one and only tasting table) which overlooked the pristine San Diego ocean view. Each dish was thoroughly explained by April Johnson, partner and general manager, and Dan, our server. They were both extremely knowledgeable about the food and wine pairings. The warm greeting and attention to detail was just the beginning to a very special night.

Every dish was thoughtfully planned out by Chef Trey Foshee and could best be described as a works of art. Chef Trey focuses on a Farm-To-Table dining experience. He not only picked some of the produce from his own backyard, but went diving that morning for the freshest mollusks he could find (this was a first for all of us).

Our evening started off with the Chino Farms Crudité consisting of fresh picked vegetables from chino farms and Bagna Càuda (a warm dip made of garlic, black truffle, anchovies, olive oil and butter). The dish was interactive as we each "picked" vegetables from our garden of lentils. This was an interactive dish and a great way to start our culinary adventure. 

 

Local Spot Prawns served with Japanese squid, grilled avocado, pepino and lime blossom was next. We were not familiar with the pepino but found out it is typically grown in South American countries but is also grown in Chef Trey's backyard. The pepino has the texture of a tomato with the flavor of a melon. The pepino added a sweet essence to the local spot prawns. The next dish had four poached oysters with whey snow, dill, smoked sunchoke and wood sorrel. The whey snow (made with liquid nitrogen) was quite unique and was perfectly named as it had all of the properties of a small heap of snow.

 

We were intrigued by our next dish, local percebes with mussel aioli, as it was an item that none of us had seen on a menu. Percebes, also known as "goose barnacles", were harvested by Chef Trey right here in our San Diego ocean. The percebes had a balanced salty taste and went well with the mussel aioli. No utensils needed for this course. The percebes natural shell acts as its own utensil while we plucked each one off the rocks.  

 

Foie Gras was served next and was one of our favorite dishes not just because of the beautiful presentation, but its pure delicacy. The Foie Gras was accompanied by hazelnuts, beets, green strawberries and quince vinegar. Chef Trey had prepared the Foie Gras as a mousse which had a creamy consistency and buttery taste. The quince vinegar was formed as a gel that was served on top of the Foie Gras, adding another dimension of flavor. Poached rabbit with new potatoes, fava beans, radish and uni-mustard vinaigrette was next. The uni-mustard (sea urchin) added a contrasts of flavor to all of the components. This was another dish topped with edible flowers, adding a fresh finish to the plate and floral aroma.

 

Chef Trey takes a lot of pride in all of his dishes and you can see his passion in his food. We were served the wild salad which consisted of spinach, nasturtium, fennel, garlic blossom, cattail heart, purslane, saltwort, natal plum and pine nut oil. There is a syaing "we eat with our eyes", but that does not give this dish justice. It was a breathtaking vision. All of the flowers came from Chef Trey's backyard that he had picked that day. This was nature at its finest.

 

Next was the asparagus "Pasta" with morels and a smoked quail egg yolk. The asparagus was thinly sliced into long "pasta" noodles. We were told to break the smoked quail egg yolk so that is was incorporated into the dish and you could definitely taste the smoky flavor from it. The Black Cod with bacon glaze, clams, dried tomato dashi and seaweed salsa verde was the next dish served. The bacon glaze was on the forefront of the palate but was not over-powering. The clams were hidden underneath the cod.  You got lost in the flavor while savoring each bite, therefore enjoying these hidden gems.

 

Served next was the squab with cauliflower, glazed dates and santolina. The glazed dates were sweet and complimented the squab nicely. The cauliflower was prepared a few different ways including sous vide and as a mousse. It is amazing to see what a talented Chef like Trey is able to create with his imagination.

 

Next up was the Chino Farms carrots with dry aged beef flavors, lemon and parsley. Vegetarians be warned; these carrots tasted like they had been roasting with a nice piece of beef all day long. They were extremely moist but still had a fresh crisp center.

The last three dishes were desserts: meringue with orange and bay leaf; strawberry with rose, pistachio and yogurt; and chocolate with chili, avocado and lime. They were the perfect end to a delightful evening, hitting every flavor profile. And as if these fourteen courses were not enough, they sent us home with three fresh strawberries and verbena! George's exceeded our expectations and it was a five star experience.  

  

George's At The Cove has three unique dining experiences: California Modern (more formal dining); Ocean Terrace (rooftop dining with a more casual setting); and George's Bar (indoor dining also with a more casual atmosphere). So whatever the occasion, be sure to dine at this fabulous establishment.

We thank Chef Trey for his creativity, passion and talent. It's not a surprise he is in the San Diego Chef's Hall of Fame and has received many accolades. We also thank April and Dan for taking such good care of us. It is sharing the common passion for great food and innovation that reminds us why we all love what we do.  

Here is a link to an article that features Chef Trey discussing TBL3 in his own words.  

 CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE 

 

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