George's Ocean Terrace - La Jolla, CA

This previous week I ventured out to Pasadena, California to support my alma mater, Alabama, in their quest for the National Championship. Luckily for me not only did they win their 13th title, but the Tide took me to one of the most beautiful places I have been - Oceanside, CA. 30 minutes north of San Diego this delightful little beach town provided the perfect background to all around great vacation. I was reunited with my former roommate Leah, and once the foodies were back together, good eating ensued. We started off with spicy shrimp and macaroni and cheese and then ended the trip with fresh guacamole and fajitas, but in between our two amazing meals, we went south to eat in La Jolla at George's Ocean Terrace. 

Immediately George's Terrace will take your breathe away. Situated on top of a bluff, the restaurant looks north, over the Pacific. The sun had just set and the stars were peaking their way out. Honestly, I don't think I could have asked for much more...until the mussels passed me by...

Thirsty and starving this crew of 10 got down to business. My lovely date, Elizabeth (and college roommate!), and I split everything we ordered to maximize our options. We/Leah started out with:

• Charcuterie plate with la quercia prosciutto, pecorino cheese, fig mustard and grilled bread
• Seared raw tuna with soba noodles and a wasabi soy vinaigrette
• Mussels baked in their natural juices and butter served with grilled bread

The charcuterie plate was my favorite. The prosciutto was paper thin and an excelled blend of creamy fat and meat. The fig mustard was sweet and tangy and once you put it all on top of the grilled bread. It's over. The pecorino was fine, but in my opinion not really necessary. The raw tuna was tasty, but I feel like the proportion of soba noodles to tuna was off. Soba > Tuna. There were so many noodles and not enough pieces of fish that I was confused about what the focus of the dish was. Should I eat the noodles or the fish? It was fine, but in the end didn't come together for me. However, I thought the mussels were great! Smokey, fresh, tender, all the things you look for in a good mussels dish. Leah said she thought they were a bit bland, and I can see that, if there were a little bit of spice I would not have complained. 

For the main course Elizabeth and I again split our meals:

• Grilled swordfish with braised leeks, roasted fingerling potatoes and romesco sauce
• Niman ranch pork chop with panchetta roasted brussel sprouts, soft polenta, honey-molasses glazed apples

The majority of the table ordered the swordfish and seemed to really enjoy it. I will agree with them, the dish was certainly light and pleasant. Was is the greatest swordfish dish I have ever had? No. Would I order it again? Sure. The romesco sauce was really the star of this dish. It was very flavorful and fresh and created a lot of depth for the swordfish. If you tried the swordfish on it's own, it was pretty bland, however with the sauce it was delightful and added not only flavor but color to the plate. Fingerlings are my favorite potato and again, nothing was wrong with them, but they were quite literally just roasted fingerlings, no herbs or any additional flavor. A little garlic and those would have been dynamite. 

The pork dish was actually the opposite, where the protein was ok, but the other components were outstanding. The panchetta roasted brussel sprouts are making my mouth water as we speak. Fork tender and packed with flavor, these could have converted the most holy of brussel sprout haters. The polenta was so soft and really sucked up all of the honey-molasses goodness that was seaping down from the apples. The apples were stellar if you ate them with the pork. Then the pork. Honestly? It was a little tough. Maybe it's because we were using butter knives, but even still it was chewy. I rarely order pork, but when I do, I want it to be succulent. I am not afraid of the fat so I would cut a piece with fat to try and rejuvenate some moisture, but sigh, nothing. The pork was slightly tough and dry. Going back, I would probably choose something different. 

Overall, the atmosphere is worth it alone. Normally when you have a view this good the food suffers worse than one can imagine, however the food here was delightful and reasonably affordable. The steaks looked the best out of all the plates and next time that what I am ordering. Sincerely, I would go back in a heartbeat and recommend to people in the La Jolla/San Diego area. 

Georges was a great find! Perfect for large groups or a date :)

Also - Thanks to Leah and Carson for their stellar photog skills! 

George's 

1250 Prospect Street

La Jolla, CA 92307