Georgian Hotel and Chef's Inc

Georgian Hotel: My second meal here, 1pm on a Sunday. A great time because there were a few other diners, but plenty of spaces available on the patio. Wonderful view of water, hills, sun, etc. Almost overshadowed by the food. Deep, slightly sweet French Onion soup...the gruyere was great. Mango and brie quesadilla appetizer with candied pecans and excellent guacamole with a touch of jalepeno. For a main course the salmon was recommended, with a salty crust, served over mashed potatoes asparagus and carrots. The potatoes and asparagus were fine (if a bit tasteless), and the carrots may have been slightly toothy at the core, but those are really just nitpicks so I have something to say...and the fish was so good. A bit of salmon flavor, extremely moist, perfect texture (especially when biting through the thin "crust"). A wonderful dish.

Also tried the Cobb sandwich. Like my previous visit (French toast/bread pudding), this is a reconstruction of another dish...so just imagine a Cobb salad on bread, minus the egg and much of the lettuce. The layering of flavors in a Cobb is key, and was pulled of extremely well (especially with the excellent bacon and avocado they used). I was excited to try it and very appreciative, but discovered that I really like the lettuce in a Cobb salad...it's the base that ties the flavors together and keeps it from being too heavy. On a sandwich without that bed of lettuce it's a different beast.

Oh, and the cappuccino hit the spot. It was a bit cool, perhaps, but had just that "edge" of coffee that you feel on the sides of your tongue, without being bitter.

Minor issue with soapy water glasses, but that was cleared up instantly and politely.

Chef's Inc: Took my first class of Beginner chef 101 at Chef's Inc. We made vegetable spring rolls with peanut sauce, chicken noodle soup (including the stock), rosemary chicken breast, herb roasted potatoes, caesar salad with pancetta, and apple crisp. An absolutely wonderful experience. Lots of fun in the kitchen. There were 17 students and four instructors. The food was excellent and easy. I learned several small things, including a different way to hold a chef's knife, a different honing technique, how to tell if meat is done by touching it, and that I need to get a non-slip pad to put my cutting board on. My highlight of the evening was being credited with saying that the peanut sauce would be better with more soy sauce, though really the whole time was entertaining and enlightening.